Computer Science and Engineering Department

The Computer Science and Engineering Department’s Student Affairs team serves a large clientele including a diverse student population, faculty, staff, and the general public. For academic year 1999-2000, official numbers show:

	Undergraduate	Graduate
Number of Major Students	1035	157
Number of Enrollment	8688	1123
Number of Minors	452
Number of Admissions Files		720

Personnel (includes for both undergraduate and graduate programs)

Number of Full-time Support	4* + 1 temporary help during admissions cycle
Number of Programming Support	1 casual web/database developer and support from CSEhelp
Number of Student Workers	3

*Full-time staff (Student Curriculum Coordinator, Director of Ugrad Affairs, Director of Graduate Affairs, Director of Student Affairs and Development)

Given the demand for the CSE disciplines, we expect our student population to grow. We have observed an average of a 13 percent and an 11 percent yearly escalation in our undergraduate program and graduate program respectively in the last seven years. Thus, it is critical that issues of growth, privacy and security, traffic flow/accessibility, work flow/ functionality, programmatic needs, and quality of service be seriously addressed in the design of the forthcoming Student Affairs facilities.

Growth. As CSE becomes the cornerstone of liberal education, legislation and campus plans dictate that we expand in both graduate and undergraduate programs and continue our function as a “service” department. A proportional increase in staffing must be addressed in order to serve the Student Affairs constituents effectively and efficiently. Space for additional staff must be included in the design of the new SA area. Furthermore, having the flexibility to retroactively add or redefine space at a future date would be optimal.

Proposed staffing growth (in addition to existing staff)

1 Undergraduate Advisor

1 Graduate Advisor (Outreach and Admissions)

1 ILP assistant (Internship Coordinator/Develop relationships with industry)

1 Staff to coordinate industrial/community outreach programs*

1 Programmer/Advisor (web developer/maintaining electronic infrastructure)*

*New addition since DPP

Privacy and Security. Student Affairs maintains student files that contain confidential information such as grades, admissions files, financial support packages, petitions, and additional documents pertaining to students’ academic life. We maintain student files for as long as 5 to 6 years for undergraduates, up to 7 years for Masters students and up to 12 years for PhD students. Spaces for storage, file room, copy room must be incorporated. Furthermore, the SA team conducts confidential advising sessions. Enclosed advising offices with individual doors are critical in supporting this function.

Traffic Flow/Accessibility. Traffic sources include the UCSD student population, faculty, the public (prospective students, parents, general public, and industry representatives) and staff. CSE has become a “service” department for the campus which contributes another layer of student traffic. Furthermore, traffic becomes more evident during certain times of the year such as add/drop week, finals week, and admissions cycle for both graduate and undergraduate programs. Although class enrollment is primarily handled through the webreg system, campus schedule and course restrictions prevent many of the registration transactions to be handled electronically. Students are required to come to the office to obtain departmental approval. Would an “add/drop” window as an extension of the Student Affairs area efficiently handle these transactions during peak times, thereby, displacing the traffic from inside of the facilities to the outside? Another consideration is the ability to facilitate student productivity while waiting to see an advisor.

Work flow/Functionality. The graduate and undergraduate programs have many common functions (course scheduling, Integrated Bachelors/MS program, TA’s, financial support). Furthermore, the Industrial Liaison Program affects both programs. It is critical that the new space layout facilitates a continued open communication and info sharing among these three entities.

Programmatic Needs. With the anticipated growth, it is crucial that we re-examine our processes and approach workload differently and with continued efficiency. For example, group advising can be implemented. A room within the Student Affairs area that will accommodate a large group of people (10 to 15 people) is required. This room will be multi-functional room to accommodate group/committee meetings, internship forums, and other programmatic activities that will add-value to student life. Another programmatic activity that we have recently engaged in is the creation of our Industry Liaison Program. As we expand our development efforts, we will see more visitors from industry as we foster corporate relationships.

PREFERRED LAY OUT

We have looked at two settings: a facility that is set up in a linear, hallway setting or one that has semi-circular lay out (preferred) that allows smooth transition from undergraduate affairs to graduate affairs to industry liaison program. Preferred layout is similar to Biology Student Affairs (Pacific Hall.) Lobby/waiting area should be able to handle traffic flow as well as facilitate student productivity while waiting. It is ideal to have a reception area to manage/direct traffic. Reception area should also facilitate privacy as this is a place where students can obtain intake advising. Conference room location should maximize noise control as this room will primarily be utilized for group advising, committee meetings and industrial meetings.

Designing a facility that addresses the above concerns would be optimal. Furthermore, other student-related activities will need to be considered. Due to the sensitive nature of confidentiality and security, as well as concerns for noise and traffic control, we request that the following spaces be designed adjacent to Student Affairs (or nearby) rather than inclusive of the Student Affairs wing.

OTHER STUDENT-RELATED SPACES SEPARATE FROM STUDENT AFFAIRS WING

Undergraduate Program

Undergraduate Labs.

Teaching Assignments Offices. High course enrollments require that we provide larger TA offices than we currently have. Currently, we have four TA offices one of which can accommodate up to 15 people and the remaining three can accommodate up to 5 people. Ideally, we should have TA offices that will accommodate up to 15 to 20 people. TA offices should be situated near the undergraduate labs and have computer connectivity.

Undergraduate Lounge. A place for students to hold student group meetings, do homework or just simply a place for students to “hang out” will definitely add to the quality of student life. One use for this room is the ability for students to organize and maintain an “electronic” library and a place for software distribution. Programming contests can also be held in this room. Again, this space should be situated near the undergraduate labs and have computer connectivity.

Graduate Program

Exam Rooms. One of the requirements for the graduate program is the successful completion of the comprehensive exams. We offer these exams on a quarterly basis to approximately 35 to 45 students in one of the conference rooms.

Space and Computing Facilities for students without Research Group Affiliation. Masters students can pursue either a thesis track (affiliated with a research group) or a comprehensive exam track. Additionally, we have a number of first/second year PhD students without lab affiliation right away. Currently, the department addresses their space and computing needs through the following: a common computer lab (Grad APE Lab) for general use, designate one of the unutilized labs to be a common lab for the PhD students, and assign a number of lockers in one of the TA offices for Masters students.

Graduate Lounge. It is important to enhance the academic as well as the social culture of the graduate students. A place where they can “get away” from the academic pressures would contribute to the enrichment of graduate student life. We normally hold social hour (eg. Graduate teas) for students in the lounge.

Study Room with library.

Graduate Student Mailroom. Currently, the mailroom is incorporated into the graduate lounge.

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The Student Affairs team sincerely thanks the Space Planning Committee and Bohlin, Cywinski, Jackson (C. Roxanne Sherbeck and Jon Jackson) for their thoughtful evaluation of student needs as well as providing the Student Affairs team the ability to serve the SA constituents effectively and efficiently.