CSC 498 - Senior Project
Fall 2004-2005 Semester
Grading policies & ‘S’ evaluation
Overview: Product and Process.
Each project will
receive a “product grade” and a “process grade.” The product grade will be
determined at the end of the semester and will be based on the deliverables
that are turned in at the project due date, and on a demonstration of the
correctness of those deliverables. The process grade is comprised of a number
of components, each related to the process you go through during the
course. The product and process grades are explained in more detail below.
The Product Grade.
The product grade is based on
the deliverables you turn in at the project due date along with a demonstration
of the correctness of those deliverables. The deliverables will almost always
consist of a software system and a final write-up, although for some projects
other deliverables will also be involved. The contents of the write-up may
vary from project to project but will generally include:
- A copy of the original proposal including the original bibliography.
- A section describing deviations from the proposal.
- Results of user tests if appropriate for your project.
- Hard copy user manuals if appropriate for your project.
- A section that suggests future work.
- A bibliography (possibly expanded from the proposal bibliography).
- Any other materials that help to demonstrate the work you put into the project.
In order to understand the policies that will be used to
determine your product grade, it helps to review the following guidelines
quoted from the DePauw University Catalog:
“According to the grading system
adopted by the faculty, the grades recorded when courses have been carried
throughout the semester are:
A, A-: | Achievement of exceptionally high merit |
B+, B, B-: | Achievement at a level superior to the basic level |
C+, C, C-: | Basic achievement |
D+, D, D-: | Minimum achievement that warrants credit |
F: | Failure: the achievement fails to meet course requirements.
The student receives no credit.” |
Since each senior project is different, it is impossible to
provide a “one size fits all” set of criteria that can be used to classify each
project into one of the categories shown above. However, experience shows that
the following criteria are typical of senior projects that fall into the
various categories.
- A project that demonstrates basic achievement
typically tackles a straight forward problem and provides a functional but
routine solution. The code will usually be modular, well-organized, and
adequately commented and will employ appropriate data structures and
algorithms. The scope of the project will usually indicate that roughly ten
hours of work per week should have been required to complete the project by a
senior computer science major. The complexity of the project will usually be
at least equivalent to the level of difficulty that is typically encountered in
upper-level computer science courses. The project's documentation will
typically be appropriate for the intended use of the project, and any
documentation that is provided will be complete, well-written, and proof-read.
The code will be correct enough to allow the project to meet its basic
objectives, although there may be special cases in which the code does not
work. Some special issues, if relevant to the project, such as those related
to security, backups, invalid user input, may not be dealt with as thoroughly
as possible.
- A project that demonstrates achievement superior to the
basic level will typically demonstrate basic achievement in all areas
listed above and will excel in some, but not necessarily all, of these
areas. For example, the project might tackle a problem that is harder than
average but might produce only an average solution. Or, the software produced
for the project might be excellent, but the documentation and write-up might
only demonstrate basic achievement.
- A project that demonstrates achievement of exceptionally
high merit will typically excel in all or essentially all of the relevant
areas noted in the basic achievement section. Note that not all areas will
apply to all projects (for example a particular project might not require user
testing). However, in order to demonstrate exceptionally high merit a project
will generally excel in all relevant areas.
- A project will typically be designated as showing minimum
achievement that warrants credit if it falls short of the basic achievement
category in one or more ways.
- A project will be designated as one that fails to
demonstrate basic achievement if it either falls short of the basic
achievement category in most ways, or falls significantly below the
basic achievement level in one or more ways.
NOTE: A final product grade
will be assigned using the scale described above. If the final project is
turned in late, the product grade will be lowered by one letter grade (i.e. A
to B) for each day the project is late.
The Process Grade.
The process grade is comprised of
a number of components, each related to the process you go through while
working on the project during the course. Each component of the process grade
will be graded using the scale
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
A zero is the expected grade for each component, and
it will likely be the case that most students will earn zeros on all components
of the process. A positive value indicates that you exceeded expectations on
this component in some way. A negative value indicates that you fell short of
expectations in some way. For example, making no progress toward a checkpoint
would likely result in a process grade of -3 for that checkpoint, while falling
slightly short of the checkpoint goals might result in a process grade of -1.
At the end of the semester, process grades for each
component will be added together to determine your final process grade. If
your process grade at the end of the semester is a zero then your final course
grade will be your product grade. However, if your process grade is anything
other than a zero, your final course grade will be determined by starting with
your product grade and adjusting by 1/3 of a letter grade for each point of
your process grade. For example, a student with a product grade of B- and a
process grade of 2 would earn a B+. On the other hand, a student with a
product grade of B- and a process grade of -3 would earn a C-.
The components of your process grade are listed below:
- Preliminary paragraph description of your project idea.
- Final hard copy version of your
proposal and electronic copy of your project summary (typically one to two
paragraphs in length, and suitable for posting on the department web page and
including your name, project title and summary information).
- Content of initial project presentation.
- Checkpoint 1 progress.
- Checkpoint 2 progress.
- Checkpoint 3 progress.
- Checkpoint 4 progress.
- Independence in working on your project (see course information sheet).
NOTE: It is impossible to demonstrate satisfactory
progress at a checkpoint if you do not have an approved project proposal.
Students who do not have an approved project proposal as we approach the first
checkpoint will be required to develop a proposal based on one of the ideas
provided by the department.
Grading Information Relating to the ‘S’ Competency
There are several
‘S’ components to this course. Each student will make one formal presentation,
four informal checkpoint presentations, and also participate in a computing
ethics discussion. In addition, the checkpoint presentations will afford the
opportunity for the entire group to discuss projects. While we expect everyone
to participate fully in all of these activities, the graded portion of the ‘S’
activities will be carried out as follows. This information is based upon
literature developed by the DePauw University ‘S’ Center, so the core ideas are
therefore shared by instructors and students participating in all ‘S’ courses.
You will receive
a grade for each of your presentations in each of the following four
categories. In order to earn ‘S’ credit for this course, at least one of your
presentations must result in an average grade of 3.5 with no individual category
receiving a grade below 3.
Language Skills
- 5 — Excellent
oral style; distinctive vocabulary appropriate for the subject; no
mispronunciations or grammatical errors
- 4 — Choice
of words suited to the subject matter; no more than two or three slips in
grammar or pronunciation
- 3 — Adequate
vocabulary; errors in pronunciation and grammar do interfere with communication
OR stilted “written style of composition”
- 2 — Has
some noticeable and apparently habitual grammatical errors; language cluttered
with logolalia (“you know”); several mispronunciations
- 1 — Distinctly
limited vocabulary and repetition of phrases; very short speech; completely
substandard grammar or pronunciation
Voice & Articulation
- 5 — Vocal
inflections and movement substantially augment the meanings; pleasant voice;
animated and controlled delivery
- 4 — Vocal
variety appropriate for subject matter; uses occasional gestures, movement,
facial expression
- 3 — Reasonably
free from distracting vocal or physical mannerisms OR has effective elements of
delivery along with notably distracting ones
- 2 — Noticeably
awkward posture, aimless gestures, or distracting vocal quality. Monotonous.
Too loud or soft
- 1 — Action
and voice interferes with meaning by substantial distraction or lack of
control. Mumbles incoherently
Adaptation
- 5 — Adapts specifically to
listeners; refers to our experiences or roles
- 4 — Adjusts to specific room
conditions; talks directly and conversationally
- 3 — Material
and delivery seem neither adapted nor ill-adapted; speech addressed “to whom it
may concern”
- 2 — Demonstrates some
noticeable insensitivity to likely feelings or values of listeners
- 1 — Material or examples not
suitable to us as listeners: Speaker seems oblivious of audience
Good Organization
- 5 — Very
coherent structure; explicit transitions and summaries; uses striking examples
or other forms of support
- 4 — Main ideas made clear;
develops each sub-point with supporting material
- 3 — Ideas
have been outlined adequately but without much signposting; no notable fuzzy
spots or irrelevant sections
- 2 — Some
parts of the talk difficult to follow or irrelevant; supporting material
commonplace, trite or missing
- 1 — Apparently aimless
rambling; too general or trivial to be meaningful
Other factors involved in delivery and
content may be taken into account, as needed. For example, slides (including
an outline or overview slide) must be prepared for each presentation.