For Students

Most of our graduates will tell you that our degrees are valuable, and like many things of value, they are not easy to come by. A certain amount of commitment on your part is necessary if you are going to benefit from your time here. Here are a few recommendations from the faculty.

• Attend Class. Poor class attendance is the single most important cause of failure among our students.
• Study. This may seem obvious, but surveys show that today’s college students spend very little time studying outside of the classroom. The conventional wisdom that you should spend at least two hours outside of class for every hour in class, so expect to spend about 6 hours per week outside of class studying and preparing for a typical 3 hour class — some will require more, and some less, but this is a good average rule-of-thumb. We deal in difficult concepts, and most of us have to think about things several times before we really understand them.
• Use the Faculty. Very few students take advantage of the fact that the faculty really care about their students and enjoy working with them. Everyone in the department is concerned with your success, and we want you to feel welcome. Sometimes a few minutes with an expert can save hours in struggling with a difficult idea, but it’s important to make contact in a timely way. If you wait until you’re hopelessly behind, an office visit with your instructor will probably not be productive and can be frustrating for both of you. Take the time to get to know your advisor.
• Use the Tutors. The Department hires students who have shown an aptitude for both the material and communicating concepts as tutors, and they are available in the Petty 211 computer lab. These tutors are particularly valuable for students in the introductory courses, and student-to-student advice adds an extra dimension to advice you get from faculty. See the Tutoring Services page for more information.
• Make use of UNCG Computer Resources. Every UNCG student automatically has access to computer accounts. Take the time to activate your account and learn how to use UNCG services. Surely all of you have extensive experience with e-mail and browsing the web, but even if you have your own personal e-mail account you must use your UNCG account. Official announcements from both the university and the department are sent to your UNCG e-mail address, so if you don’t intend on logging in regularly you should at least take the time to set up your account to automatically forward your mail to an account that you do check regularly.
• Plan Your Program. Since almost every advanced course in the computer science has serious prerequisites, it is very important to complete the beginning courses early. It is especially important to complete the calculus sequence and the beginning programming courses as soon as possible. Your advisor can anticipate prerequisite problems and help you map out a plan of study.
• Keep Your Records in Order. If for some reason, you have to stop attending a class, work with your instructor and either withdraw or arrange for an Incomplete. If you take an Incomplete, get it resolved promptly. Not taking care of these things can leave you with entries on your transcript that make you look bad. Also, make sure that you have financial aid forms on file with the Financial Aid Office. There are many scholarship opportunities available, but most require that you have a complete financial aid package.

Prof. Suthaharan joined the UNCG Department of Computer Science as a faculty member in 2001, and has been a major influence in the academic success of many students over the years. He has been particularly moved by students who overcome personal challenges and disabilities, and excel in their study of computer science. Along with his family, Prof. Suthaharan has established a scholarship to provide support for Computer Science undergraduates that encounter particular challenges in pursuing their academic goals. This scholarship is designated for students with financial need (as determined by a FAFSA filing with the Officie of Financial Aid), with special consideration given to students with disabilities. To apply, students should fill out an application form, which should be submitted along with supplemental materials by April 15 to the Department of Computer Science (either hardcopy or emailed to [email protected]).

Prof. Suthaharan and his family have established a second scholarship to reward high-performing students with an interest in Data Science. To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be in the Data Science and Big Data Concentration in Computer Science (either undergraduate or graduate programs), and must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Eligible students who wish to apply should fill out a Suthaharan Family Scholarship in Data Science application form, which should be submitted along with any supplemental materials by April 15 to the Department of Computer Science (either hardcopy or emailed to [email protected]).

STAMPS Scholarships

The STAMPS (Science, Technology, and Math Preparation Scholarships) program is an NSF-funded scholarship program to support UNCG students in the STEM disciplines (Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Geography, Mathematics/Statistics, and Physics/Astronomy). Incoming undergraduate students are automatically considered for this scholarship, and there is no separate application process. For more information about the STAMPS program, see the STAMPS web page.

UPE Scholarships

UPE, the International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines, has a scholarship that is open to active members of UPE, and provide from $1,000 to $2,500. Any active members of UNCG’s UPE chapter are welcome to apply. More information can be found at the UPE Scholarship web site.

The UNCG Department of Computer Science is affiliated with the Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching (formerly known as: Imagine Premium, DreamSpark Premium and MSDNAA) program. Through this program, University students can obtain Microsoft developer tools, platforms, and servers for use in coursework, independent learning, or research. A partial list of available software includes:

• Visual Studio Enterprise
• SQL Server Enterprise
• Windows 10 Education Edition
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Visio Professional
• Project Professional
• $100 in free Azure online credits

Many other software packages are also available. Software can be obtained online at the Azure Dev Tools for Teaching Download Site.  Sign into the Azure Dev Tools for Teaching Download website with your UNCG email address, then use your current University login credentials to complete the sign in.

Note that the Kuvito OnTheHub Software Store websites that formerly hosted the Microsoft Imagine Premium content are no longer used by the Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching program.  If you have bookmarked those websites, please remove those links.   UNCG still uses the OnTheHub Software Store for educational discounts on other software products.  The UNCG OnTheHub Software Store is linked here for convenience.

• UNCG OnTheHub Software Store (Maintained by ITS)

Students and Faculty also have access to Microsoft Office 365 through the UNCG Portal.  Students and Faculty can either run the online versions of Microsoft Office or download and install the desktop versions for free.  Microsoft Office 365 also uses your UNCG email address and password to sign in.

The Department of Computer Science and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics manage a lab for computer science and mathematics students in room 211 of the Petty Building. The computers in this lab are updated regularly, and contain general software as well as any specialized software needed for computer science classes. This lab is where computer science tutors are located, and is sometimes used for classes or special events.

In order to use this lab, students must have their computer account configured with the necessary login rights — if you need to have this set up, please check with the Computer Science office in Petty 167.

Specialized Computer Science Labs

There are a variety of special-purpose labs run by faculty in the department, including labs for work in human-computer interaction, networking and security, and databases. Faculty use these labs in support of their research and for special projects, and access to the labs is for students involved in those activities.

UNCG General Access Computer Labs

The University runs a number of open-access computer labs distributed around campus that any UNCG student can use. These labs contain modern systems and have a lot of useful software installed, including development tools. One lab is conveniently located for computer science students in Petty 222, and is open during the day Monday-Friday. For late night and weekend computer access, students can use the “SuperLab” in the Jackson Library.