FOI_25-140 Computing Sciences Degree
Date of response: 13 May 2025
We have now considered your request of 02 May 2025 for the following information:
Thank you for your response, I appreciate the original request was somewhat vague in that there wasn't a specific list of skills or software included.
Question 1. To rephrase the request I am seeking information relating to technical skills, programming languages, software tools and frameworks that are taught on your Computer Science BSc course.
Are any of the following skills, software or frameworks included?
Programming Languages
a. Python
b. Java
c. Javascript
d. C++
e. C#
f. SQL
g. PHP
2) Database Technologies
a. Postgres SQL
b. Microsoft SQL Server
c. NoSQL
d. MongoDB
e. Cassandra
f. MySQL
3) Software Development Frameworks
a. React
b. .Net
c. Node.js
4) Development tools and practices
a. Github
b. Docker
c. Kubernetes
d. Unit testing frameworks
5) Data Science and Machine Learning Tools
a. Jupyter notebooks
b. Pandas
c. Numpy
d. Scikit
e. Tensorflow
6) Agile project management framework
7) Business Analysis Techniques
Question 2. If these skills are taught in your institution, can you answer the following questions about each of them
• Number of core modules where the skill/software understanding is developed
• Number of optional modules where the skill/software understanding is developed
• Has the skill/software been selected to be included in the course due to its relevance in the current jobs market
In addition to this, can the following questions be answered?
Question 3. Has your institution considered current job market trends and skills demand when developing the Computer Science curriculum? If so, please briefly describe how these factors were incorporated into the course design.
Question 4. Are industry professionals or employers involved in the design and delivery of the course content (e.g., advisory boards, guest lectures)?
Question 5. Does your university track the employment outcomes of Computer Science graduates (e.g., employment rates, types of roles) that go into IT based careers? If so, how is this data used to inform course development?
Our response:
We regret that on this occasion it is not possible to provide the requested information.
Under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act, we can confirm that the University does hold the information requested, however on this occasion it is not possible for us to provide any of the information relating to technical skills, programming languages, software tools and frameworks taught within our Computing Sciences Degree.
We have determined that the cost of finding and assembling the requested information will exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ as defined by section 12 of the Act and the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004/3244.
'The ‘appropriate limit’ of £450, which equates to 18 hours’ work, as defined by the Information Commissioner’s Office, can relate to one request in its entirety or to a series of linked requests. If the University cannot locate, retrieve and extract some or all of the requested information within the 18 hours we are not obliged to retrieve any of the requested information.
As noted in our response to previous related request, our ref: FOI_25-100, information relating to key technical skills (programming languages, software tools, frameworks) for our Computing Sciences degree, is held within our Faculty of Science – School of Computing Sciences (CMP). Given the decentralised nature of the module information and the need for each Module Organiser to individually review their teaching material (module outlines etc), there is no central record of the information you seek.
For our Computing Sciences Degree, we have identified 31 modules across the three years, which may fall into the scope of your request. The only way of identifying, extracting and recording the exact information you seek would be to interrogate each individual module outline manually.
We have calculated it would take 45 minutes per records, or 23.25 hours, to locate and manually interrogate each individual module outline. Which exceeds the appropriate time-limit as outlined above.
To assist you in formulating a response to which we can respond, we would be able to reply to additional questions 3, 4 and 5.
Please note we have not considered whether any exemptions may apply to such a request.
We should also point out that any revised request you submit will be treated as a new FOI request, and the 20 working-day time-limit will begin again.
We are sorry we cannot provide the data you requested, but trust this response explains our position.