Description
Your Project will take the form of a plan or proposal to improve some aspect of an institution of higher education. If you currently work in a college or university, you may develop a project for that institution, or you may focus your project on an institution where you would like to work, or another with which you are familiar.
Your project begins with a problem statement and rationale. Whatever type of plan or proposal you create for your project, it should be designed to respond to a local need or problem within a particular institution. Examples of problems include:
Low student retention or persistence, overall or for a particular demographic group
Lack of evidence of student learning, overall or for particular programs or student populations
- Low levels of faculty or staff engagement in learning-centered teaching or student support activities
- Inefficiency or low productivity in certain programs or services
- The plan or proposal that you will develop for your Capstone Project may address one or more of these types of problems in one or more ways, including:
- A plan for a program or initiative to increase student retention, engagement, or learning
A proposal for a policy or process change
A proposal for a faculty or staff development program
- A position paper on institutional change with regard to a particular issue or problem
- The intent is not to actually complete and implement your plan or proposal within the timeframe of this course, but to complete a sufficiently detailed plan or proposal that could be implemented later. You will also share your plan or proposal with a real-world stakeholder audience, get feedback, and incorporate that feedback into your project.
- In this week’s Discussion you worked with your colleagues to refine your problem statement for your Capstone Project. Based on that discussion and some preliminary research you will submit your project problem statement to your Instructor for approval.
- For this week’s assignment, complete a 23 page summary of your project problem statement and a rationale (need) for your plan or proposal.
To assist you in developing your problem statement, ask yourself the following questions:
What issues or problems am I most concerned about in higher education?
What improvement needs to be made where I work?
What knowledge have I gained from my previous coursework that may assist me in completing my project?
How can I apply this newly acquired knowledge and skills to a real-world situation?
- What does the current literature say about my topic?
- Who will benefit by my project? My institution? Students? Faculty? Higher education in general?
- What resources are available to me in completing my project?
- What stakeholder(s) will evaluate my project?
- Can I complete the project within the desired timeframe?
