General Course Description

IMPORTANT:   Make sure to complete all tasks in the Start Here - Overview page . Once these are completed, modules will be unlocked.

At this point in your CS education, you are getting very close to graduating. Congratulations! As part of showing what you've learned, this course will give you an opportunity to take a software project from start to finish. The instructor will play two roles in this course: the facilitator for course work, and the "Client" for your projects.

As a member of a 3-person "Development Team", you will gather requirements from the Client, propose a development plan, and then begin work. Over the course of the term you will be participating in Standup Discussions and Survey's to show what you have been doing, and how well. At the end of the term, you will submit a final demonstration and showcase your projects!

You are expected to spend roughly 100 hours total on your assignments and team software project for this course. Remember that, as in a workplace environment, you will probably be unequally yoked, and you each will have different abilities and skills. Some of you may be more capable programmers than the other members of your group!

Remember to communicate frequently and honestly to keep each other appraised of your efforts. Failure to do so has caused many issues in the past!

There are no tests, midterms, or finals in this course

Instructor and TA Information

The instructor(s) for the course are Bill Pfeil

The GTA(s) for the course are:

• Yijie Ren
• Janita Aamir

Your work may be graded by the instructor or one of the TAs according to the table below for Assignment and Group Name:

Career Showcase

Just after Fall and Spring terms end, we hold Career Showcases where you can hear from companies looking to hire graduates from our program. If you're available, come network with these businesses and sign up for a few time slots to speak directly with them. It's a tremendous opportunity you won't want to miss. The students who attend always rave about it - many of them get jobs and internships as a result. These events are typically held in Portland, OR.

If you would like to attend (attendance is entirely optional, of course), you may share the project you complete in this class at the Showcase using the poster you prepare at the end of this course. Simply let me know you're coming, and that you would like to use your poster, and I'll get it printed and brought with me to the Showcase. Attendance at the Showcase will be required to produce a poster; i.e., I won't print a poster if you're not there.

As part of your poster presentation, the attending employers have a dedicated time where they come by and talk to you about what you're displaying. You don't give a public speech: instead, the employers come to you and ask you about what you're showing. Past attending employers have included Intel, IBM, Mentor Graphics, Ideal-Logic, Columbia Sportswear, HP, Garmin, Daimler Trucks, CBT Nuggets, and tons more! Travel grants are available to get you to Portland, too.

If you have questions, please ask them in our discussion board.

NACE Competencies Statement

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has identified eight key career readiness competencies that employers look for. In this course you will further develop these competencies in many ways:

• Communication - Group work requires communication, first and foremost. You may use Slack/Discord, Zoom/Teams, Docs, Sprints and Standups, Lucid Charts, Asana/Jira, and many more.
• Teamwork/Collaboration - Your team will work together to solve difficult problems. For instance, your team may discuss a UI concept over Slack, a software problem over Charts, or review code over Zoom.
• Critical Thinking/Problem Solving - This term is all about real-world problems and solutions!
• Leadership - You and your team are individually and collectively responsible for the success of your project. Each of you must lead in some form or fashion over the course of the term.
• Professionalism/Productivity - On this project you are expected to work at least 10 hours per week on your project. You will have to manage your time, set your own priorities, and be a self-starter.
• IT Application - You will be expected to learn any new technologies that are required for your project. Choose your projects wisely.
• Career Management - Over the term you will learn new skills, knowledge, and practices relevant to your professional growth. Choose from a wide variety of projects with an eye toward your own career.
• Global/Intercultural Fluency - Your fellow students may come from diverse cultures and backgrounds. To succeed in this course you must be able to interact respectfully with all people and to understand individuals’ differences. 

You can learn more about these competencies and how to include them in your resume using this resource from the OSU Career Guide provided by the OSU Career Development Center.

Letters of Recommendation

Bill Pfeil

As much as I enjoy having you in the class, I am generally unable to provide you with a letter of recommendation. I will only be able to write letters for students I know. If you're interested and think I know you well enough, feel free to ask!

Samarendra Hedaoo

If you have contributed well to the teamwork, participated in discussions and also helped out your fellow classmates, I am likely to write a recommendation letter for you. To increases your chances of a better recommendation letter,  make sure you participate in all class activities and ask for a recommendation letter early enough.

About the Instructors

Bill Pfeil

My name is Bill Pfeil and I’ll be your instructor for the Capstone course. I have a M.S. in Math Education from OSU. I did my undergrad at the University of Arizona in Applied Math and ECE. In between my two degrees I spent 25 years as a software engineer, and have worked on everything from client-server apps to games. I am excited to work with all of you as you complete your projects!

Course Name: Online Capstone Project
Course Number: CS 467
Credits: 4
Instructor(s) (for all sections):

• Bill Pfeil: pfeilw@oregonstate.edu

You can attend office hours and seek help from any of the above Instructors regardless of the section you registered.

Teaching Assistant Name and Contact Info:  Will be available on Canvas

This syllabus describes the administrative parts of the course and serves as a contract between student and instructor. Remaining in this course indicates acceptance of these rules.

Remember that in this Capstone course, you are expected to behave professionally. Please use this document throughout the course.

Table of Contents

• Course Description
• Communication
• Time Expectations
• Technical Assistance
• Learning Resources
• Measurable Student Learning Outcomes
• Evaluation of Student Performance
• Letter grade
• Course Content
• Course Policies
  • Discussion Participation
  • Late Work Policy
• Makeup Exams
• Incompletes
• Statement Regarding Religious Accommodation
• Guidelines for a Productive and Effective Online Classroom
• Establishing a Positive Community
• Expectations for Student Conduct
• Academic Integrity
• TurnItIn
• Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities
• Accessibility of Course Materials
• Tutoring and Writing Assistance
• Ecampus Reach Out for Success
• Student Evaluation of Courses

Course Description

Real-world team-based experience with the software engineering design and delivery cycle, including requirements analysis and specification, design techniques, and requirements and final project written documentation. For students in the online CS double-degree program only.

Prerequisites: CS 344 with C or better and CS 361 [C] and CS 362 [C]

Communication

If the Instructor(s) need to contact you, we will email you directly (or via the class mailing list), or send out a canvas announcement. NOTE:  It is your responsibility to make sure you can receive notifications from Canvas.

Here is the preferred way to contact the Instructor(s):

• Bill Pfeil pfeilw@oregonstate.edu (If I don't respond in 24 hours please email me again)

Messaging us on Canvas is an unreliable and indirect way to send me an email. We are less likely to notice these in the sea of Canvas notification and daily digest spam from several courses we are subscribed to. So please use regular email to contact us :)

We may be on Teams / Slack from time to time, but email is STILL the best way to get hold of us.

We are not Debuggers, Programmers, or Architects — that's your job! Do not send the instructor or TAs any code except what is required for your assignment submissions.

Don't expect the instructor or the TAs to see comments left with assignment submissions. Canvas allows us to download the entire class's submissions as one .zip file, which does not include these comments. If you need to make a meta-comment about your submission, add it to the submission or email the person grading that submission directly.

Time Expectations

This course is online only, and requires approximately 10 hours per week of student work on their capstone projects for a total of 4 credits. Time spent interacting with course content outside of the project, itself, is minimal.

Technical Assistance

If you experience any errors or problems while in your online course, contact 24-7 Canvas Support through the Help link within Canvas. If you experience computer difficulties, need help downloading a browser or plug-in, or need assistance logging into a course, contact the IS Service Desk for assistance. You can call (541) 737-8787 or visit the  IS Service Desk  (Links to an external site.)  online.

Learning Resources

All class materials can be found on the course web-page. There is no textbook; students are expected to source their own learning resources to accomplish the goals of their projects. A microphone and screen-recording device may be required, for submitting project or prototype demonstrations.

Note: Check with the OSU Beaver Store for up-to-date information for the term you enroll ( OSU Beaver Store website  (Links to an external site.)  or 800-595-0357). If you purchase course materials from other sources, be very careful to obtain the correct ISBN.

Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

After completion of this course, students will have demonstrated an ability to:

• Outline project requirements.
• Design a project plan.
• Summarize and explain their progress.
• Appraise a project, by authoring a final report.
• Demonstrate their final product.

Evaluation of Student Performance

Letter Grade

Grading responsibilities are shared between the instructors and the TAs.

Your group will not create your grade for you. You need to accomplish the goals you sign off on by submitting all assignments. In this course, failure to communicate with your team, or to provide reasonably working code compatible with the project per the specification may result in you receiving a non-passing grade while the rest of your group passes. You may be removed from your team if you are found to not be putting in the required amount of work.

Total Percentage vs. Letter Grade

 100 ╺┓
      ┣╸A
92.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸A-
89.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸B+
86.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸B
82.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸B-
79.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸C+
76.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸C
72.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸C-
69.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸D+
66.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸D
62.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸D-
59.95╺┫ 
      ┣╸F
   0 ╺┛

Course Content

Course Policies

Discussion Participation

Students are expected to participate in all graded discussions. While there is great flexibility in online courses, this is not a self-paced course. You will need to participate in discussions on at least two different days each week, with your first post due no later than Thursday evening, and your second and third posts due by Sunday evening.

Late Work Policy

Most assignments allow submissions up to two days after the due date for a reduced maximum score. Each assignment has a due date listed on Canvas. Assignments that may be submitted late also have an available until date, which is 48 hours after the initial due date. For these assignments, the following policy applies:

• Assignments submitted on the day after the due due date will be graded normally and then any points past a 90% point total will be lost.
• Assignments submitted on the second day after the due date will be graded normally and then any points past a 75% point total will be lost.

Note that, unlike in other courses, late assignment grades will not be scaled by some factor; any points above a threshold (90% or 75%) will simply be discarded.

Makeup Exams

This course has no tests or exams.

Incompletes

Incomplete (I) grades will be granted only in emergency cases (usually only for a death in the family, major illness or injury, or birth of your child), and if the student has turned in 80% of the points possible (in other words, usually everything but the final week assignments). If you are having any difficulty that might prevent you completing the coursework, please don’t wait until the end of the term; let me know right away.

Statement Regarding Religious Accommodation

Oregon State University is required to provide reasonable accommodations for employee and student sincerely held religious beliefs. It is incumbent on the student making the request to make the faculty member aware of the request as soon as possible prior to the need for the accommodation. See the Religious Accommodation Process for Students.

Guidelines for a Productive and Effective Online Classroom

(Adapted from Dr. Susan Shaw, Oregon State University)

Students are expected to conduct themselves in the course (e.g., on discussion boards, email) in compliance with the university’s regulations regarding civility. Civility is an essential ingredient for academic discourse. All communications for this course should be conducted constructively, civilly, and respectfully. Differences in beliefs, opinions, and approaches are to be expected. In all you say and do for this course, be professional. Please bring any communications you believe to be in violation of this class policy to the attention of your instructor.

Active interaction with peers and your instructor is essential to success in this online course, paying particular attention to the following:

• Unless indicated otherwise, please complete the readings and view other instructional materials for each week before participating in the discussion board.
• Read your posts carefully before submitting them.
• Be respectful of others and their opinions, valuing diversity in backgrounds, abilities, and experiences.
• Challenging the ideas held by others is an integral aspect of critical thinking and the academic process. Please word your responses carefully, and recognize that others are expected to challenge your ideas. A positive atmosphere of healthy debate is encouraged.

Establishing a Positive Community

It is important you feel safe and welcome in this course. If somebody is making discriminatory comments against you, sexually harassing you, or excluding you in other ways, contact the instructor, your academic advisor, and/or report what happened at Student Conduct Reporting so we can connect you with resources.

Expectations for Student Conduct

Student conduct is governed by the university’s policies, as explained in the Student Conduct Code ( OSU Student Code of Conduct). Students are expected to conduct themselves in the course (e.g., on discussion boards, email postings) in compliance with the university's regulations regarding civility.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a character-driven commitment to honesty, doing what is right, and guiding others to do what is right. Oregon State University Ecampus students and faculty have a responsibility to act with integrity in all of our educational work, and that integrity enables this community of learners to interact in the spirit of trust, honesty, and fairness across the globe.

Academic misconduct, or violations of academic integrity, can fall into seven broad areas, including but not limited to: cheating; plagiarism; falsification; assisting; tampering; multiple submissions of work; and unauthorized recording and use.

It is important that you understand what student actions are defined as academic misconduct at Oregon State University. The OSU Libraries offer a tutorial on academic misconduct, and you can also refer to the Ecampus Student Conduct Policies and the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standard’s website for more information. More importantly, if you are unsure if something will violate our academic integrity policy, ask your professors, GTAs, academic advisors, or academic integrity officers.

TurnItIn

Your instructor may ask you to submit one or more of your writings to Turnitin, a plagiarism prevention service. Your assignment content will be checked for potential plagiarism against Internet sources, academic journal articles, and the papers of other OSU students, for common or borrowed content. Turnitin generates a report that highlights any potentially unoriginal text in your paper. The report may be submitted directly to your instructor or your instructor may elect to have you submit initial drafts through Turnitin, and you will receive the report allowing you the opportunity to make adjustments and ensure that all source material has been properly cited. Papers you submit through Turnitin for this or any class will be added to the OSU Turnitin database and may be checked against other OSU paper submissions. You will retain all rights to your written work. For further information, visit Academic Integrity for Students: Turnitin – What is it?

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities

Accommodations for students with disabilities are determined and approved by Disability Access Services (DAS). If you, as a student, believe you are eligible for accommodations but have not obtained approval, please contact DAS immediately at 541-737-4098 or at Disability Access Services . DAS notifies students and faculty members of approved academic accommodations and coordinates implementation of those accommodations. While not required, students and faculty members are encouraged to discuss details of the implementation of individual accommodations.

Accessibility of Course Materials

All materials used in this course are accessible. If you require accommodations please contact Disability Access Services (DAS).

Additionally, Canvas, the learning management system through which this course is offered, provides a vendor statement certifying how the platform is accessible to students with disabilities.

Tutoring and Writing Assistance

There are a variety of tutoring and academic skills resources across campus. Here are some of the most common for engineering students.

• Academic Success Center

• Writing Center

• Ecampus Tutoring

• Ecampus Student Success Team

Ecampus Reach Out for Success

University students encounter setbacks from time to time. If you encounter difficulties and need assistance, it’s important to reach out. Consider discussing the situation with an instructor or academic advisor. Learn about resources that assist with wellness and academic success.

Ecampus students are always encouraged to discuss issues that impact your academic success with the Ecampus Success Team. Email ecampus.success@oregonstate.edu to identify strategies and resources that can support you in your educational goals.

If you feel comfortable sharing how a hardship may impact your performance in this course, please reach out to me as your instructor.

• For mental health:

Learn about counseling and psychological resources for Ecampus students. If you are in immediate crisis, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting OREGON to 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The Anytime Anywhere app from OSU Counseling (https://counseling.oregonstate.edu/anytimeanywhere) gives students access to free and confidential mental health and wellness counseling at any time of day, from anywhere in the world, 365 days a year.

• For financial hardship:

Any student whose academic performance is impacted due to financial stress or the inability to afford groceries, housing, and other necessities for any reason is urged to contact the Director of Care for support (541-737-8748).

Academic Calendar

Student Evaluation of Courses

During Fall, Winter, and Spring term, the online Student Evaluation of Teaching system opens to students the Wednesday of week 8 and closes the Sunday before Finals Week. Students will receive notification, instructions and the link through their ONID email. They may also log into the system via Online Services. Course evaluation results are extremely important and used to help improve courses and the learning experience of future students. Responses are anonymous (unless a student chooses to “sign” their comments, agreeing to relinquish anonymity) and unavailable to instructors until after grades have been posted. The results of scaled questions and signed comments go to both the instructor and their unit head/supervisor. Anonymous (unsigned) comments go to the instructor only.

Course Outline By Week

1. Familiarize yourself with the available projects on the EECS Project Portal.Links to an external site.
2. Email the instructor with your own project idea or project preferences. (Optional)

Week 1

1. View available projects on the EECS Project Portal.
   1. Note:  YOU MUST FILTER by Course:  "CS467 (3-month)".
   2. Note: Projects in the Portal are subject to change.  Visit the Portal often to see changes, additions or deletions.
   3. New projects will appear at the end of the survey!
2. Discuss projects and teams in the Discussion: Projects, Teams, and Class Introductions.
3. Email the instructor ASAP if you have an awesome project idea.
4. Choose Your Project  (due this week - IMPORTANT CANNOT BE LATE)
5. Blog Post #1 (due this week)
6. Discussion: Our Team Introductions  (due this week)
7. Contact your project sponsor (if external to the class) and set up an initial time to meet (ASAP)

Week 2

1. Team Standards (due this week)
2. Continue working on your Create Project Plan (due next week)
3. Prepare for development:  Setup environment, research, tutorials, ...

Week 3

1. Complete your Create Project Plan (due this week)
2. Checkin Survey #1 (due this week)
3. Blog Post #2 (due this week)

Week 4

1. Complete the Progress Report #1 (due this week)
2. Discussion - Legal and Ethical Considerations in Software Engineering (due this week)

Week 5

1. Checkin Survey #2 (due this week)
2. Blog Post #3 (due this week)

Week 6

1. Complete the Progress Report #2 (due this week)
2. Complete the Project Archive - Midpoint (due this week)

Week 7

1. Checkin Survey #3 (due this week)
2. Complete Personal Elevator Pitch - (Optional - Extra Credit) (due this week)
3. Complete (Optional) - Share your Elevator Pitch! (due this week)
4. Complete Blog Post #4 (due this week)

Week 8

1. Complete the Progress Report #3 (due this week)
2. Discussion - Legal and Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence (due this week)
3. Complete the Student Learning Survey (SLE) (when you receive an email notification)

Week 9

1. Complete the Create Poster assignment (due this week)
2. Checkin Survey #4 (due this week)
3. Complete the Outcomes & Experiential Learning Survey (due this week)

Week 10

1. Complete the Team Project Demonstration Video (due this week)
2. Complete the Share Your Capstone Project (due this week)
3. Complete the Project Archive - Final (due this week)

Week 11

1. Nothing — Congratulations, you're done!

Please post all course-related questions in our Ed Discussion so that the whole class may benefit from our conversation. The TA's or Instructor(s) will reply to course-related questions within 24 hours. We will strive to return your assignments and grades for course activities to you within 5-7 days of the due date. 

For questions about grading, contact the person responsible for grading that assignment (see Course Introduction tab).

To contact the Instructor or TA's directly, please email. We strongly suggest tagging your email with "[CS 467]" in the subject line. If you do not receive a response within one business day, feel free to send a follow-up email. Sometimes we miss things!

Instructor (for all sections):

• Bill Pfeil: pfeilw@oregonstate.edu

TA Contact Info (email):

• Yijie Ren
• Janita Aamir

Preferred Communications methods

Our preferred communications methods are as follows:

• Anything of a personal nature (grades, extensions, etc):  Email
• General questions about the class, or assignments, or the Showcase:  Ed discussions
• Some assignments:  Canvas discussions
• Group communication (for you and your team):  Teams, Slack, Discord, Zoom, or whatever else you want

PLEASE NOTE:  For grading matters, or to contact the Instructor(s) directly, ALWAYS use email.

Tutoring and Writing Assistance

There are a variety of tutoring and academic skills resources across campus. Here are some of the most common for engineering students.

• Academic Success Center

• Writing Center

• Ecampus Tutoring

• Ecampus Student Success Team

More Info:

We are not Debuggers, Programmers, or Architects — that's your job! Do not send the instructor or TAs any code except what is required for your assignment submissions.  If you want to ask a question, go ahead. The worst that happens is we will tell you to Google for the answer (and probably share a link or two with you in the process).

Don't expect the instructor or the TAs to see comments left with assignment submissions. Canvas allows us to download the entire class's submissions as one .zip file, which does not include these comments. If you need to make a meta-comment about your submission, add it to the submission or email the person grading that submission.

This page describes where to find the available Software Projects and how to choose your project.

Please note the following: 

• There are no solo projects with RARE exceptions. Occasionally we may approve cross-disciplinary projects with a single Capstone student and students from other colleges. Occasionally we may approve individual research projects with a lot of lead time and strong references from other OSU faculty.
• How can we form our own team?
  • Follow the Choose Your Project assignment instructions to REQUEST teammates. No Guarantees!
• You may propose your own project! Just send an email to the instructor, and if your project is approved, we will put it up in the project portal if need be.
  • NOTE:  This must be done ASAP (preferably before the start of the term)!!

Choosing a project

1. View available projects on the EECS Project Portal.
   1. Note:  There are issues with the site loading due to broken image links. Load times are about a minute. Please be patient!
   2. Note:  YOU MUST FILTER by Course:  "CS467 (3-month)".
   3. Note: Projects in the Portal are subject to change.  Visit the Portal often to see changes, additions or deletions. New projects will appear at the end.
2. You will want to read and follow the steps outlined in the Choose Your Project assignment.

Propose Your Own Project

Do you have an idea for a project that you'd really like to execute? If so, send an email to the instructor(s) ASAP. We will help you fine-tune your idea and post the project to the Portal. Note that there may not be time to add your project, so get your ideas in as early as possible (preferably before the term starts).

If you choose to work on your own idea, you may not re-use extensive amounts of code from previous projects and get credit for them as part of this course: your programming and design efforts must be new. However, if you have an existing project that you want to put 300 more hours into, you can use that project as a starting point for your team.

Evaluation Environment

In general, your instructor(s) and TAs will not have time to re-create your development environment in order to test. You should plan ahead to submit the following:

• Web Project - Link to hosted website
• iOS - Use TestFlight (preferred) or Ad-hoc deployment
• Android - Submit an apk that is runnable on an Android Virtual Device
• School Computers (Cent OS or Windows) - Ok to submit c or c++ code and compilation instructions IF no dependencies to install. Python and Java are fine also.
• Unity or Unreal projects - Contact the instructor(s). We may be able to load your project in our Unity or Unreal environment, or may simply use the demonstration videos.
• Other - Contact the Instructor.

Project Selection Considerations

Since this final project you create will be amazing, please consider using it as part of your portfolio to help get jobs. To this end, consider selecting a project that might appeal to your potential employers.

IMPORTANT:   Make sure to complete all tasks in the Start Here - Overview page . Once these are completed, modules will be unlocked.

Welcome to CS 467 Capstone! This course is very different from previous courses in the program. This is where you get to decide what you want to do with your term, with very little input or guidance from the instructor. Some students choose to do a pure coding project where they have an idea and run with it -- others choose to dive into hours of research on a new topic they have no experience with, trading final polish for novelty. It's up to you what you want to do. Many students have told me this was the most fun course they have taken in the program.

In past terms, more than 95% of the class finishes with an A. Failing grades are rare, but can happen. In an effort to avoid this, here are a few very important things we all need to keep in mind as we go through this term..

How to Succeed in Capstone (short version)

• Maintain a good working relationship with your teammates and project mentor AND
• Work at least 10 hours per week on assignments and project tasks

How to Succeed in Capstone (full version)

• Set up Canvas Notifications. Your instructor will often send out important announcements that you will not want to miss.
• Want to see a roadmap for this course? The major assignments are viewable in the course Schedule tab of the Syllabus.
• Start with a realistic and detailed project plan (milestones, tasks, design). This will lay the foundation for the rest of the term, so put serious thought into what you are committing to!
• Work at a steady pace throughout the term. 10 hours per week is the expectation.
• Please remember this is a CS class. Most of the expected 10 hours per week "project time" must be spent developing your project. Sure, the first few week or so can be devoted to research, design, prototypes, tutorials, etc., but after that development work must begin!
• Do Not neglect any of your Progress Report videos or Checkin Surveys! These are worth a LOT of points!
• Be honest, specific, and forthcoming about your work in your Progress Report and Checkin Survey assignments. 
  • Being vague, unclear, or elusive will earn you a 0 for the assignment.
  • Not talking about your own work will earn you a 0 for the assignment.
  • Trying to pass another's work off as your own, even if just implied, will result in a 0 for the assignment, and may result in a plagiarism case being filed.
• A significant part of the Capstone Course Learning Objectives (CLO's) are based on teamwork.
  • Helping your teammates should be part of your plan!
  • Following your team's working rules is important as well.
• Communication is KEY!
  • Maintain contact with your team ALWAYS!
  • If you have to be absent for meetings or can't work for any reason, let your team know.
  • If you are struggling or falling behind, let your team know.
  • If you feel someone isn't pulling their weight, let them know (respectfully).

Communication really is KEY!

You absolutely must keep in regular contact with your team. We know that many of you have jobs and lives outside of this program, and we try to be as flexible as possible. However, this isn't a weekend-only class. You need to communicate with your team and agree on a schedule for regular meetings and progress updates. Having a busy work/school/personal life is not an excuse for disappearing on your group. If your group has gone more than a week without hearing from you, you may be removed from your group. Even excused absences can result in removal from your group if they significantly impact the group's ability to finish the project.

Research Projects

For research heavy projects, there must be a final deliverable that represents a significant level of mastery of computer science. When grading final projects, the TA's and Instructor(s) take into account the difficulty and novelty of the project when evaluating the deliverables. However, there must still be actual deliverables. Telling us you have done a lot of research, but have nothing to show for it is not a way to pass the class.

Group Dysfunction

You are responsible for notifying your Instructor or TA's about absent/under-performing group members. You can, of course, send me an email. In addition to this, please consider addressing the issue directly with the team member. Perhaps they are stuck and you can help!

If you have not heard from a group member in more than a week, it is your responsibility to contact me. Even though an Instructor can see if a student has stopped submitting progress updates or is not showing appropriate progress, they cannot contact the other members of the group to investigate because of academic records privacy regulations. Waiting until a few days before the final project is due is not an appropriate time to send your Instructor an email about how you're the only one that has contributed anything to the project all term.

At the midpoint of the course, dysfunctional groups may be broken up and students will be assigned individual projects to complete. These projects are often more difficult than working together as a group, and there is less time to complete them. In general, students that start individual projects have tended to not pass the class. Where possible, if only one group member is not contributing, we will try to preserve the group for the remaining students, adjusting the project requirements as necessary. If a student is removed from a group after the midpoint project check has passed, they may not be given the option for a solo project, and will need to retake the course.

In any circumstance, we will do everything we can to make sure that students are not unfairly punished for the actions of their group member(s). Because many students plan to use the final deliverable in their professional portfolios, we take non-participation and under-performance very seriously. Please keep in mind the effects that your choices can have on the other people in your group who have all invested a significant amount of time and money into this program and want to have the best final product to show for it that they can.