Timeline

The formal presentation in April is enormous. As a communication senior who is completing the communication program, it is imperative to deliver a top-rate presentation. Some students have had fairly strong papers or projects but were not able to communicate clearly or professionally what they did or why it was important. It typically costs them a letter grade.

Assessment Tool (Speech Rubric) for Presentations

Who assigns my grade?

This course is not led by one instructor; it is led by all communication faculty. For example, if a student chooses a video project as a senior project, then s/he will work closely with the video instructor. All full-time communication faculty have input into the final course grade, but the student is assigned to a supervising faculty member for guidance and accountability during the course.

When are assignments due for the Senior Project course?

Students who have had the most success in this course have had their proposals approved the spring before taking this course, i.e, a year before. Proposals are due late-October to allow sufficient time for all communication faculty to review and discuss proposals and return them by late-November. The strategy here is to have students ready to begin work on senior projects no later than January. Projects or papers must be completed by late-March because presentations begin in early-April. That allows a minimum of three solid months of work for the student.

The fall class meetings will be once per month from September until November of the semester before the student takes the course. In other words, if the student is to take senior project spring 2008, then three meetings will take place fall 2007. These meetings are mandatory.

This course is offered each spring, and the class meets regularly during spring semester. Attendance is taken, even in the three preceding fall meetings, and averaged into the grade for the course. Each meeting the student misses is counted against him or her for the final course grade.

More specific deadlines will be set with each student. However, general deadlines for all students are every two weeks during spring semester from mid-January until late-March. For example, other meetings take place during March to help with speech preparation.

All spring dates/times will be set in early-January.