CS Individual Projects:
General Principles and Policies
since Semester 1 2009
This document provides principles and policies for the running of
semester-long, (nominally) individual project courses under the Master
of Computing (MCOMP) and the
Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) degrees run by the Research School of
Computer Science (RSCS). The central source of information for these projects
is the CS Projects web page
http://cs.anu.edu.au/student/projects/.
The relevant parties are the Projects Co-ordinator, other co-ordinators
for the project courses, the students enrolled in the projects courses
and their supervisors. The Projects Co-ordinator is the (primary)
co-ordinator of all such courses, and thus forms the main point of
contact for project students and their supervisors.
Principles
Research in education, both from the literature and local studies, has
shown that the learning of generic project-related skills (e.g. verbal
and written communication, project management, ethics, literature
searching, and experimentation / evaluation experience) forms an important
part of the student project experience. Furthermore, such skills are highly
valued graduate attributes by professional societies such as the ACS.
Indeed the full ACS accreditation of the MCOMP degree (with a
specialization in a research area) in late 2007 required the teaching of
such skills to be included in the (project courses) of the degree.
Recognising this, the CS project students will learn these skills
through a series of Practice Sessions run throughout the semester, as
well as through their individual project experience under the guidance
of their supervisor.
It is also well-known that, without careful attention, there may be
large inconsistency in the learning outcomes and standards of assessment
associated with student projects. As well as considering individual
circumstances, the notion of fairness for assessment includes that of
other (including past and future) project students. Thus, standard
assessment schemes and policies will be provided and should be kept to,
unless individual circumstances clearly require a variation.
Policies
-
General ANU and RSCS policies for assessment, except as noted below,
apply to the project courses.
-
A standard Assessment Scheme will be provided for each project course,
which must contain a Presentation and Written Report component.
-
The ANU policy requires to course co-ordinator to publish an assessment
scheme early in the semester for (joint) negotiation with the students.
In the project courses this is the same, except that the negotiation is
individual, due to the individual nature of project courses. However,
any major variations to standard Assessment Schemes and Learning
Outcomes will need to be justifiable.
For MCOMP projects, the Presentation and Written Report component
components will not comprise less than 50% of the total assessment.
-
The scope and assessment of a project will be defined by an Individual Study Contract signed by all relevant
parties early in the semester. Any significant variation later will
require the agreement of all parties.
-
The definition of an assessment scheme must include the components, their
weighting, and due dates. It should also include an indication of who
(e.g. supervisor, Projects Co-ordinator, or external examiner) assesses
each component.
-
The Projects Web page will be used to officially advertise project topics.
However, it is up to the discretion of the Projects Co-ordinator which
topics will be advertised.
-
The RSCS policy to extensions applies to project courses. This includes
the requirements for documentation (e.g. medical certificate) certifying
a period of disability corresponding to the period of an extension. The
reason for the extension should similarly be for unforeseeable
circumstances beyond the control of the student. Grounds for the
extension may also include events causing delays in the carrying out of
the project, provided these are unforeseeable and beyond the control
of for both the supervisor and the student.
-
For MCOMP students, a minimum degree of participation in the Practice
Sessions will be mandatory.
-
The Projects Web page will be used to archive deliverables of the
project, for the purpose of examination and future study. Without
consent from the student, project artefacts should not be externally
accessible.
Other policies are implicitly embodied in the sections on
Responsibilities below.
The Individual Study Contracts Document
As well as identifying the details of the project and the relevant parties,
this must contain:
- a (reference to) a description of the Project. A reference to a
Requirements Document which defines the project which is (later) published on the Projects Web Page may be used.
- a description of the Learning Objectives. A reference to the project
course's generic Learning Objectives may be used.
- a description of the Assessment Scheme. A reference to a standard assessment scheme may be used. Under any acceptable assessment scheme it will always be required to gain at least a pass-mark for the final report.
- a place for signature for all relevant parties (including other course co-ordinator where appropriate).
Responsibilities: Projects Co-ordinator
The responsibilities of the Projects Co-ordinator include:
- provide a central point for all student and (potential) supervisor
enquiries.
- provide a means of advertising project topics (on the Projects Web Page).
- ensure standard Assessment Schemes (including timetables)
are made available for student consideration by the start of semester.
- ensure that clear guidelines of the expected content and standard
of assessable items are made available to students and supervisors.
- ensure project students and supervisors are made aware of all policies
and resources of the projects, including this document.
- recommend approval or otherwise of enrollments.
- facilitate the negotiation and signing of the Individual Study
Contracts. This process should be completed by week 2 of the semester.
- where the proposed project course is specific to a research area,
ensure that the project topic is appropriate to that area (in consultation
with the project course's other co-ordinators, where appropriate).
- facilitate the learning of generic skills by each student through
conducting a series of Practice Sessions throughout the semester. These
sessions will include presentation sessions.
- provide an appropriate degree of co-supervision to each project
student, especially in the areas of report writing and presentation
preparation.
- ensure a fair assessment to all project students, from the points of view
of individual and collective project students.
- ensure all items for assessment (reports, presentation slides and
project artefacts) are archived on the Projects Web Page.
Responsibilities: Project Supervisors
The responsibilities of a supervisor of a project student include:
- be aware of the policies (including assessment issues), activities,
and resources of the CS projects.
- ensure that the project topic offered is viable and tractable given
the background of the prospective project student and the load of the
proposed project course.
- where the proposed project course is specific to a research area,
ensure that the project topic is appropriate to that area.
- negotiate with the student and co-ordinators the scope of the project
and the Study Contract.
- provide regular contact with the student, giving all necessary
assistance (in particular technical advice) for the student is to carry
out the project. Where the project course is specific to a research
area, this includes guidance in relating the project topic's context
within that research area.
- support the learning of generic project-related skills by the student,
and ensure these are reflected in reports and presentations produced by
the student.
- ensure the Projects Co-ordinator is made aware of any factors adversely
affecting the progress of the student.
- be prepared to provide some assistance to Projects Co-ordinator, for
example by assisting facilitation of one of the practice Sessions or by
assisting in the assessment of other projects (possibly in the future).
Responsibilities: Project Students
The responsibilities of each student undertaking a project course include:
- inform the Projects Co-ordinator of intention to enrol in a project
course (by latest week 1 of the semester).
- (carefully) select a project topic and supervisor, and negotiate
details of the project with the supervisor.
- devote an appropriate amount of time in undertaking the project
throughout the semester. Where the project course is specific to a
research area, this includes applying their knowledge to the research
area to define the project topic's context into the research area.
- participate actively in the Practice Sessions. This particularly
applies to all session where student presentations are given.
- with consideration of the longer timeframe for assessable items,
collect any documentation (e.g. medical certificates) that may be
subsequently required for request for an extension.
- submit work for assessment in the timelines specified.
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