TO:                     Meredith Kulisheck
FROM:              Jeff Horn
SUBJECT:        Course Description for Senior Project in CS
DATE:               April 17, 1998
 
 
Meredith:  Perhaps if I had an example new course proposal, I could tailor the bullets below into the right stuff.  In the meantime:
 

CS 480
 

TITLE:   "Senior Project in Computer Science"
NUMBER:    CS 480
 

PREREQUISITES:      CS 222, CS 228, and permission of advisor

GRADING:   Letter Grade

CREDIT:   2 hours

DESCRIPTION:
 

• This course involves a significant software development and implementation project.
• SUPERVISION:  Students will be supervised individually by their advisors.
• PROJECT PROPOSAL-Students must obtain formal approval from their advisors for their projects before registering for this course.  It is expected that this approval process will include a project proposal acceptable to both the student and the advisor, which details the scope, specifications, and evaluation (i.e., grading) criteria of the final product.
• TIME FRAME:  It is expected that students will begin work on their projects well before the beginning of the semester in which they are actually enrolled in CS 480.  Thus the project proposal and agreement between student and advisor should not be a sudden burden, nor should the two-credit hour course be expected to encompass the vast majority of time and effort spent on the senior project.  Rather, registration in CS  480 is the culmination and finalization of thought and work begun earlier in the student's curriculum.
• INDIVIDUALS and PROJECT TEAMS:  Students are expected to work individually on projects.  Under certain circumstances, small teams of students can be assigned to a single project, but such a project should be significantly larger than an individual project in scope.  If a team is formed, a project leader must be identified.
• MID-TERM PROGRESS REPORT:  Approximately half-way through the semester, students will report the status of their work in a brief report and presentation.
• FINAL EVALUATION:
• Well before the end of the semester, students will submit a draft project report to their advisor, and then a final report to the CS 480 projects committee, to consist of any majority of computer science faculty members.   When a mutually satisfactory meeting time can be arranged, students will conduct a presentation/demonstration to the projects committee.  Committee members will be furnished with a copy of the project proposal and agreement, as well as the final report.
• The committee will assign a letter grade to the project.  This grade will be combined with the advisor's own grade to derive the final grade for the course.

MEETING TIMES:    to be arranged by students and their advisors