So it has been one year on since I went back to uni (after my semester of
doing nothing), and it's time for the report. Quick recap - Commerce/Mechatronics
Engineering at Monash just wasn't my thing, intermitted, scouted around for
alternatives, decided on Computer Science with a focus in embedded systems,
accepted two offers, and spent the last year at RMIT doing Computer Science (Embedded
Systems).
The degree has been pretty much what I expected, with a few surprises here
and there.
(Warning - if I use the word courses, it means unit/subject for everyone
else; and the word program means degree/course. Some silly, probably bureaucratic thing
went on at RMIT I assume. And this is about the city campus, because that's
where I'm at.)
Highlights
The people at RMIT are nice, friendly, helpful etc., as you would expect them
to be, but are also actually interested in you, and what you think (with
exceptions of course - see lowlights below). I sound surprised because
Commerce/Engineering at Monash really didn't have the same feel. I distinctly
remember the first lecture of Engineering Dynamics at Monash (ENG1040
for those following), when the lecturer, a professor with a wicked sense of
humour and strong knowledge about nearly everything (he even managed to fill
lecture theatres at 9am in the morning), said - "Welcome to university, where
you are the mass produced products in this glorified rite of initiation into
adulthood."
One reason I reckon, is the position of a head tutor, which is generally
filled by another student, who works in tandem with the professor throughout the
entire course. Also, maybe I just got all the bad eggs at Monash, but the tutors
also seem to be a lot more passionate and connected to the course, rather than
just reading the answers off a sheet, and being stumped when a question is
asked. And of course, as no geek is ever in complete agreement with another, I
took the opportunity to engage in some friendly debates, and learnt a bit from
it. Then, there are those who abuse this opportunity, like this idiot who thinks
he knows everything because he went to TAFE, and got into an argument about how
crap vi is that went for at least
an hour, even though he had absolutely no idea how to use it, and it showed.
(Of course, there were exceptions at Monash, including a materials tutor with
great anecdotes about everything.)
The courses were also relatively well run, the lecturers knew their stuff,
and were mostly understandable. Taking the intro courses wasn't all boring,
because I had never done Java or PHP before (neither of which I want to use
again, but that's a rant for another day), but the best course so far would
probably go to Computing Theory (COSC1107). Great lecturer (a
Mac lover, complete with Jobs' dress sense), and while the material was
challenging, it was really, really interesting.
The staff here also actually use their online learning tools, actively
participating in discussions and providing content. Although from looking at my
Monash mailbox, the IT faculty there is also very active and also experimenting
with Moodle as an alternative (in
comparison to engineering and commerce, where it often felt like we were all
talking to a brick wall).
Examination reviews are the norm as well, rather than the discouraged and
exception. The lecturers are happy to discuss your results, and make amendments
where necessary without conditions. Some may construe this as an acknowledgement
that RMIT's examination marking process is not as stringent as Monash's, but it
seems to be a better policy than at Monash, where you are pretty much
discouraged from seeing your paper (often incurs a fee), and strongly
discouraged from disputing marks (one lecturer even warned me that if I were to
dispute marks, he would review my entire paper, and I may lose marks elsewhere
if he thinks I was not eligible for them). We're all human, and I have to say
that marking the same set of questions on hundreds of papers is not the most
enjoyable thing to be doing.
The students are also pretty cool - none of that pretentious crap (not that
there was back in Engineering at Monash), although doing Computer Science, or
being in the IT faculty means the ratios are very skewed. Like everywhere else,
you get the idiotic tools as well, but they generally get weeded out in second
year anyway.
Finally, the location. Probably one of the best things - no more eating the
same food, day in, day out, and pubs/bars all around. Bit of a train ride, but
everything generally started after 9am and ended before/after peak hour, so it
wasn't too bad. The lecture theatres were decent, nothing to really complain/be
ecstatic about there, although the Storey Hall theatre seating needs a refit
ASAP.
And no comparison without be complete without a jab at the Menzies building
at Monash - the RMIT elevators/escalators weren't 100% all the time, but at
least there were always multiple options of getting up and down without having
to take the stairs. No leaking sewage either 
Lowlights
For what is supposedly a technology focused university, the state of its
online facilities is really quite disappointing to say the least. Although
history does explain a lot about why (some massively bungled 'one system to rule
them all' project that failed spectacularly, became a massive drain on resources
and killed a project manager), it's about time they moved on.
Firstly, there's no online portal of any kind that brings everything
together. Instead, there are separate web apps for your timetable, online
learning, enrolment and email (which lacks a major feature - search!). They are
working on this though, and apparently will be released in the first stage at
the start of next year.
The timetable and enrolment web apps are passable, nothing spectacular. One
neat thing about the enrolment app is that it knows about the program you are
taking, and shows you what the next courses are when enrolling, saving you the
hassle of looking them up. It isn't the most intuitive, but works once you get
your head around it. Like all other universities, the enrolment app
self-combusts when results are released, but unlike others, they haven't worked
out the solution is to SMS results to students, so we don't have to bombard the
app.
Timetabling is done on a first-in-best-served basis, unlike the preferential
system used at Monash and elsewhere. This is good and bad - you are rewarded for
getting up early, and doing it, but the bad thing is that you have to get up
early in the holidays .
The worst part about its online facilities however, is not unique to RMIT at
all. Nearly every student around the world will have had exposure to
this horrid (to put it very mildly) system somewhere in their lifetime.
I have spent nearly half of my life wrestling with this system, in various
incarnations at high school, Monash, and now RMIT. Students hate it, as do
lecturers, and also the system adminstrators who have to keep it running. How
they keep convincing schools and universities to buy into their system I have no
idea, but I'd love to know their secret - the company must be laughing their
heads off at how much money they make with such a crappy product.
Yes, I'm talking about Blackboard and its evil cousin WebCT.
It is counter-intuitive, uses a stupid framing system that completely screws
up when you try to use the back button, randomly throws up blank pages, and
generally does everything you don't want it to, like losing the discussion forum
post you spent ages writing, or not loading when your assignment is due. Saving
the content off it is also discouraged with crazy URLs that confuse your
browser, as is linking to any other content in it. Did I mention it is generally
very slow (even across different institutions, with different implementations)?
I can go on, but other
people have done it better already.
All this leads to blackboard rage - lecturers don't want to use it but have
to, tutors are sick of answering the same thing twice because no one can find
the previous response, students are annoyed because even doing everything right
still subjects you to blackboard's emotional state.
It was made worse because it was down nearly every other week for semester 1,
due to 'unforeseen circumstances'. Also happens when people need it most, like
in weeks 5, 8, 11 when everything seems to be due at the same time. It has been
comparatively stable in semester 2 though (touch wood).
Technical things aside, the other thing sorely lacking at RMIT is a social
calendar. It has one, just not very popular or big. I knew about this before I
went there, but it really does feel like no one really sticks around after uni.
Being in the IT faculty clearly doesn't help either. Surprisingly, one of the
reasons I reckon is its location - there are way too many places to go, with
things to do that are all so close. There is no reason to stick around on
campus, unlike if you were at Monash Clayton, where there's pretty much nowhere
within walking distance to go.
The campus design doesn't facilitate this either. Some people will hate me
for saying this, but if RMIT just locked all the doors along Swanston St, and
forced people to walk through the building, out on to Bowen St (the main
internal street separating the RMIT campus) then out, I reckon there will be a
lot more campus activity. The cafe becomes a lot closer, and because more people
have to go past it, it will become busier and more of a meeting point.
Funnelling people on to Bowen St also creates another meeting point, and that
area is actually really good, just that it isn't on the way to anything for a
lot of people. And if there were to be any event (or advertisements for events)
going on, that will likely be the place.
Speaking of advertisements, there are really no places for ads unless you go
through the Hub, cafe, or Bowen St - another factor.
But all that aside, clubs need money, and besides membership and sponsorship,
it generally comes from the student union, so maybe there's something going on
there. The big exception here are the political and protest groups, who seem to
have infinite resources, especially when it comes to paper and people who so
clearly have blinkers on.
RMIT isn't standing still on this though - they seem to be improving and
gradually trying to nudge and foster an RMIT community, with better spaces,
funding, and initiatives.
Next up - the lecturers. Don't get me wrong, there are some really cool
lecturers who I could easily talk to for ages. But there are some lecturers who
seem to think they're top shit because they are the lecturer, and any attempt to
question their content or methods will be dealt with swiftly via warnings or
disciplinary action. I guess they exist at all universities, but someone should
tap them on the shoulder and tell them the strict teacher-student
relationship/class system is so early 20th century. Sure there are boundaries,
but education, particularly university-level education, is all about asking
questions, whatever they may be - we don't get and shouldn't be spoonfed. Just
because we're less experienced doesn't mean our knowledge, thoughts and ideas
are less valuable.
(Ok, an admission - I secretly get a buzz out of asking questions and being
right [being wrong happens as well], or knowingly ask curly ones just to see
what the answer will be. If they just answer the question honestly or throw a
question back, instead of getting all defensive and insulted, we will both
benefit and the world would be a better place. )
What now?
Even though the lowlights section is longer than the highlights section,
there is something at RMIT that I can't put my finger on, but just feels
right. If it had to be something, I'd say the people. The place also feels like
it is actually going places, changing, exploring new and different paths -
there's a positive vibe.
I haven't really given Monash a chance here - their IT faculty could just be
as awesome, and maybe it was because I couldn't really connect with the
engineering/commerce curriculum or just got off on the wrong foot. But changing
when you're on top (or closer to it) is nowhere as easy, and that extra risk
involved can often be the killer.
All that said, Monash's prestige is probably the thing I miss the most. No
idea why the perception matters to me, but it does on the inside - possibly
because it has been drummed into me and everyone else for so long. Or maybe
because I'm doing a course that ignores nearly one-third of my ENTER - if only I
could sell the remainder; I could imagine some poor soul who just missed out on
some swanky course paying big for it.
The other thing is that, in a complete capitulation, I actually miss the
theoretical side of things now, in particularly, algorithms, maths,
cryptography, automata, and languages. Maybe my previous whinge about too much
theory wasn't really too much theory, but too much theory in things I'm not that
interested in. RMIT's focus is on the practical, which is good because it keeps
me interested, but the opportunities to undertake more theoretical subjects is
limited, at least in undergraduate (and is probably similar at Monash). I'm even
contemplating doing another course, possibly back at Monash, after this, just
to do more of the theoretical side of things.
So the big question is, after my year-long 'trial' of RMIT, do I stay with
them, or go back to Monash and do the same course? Knowing how indecisive I am,
I'm unlikely to commit until I absolutely have to (in about 4 months time), but
I'm probably going to stick around at RMIT. Mainly because I've already
committed a year already, and with only a year and a half to go, its not really
worth changing back (and I'll still be out earlier than if I stayed with
Commerce/Engineering). And while first year is a lot of fun, doing it for the
third time probably makes me the equivalent of a toolie at schoolies. Gut
feeling tells me to stick around as well, so looks like I'll have to put up with
Connex on a daily basis for a few more years at least 
.