Equipped with this understanding, I feel I should look at the students' problems beyond assessment methods or the proportions of assessment component. Below are some of my observations into the problem situation. Usually, some of the double major students do not have much interest in programming. These students will consider their first major area of study such as accounting, economics, marketing, etc, as the career path they intend to pursue. These students find it hard to relate themselves with programming, many think that although they want an IS or IT double major degree, they don't need to know about programming.
Many students find programming unit different from their other business units.
They complain that it is three or four times more time-consuming than the other units, and they also feel that they need a lot more assistance to do their programming assignment than they do with other units. They often start late and find themselves running out of time before completion. In addition, they were also unprepared for other problems such as unexpected network downtime, software problems and not being able to find an available PC in the computer lab. Many have failed to understanding that there is a steep learning curve when using the technology for the first time. Finding errors and correcting them can be a very time-consuming and frustrating task when their tutor is not there to help them.