Service-learning is a recognized high-impact approach in higher education that provides an accessible and valuable form of field experience for learners. A curricular framework integrating service-learning into a senior culminating experience was adapted and contextualized at a community college in Seattle to respond to needs among students who…

This critical reflection briefly chronicles the transition of a general education program from a distributive model to an integrative model and the resulting Capital Capstone Course (CCC) at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). The article describes a year long, team-based, experiential course that "caps" off our…

The engineering graduate of today will engage in a career which will span the middle of the twenty-first century, and beyond. They will work in a world which is increasingly more complex and uncertain than at any time before. This will require an integrated combination of technical knowledge and transferable skills and values, to a greater extent…

Capstones in professional masters-level programs serve a unique nexus of developing professional, industry-specific competencies within a graduate-level academic setting. Universities offering such degree programs must demonstrate the benefits of an academic approach to working professionals, while focusing on the development or enhancement of a…

The Middle East Study Tour (MEST) is a capstone elective unit that stands alone as a credit module towards an undergraduate degree. The tour has the dual purposes of exposing students to the Middle East region's political challenges and better illuminating potential career paths for life after university. But is one student's personal discovery…

As music programs at colleges and universities join the undergraduate research movement, many faculty and administrators may be unsure of terminology, educational practices, or ways to combine some of the creative aspects of music degree requirements into compelling undergraduate research projects. One of the biggest challenges is embedding…

Students are attracted to innovation and entrepreneurship. However, it is challenging for them to take courses in I&E due to their already busy curriculums. This paper describes the "New Venture Design Experience," a one-year interdisciplinary program that pairs core and elective courses between the colleges of Engineering and…

The Communication and Theatre Arts Department at Heidelberg College (a private liberal arts college in northwestern Ohio) developed a departmental assessment plan. The department faculty began by working to establish "exit criteria" during an all-day meeting. Unlike other disciplines, communication has no standardized tests and…

Discusses the value of a capstone course in applied sociology as the culmination of the undergraduate sociology curriculum. Points out advantages of joint faculty-student projects for the course and presents the relative merits of two different formats: solo versus team projects. (Author/GEA)

Use of portfolios for student evaluation has expanded in recent years to assessment of student progress in training to teach English as a Second Language (TESL). At Wright State University (Ohio), portfolio assessment is part of both undergraduate and graduate level ESL teaching programs. As at other institutions, portfolio development is being…

At Birmingham-Southern College (Alabama), the business administration program's senior year capstone course in strategic business management serves three purposes: allows evaluation of the school's academic program; helps assess student capabilities; and allows integration of learning across disciplines. The course occurs during the January…

This report describes efforts by Portland State University (Oregon) (PSU) to undertake administrative restructuring, reinvent the curriculum with an interdisciplinary focus, and initiate experiential learning programs that benefit both students and the community. By reducing support staff and middle management, PSU freed up funds to create a…