Capstone Project

 

Download Documents and see the Capstone Timeline.

What are the goals of the Capstone Project?

There are two main goals that all Capstone projects should meet. First, all Capstones should allow students to delve deeply into a project connected to their program area. The project should be one that students find challenging, interesting, and meaningful. Second, Capstone projects need to provide an opportunity for students to show that they've met key CAL outcomes. Our hope for all students is that they'll be able to complete significant work that truly matters to them and that allows them to tap into and demonstrate their talents and skills.

What does a Capstone project look like?

There is no one answer to this question, as there are many different types of projects that will meet the Capstone goals. A health sciences student might work with a scientist at OHSU to conduct a research project. An information technology student might work with a team of other students to create a web site for ThinkQuest, an international student competition. An engineering/manufacturing student might design and build a solar-powered car. One student from engineering and one from IT might work together to mentor a middle school team entering the Lego Robotics competition. Whether students want to work alone or with a team, with students from their program area or with students from other program areas, solving a problem for an industry partner or just exploring a question that intrigues them, the main feature of Capstone projects is that students are deeply engaged in substantial, real-world projects connected to their program areas.

What is required for Capstone?

While there will be differences between what students do for their Capstone projects, there will be a uniform process that all students will go through. All students will complete the following: w Proposal · By early October, all students will submit a preliminary project proposal, including as much information as possible about their planned project. Advisors will review those proposals and either give the go-ahead to proceed with the project or help students revise their plans. Final proposals will be due in early November. w Project notebook/paper
· Students in information technology and engineering/manufacturing will compile and submit a project notebook to document their Capstone experience. Included in the notebook will be the proposal and, depending upon the specifics of the project, such things as budgets, work plans, work documentation logs, drafts, revisions, correspondence, etc. Because the nature of Capstone projects in the health sciences may be based more upon experiences than in creating projects, they may choose to substitute a formal research paper or a reflective paper for a project notebook. w Meetings with advisors
· All students will be assigned a Capstone advisor, who will be a CAL instructor. Students will be expected to meet at designated times with their CAL advisor throughout the Capstone process. w Oral presentation
· The Capstone experience will culminate in an oral presentation to an audience of students, staff, industry partners, family, and friends. In the presentation, students will share not only the results of their project, but also their process and a reflection on the experience.

How will Capstone be evaluated?

Through their Captone projects, students will be able to demonstrate that they've met selected CAL core outcomes and outcomes specific to their program area. Projects will be evaluated using scoring guides that describe performance in CAL outcomes. All Capstones will be scored with the same scoring guide to determine the degree to which students have met CAL's core outcomes. Each program area will also have scoring guides specific to their program areas. Grades for Capstone will be determined by both the products student create and the process they use to create them.