CS400: CS Capstone I
Fall 2023
Meeting Times:
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Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (9:00a - 10:15a): There are three class sessions scheduled per week.
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Team Work Sessions (KEC 118): Two of those weekly sessions will be reserved for you to work with your team, unencumbered by “interference” from the faculty. KEC 118 (CS Capstone Lab) has been reserved for your use for those Team Work Sessions, as well as any time (you have 24/7 key card access to the KEC and to KEC 118) that you (and/or your teammates) need to work on your Capstone project. NOTE: It is required to attend all of the Team Work Sessions, even though your professors might not be present.
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Team Status Meetings and Presentations (KEC 119): The third weekly session is reserved for your team’s weekly status updates, assignment presentations, and periodic Milestone presentations. We will meet in KEC 119 for all weekly status updates, assignment presentations, and milestones - unless otherwise noted. All of the projects have clients, and those clients will generally be in attendance at these meetings, as well. NOTE: It is not unusual for these in-class sessions to run past 10:15a at times, especially during the status reports and milestone presentations. If you have another class scheduled immediately following this class, please let us know, and we will try to make accomodations. For Milestone presentations, you might need to make accommodations with your other professors.
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After project teams have been formed, we will set the team meeting day of the week for each team. There will likely be 4-5 Capstone projects, so those team meetings will be scheduled for different days of the week. The days that are not reserved for your weekly team meeting will become the rwo Team Work Session days.
Location: KEC 118 and KEC 119
Webpage: https://ycpcs.github.io/cs400-fall2023/
Instructors:
Dr. David S. Babcock
Email: dbabcock@ycp.edu
Office: KEC 117
Phone: (717) 815-6442
Office Hours: M-W-F: 10:15a to 11:00a (immediately following Capstone, and by appointment)
Donald J. Hake II
Email: djhake2@ycp.edu
Office: As I am now and adjunct professor, I have not office. Generally, if you need to find me when I am in the building, I will be in KEC118, KEC119, Dr. Babcock’s office, or the Project Workspace.
Phone: I no longer have an office phone number, but I could be persuaded to provide my cell number, under the right circumstances.
Office Hours: M-W-F: 10:15a to 11:00a (immediately following Capstone, and by appointment)
Course Description
Student teams will complete a substantial project provided by sponsors drawn from both industry and research organizations. These projects will be developed under the direction of the course instructor and members of the sponsoring organization.
Prerequisites: CS320 with a grade of 2.0 or higher (or PC from Spring 2020)
Credit: 3 credit hours
Text: None
Grading Policy
Your team’s project grade will represent 75% of your overall individual curse grade and will be determined as a weighted average of the grades on the 7 assignments, as follows:
- Assignment 1 - Team Project Proposal - 5%
- Assignment 2 - Weekly Progress Journals, Status Reports, Demonstrations - 20%
- Assignment 3 - Requirements - 10%
- Assignment 4 - Analysis and Design - 10%
- Assignment 5 - Minimal Working System - 10%
- Assignment 6 - 50% Working System - 15%
- Assignment 7 - Final Working System (15%), Presentation (5%), Technical Report (10%) - 30%
NOTE: You will be presenting your work for each of these assignments in class during your assigned team meeting day on the day they are due. On those days that you do not have an assignment or milestone due, you will be presenting progress reports, as part of assignment 2. Your weekly journal entries are the by 9:00a EVERY week on the day of your team meeting, immediately prior to tht meeting, regardless of what else is due that day.**
- Assignment 8 - Professionalism, Leadership, Team Work, and Peer Evaluations - 25%”
Individual course grades will be assigned on a 100-point scale according to the following table, and will be determined on the combination of three factors:
- Weekly Journal Entries and Status Report Presentations (20%)
- Individual Contribution to Team Project (55%): Based on your team’s project grade multiplied by your individual effort factor determined from the results of your mid-term and final peer evaluations.**
- Individual Professionalism (25%): The remaining 25% of your individual course grade will be based on the levels of Professionalism, Leadership, Work Ethic, and Team Work that you exhibited throughout the semester, as determined by your instructors, and in accordance with your final peer evaluations.
| Range | Grade |
|---|---|
| ≥ 90 and ≤ 100 | 4.0 |
| ≥ 87 and < 90 | 3.5 |
| ≥ 80 and < 87 | 3.0 |
| ≥ 77 and < 80 | 2.5 |
| ≥ 70 and < 77 | 2.0 |
| ≥ 60 and < 70 | 1.0 |
| < 60 | 0 |
NOTE: Your individual grade will be based on your team’s overall grade, as well as the results of your mid-semester and final peer evaluations, which will establish an effort factor that will be used to provide you with a percentage of the team grade for which you will receive credit. This portion of the grade will assess a variety of factors over the duration of the semester-long project, including: individual level of effort, technical contributions and competence, time management, motivation, teamwork, leadership, organization and planning, communication skills, contributions to project documentation, and overall attitude. The individual effort, technical contributions, and technical competence will be determined by the amount and significance of git commits, weekly updates, and peer evaluations.
Attendance Policy
Attendance at every status/presentation meeting AND every team work session is mandatory. You will be granted two unexcuses absences (no unexcused absences will be allowed for ANY team status/presentation day). You are required to contact both your team AND your instructors PRIOR TO YOUR ABSENCE. Unexcused absences in excess of two will result in a 2% deduction per absence from your final grade.
Academic Integrity
York College’s mission statement stipulates that strict adherence to principles of academic honesty is expected of all students. Therefore, academic dishonesty will not be tolerated at York College. Academic dishonesty refers to actions such as, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabricating research, falsifying academic documents, etc., and includes all situations where students make use of the work of others and claim such work as their own.
When a faculty member believes a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, the faculty member must promptly notify the student in writing and obtain confirmation of notification from the student. The faculty member then has ten business days from that written notification to the student to report the incident to the Dean of Academic Affairs and the Department Chair. Documentation related to instances of academic dishonesty will be kept on file in the student’s permanent record. The faculty member has full discretion to determine a suitable penalty for the student, up to a course grade of 0. This discretion is limited to the course in which the dishonesty took place. Students may not withdraw from a course in which they have been accused of academic dishonesty, unless and until the accusation is withdrawn by the faculty member or is overturned by the Student Welfare Committee or the Dean of Academic Affairs.
Students who believe they have been unjustly charged or sanctioned must discuss the situation with the faculty member and have 10 business days thereafter to submit an appeal to Student Welfare Committee through the Dean of Academic Affairs. If an appeal is filed, the Student Welfare Committee will then conduct a hearing to review the charge and/or sanction. In the case of an egregious first offense, the faculty member may request that the Student Welfare Committee conduct a hearing and determine a sanction, which may involve academic probation, suspension or dismissal from the College.
If the Dean of Academic Affairs determines that the academic dishonesty is the student’s second offense, the Dean will provide written notification to the student, the faculty member, and the Department Chair. The Student Welfare Committee will automatically conduct a hearing to review the charge and decide on an appropriate sanction, which will involve academic probation, suspension or dismissal from the College. Students who believe the Student Welfare Committee has unjustly sanctioned them may submit a written appeal to the Dean of Academic Affairs within 72 hours of receiving notification of the Student Welfare Committee’s sanction.
Personal Technology Policy
While York College recognizes students’ need for educational and emergency-related technological devices such as laptops, PDAs, cellular phones, etc., using them unethically or recreationally during class time is never appropriate. The college recognizes and supports faculty members’ authority to regulate in their classrooms student use of all electronic devices.
Communication Standards
York College recognizes the importance of effective communication in all disciplines and careers. Therefore, students are expected to competently analyze, synthesize, organize, and articulate course material in papers, examinations and presentations. In addition, students should know and use communication skills current to their field of study, recognize the need for revision as part of their writing process, and employ standard conventions of English usage in both writing and speaking. Students may be asked to further revise assignments that do not demonstrate effective use of these communication skills.
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability in need of a classroom accommodation and have not already registered with Linda Miller, Director of Disability Support Services, please contact her at 815-1785 or lmille18@ycp.edu to discuss policies and procedures related to disability services and to establish the accommodations for which you are eligible.
Disclaimer: This syllabus is subject to change by the instructors.
