Best Computer Science SP (Special Problem) 2009 (UP-Mindanao)

I have always had a high regard for University of the Philippines' (UP) students and UP graduates, as I believe they have one of the best curriculum, professors and students amongst the universities here in the Philippines.

Here in Davao, there are a few admirable universities producing top quality IT engineers (CS, IT, IM, CoE, ECE, etc.) every year. But the fact that majority of those who are passing the PhilNITS certification exam are coming from UP-Mindanao (UP-Min) reinforces my respect for UP, particularly for their Computer Science course. But learning that only a handful of their CS students graduate on time (it takes 4 school years to complete the regular CS course) made me a bit curious why. Apparently, one of the main factors for not graduating on time is their Special Problem (SP) subject, wherein each of students are tasked to focus on a particular problem, and provide solutions (or probable solutions) by applying what they learned from their entire CS course. As per my discussion with UP-Min's CS Department Chair, Ms. Vanessa C. Ramoran, the ideal SP is one which introduces a new (may even be revolutionary) algorithm, demonstrating the field of expertise of the CS course (as a differentiated from other IT related courses).

When Mr. Riannel Tecson, a CS faculty member of UP-Min, invited me to be one of the judges for their 2009 Search for the Best SP for CS (April 17, 2009), I took it as an opportunity to personally see the kind and quality of SP UP-Min produces, and maybe even get an idea why some of their students find it hard to finish on time.

The quality and contents of the manuscript and the presentations of the finalists (please see list below, ordered according to the sequence of actual presentation) did not dissapoint me :

1. Sedfrey Dickson Atay : Barangay Mintal's Human Resource Management System
2. Kevin Bernard San Gaspar : Windows Vista Compatibility and Addition of a Compiler Function for the Examination On-Line (an exam system used by the CS department)
3. Precita Samonte : Office of Student Affairs (OSA) Student Organizations A.S. (SOAS) Website

They might be a bit different from what I am used to in my experience in the IT industry, but as an academic exercise they are quite impressive.

After the presentations by the finalists, and also after some discussions with Ms. Ramoran and my co-judges (Mr. Tecson, and Professor Vicente Calag), I now have a better understanding why the SP might cause a student not to graduate on time. Here are some of the possible factors that I learned :

• SP is an individual exercise (and usually takes a lot of effort to complete)
• SP corresponds to only 3 units (side-by-side with other major subjects and school activities, sometimes focus is lost on the SP completion)
• SP usually is started from the fourth-year of the CS course (so if you miss it's completion, you cannot graduate on time)
• Some UP students are already working (usually as part-time) while studying (so sometimes there is reduced motivation to finish the course on time as they are already earning)
• As more and more students are needing one or more extra semester to finish their course, it might have brought the wrong notion to younger students that it is the norm rather than the exception

But these factors are well known by the students (and is common also with other universities). And although they might make the SP more challenging, there is still no excuse for not finishing the SP on time. And it still is the responsibility of the student to manage his/her time well so as not to loose focus on their SP's completion. But with the able guidance, coaching and mentoring from their teachers, I believe the situation would definitely improve. Perhaps, it's solution can even become the subject of one student's SP in the future :)