Abstract: Contribution: An analysis of the extent to which sustainability is present in the syllabi, project briefs, report templates, and student final reports of the three Iberian European project semester (EPS) providers, over a five-year period. Background: EPS is a one-semester capstone project framework that adopts project-based learning and multicultural, multidisciplinary teamwork. Educating engineers for sustainable development requires fostering critical and ethical thinking and a desire for equity, solidarity and preservation of natural resources, and cultural and genetic diversity. Existing engineering capstone design programs emphasize solving real world problems, hands-on training, and soft skills, but few focus on sustainability aspects of engineering design. The three Iberian EPS providers adopt project-based learning and teamwork methodologies, promoting the development of transversal skills and addressing sustainability in a multicultural and multidisciplinary background. Intended Outcomes: To show that the three Iberian EPS providers follow these recommendations and contribute to raising students’ awareness of sustainable development. Application Design: The proposed sustainability learning assessment method collects evidence from syllabi, project briefs, report templates, and final reports to extract faculty and student perspectives. The sustainability-related terms collected were processed into word cloud format, allowing a simple and intuitive interpretation of students’ understanding of sustainability, and in co-occurrence network format, to understand if sustainability has a pervasive or confined presence within the reports. Findings: Iberian EPS faculty and students are aware of the social, economic, and environmental impact of their projects, in terms of quality of life, social responsibility, the use of resources, and environmentally friendly technology.

Abstract: Scholarship of Application. Background: Capstone courses constitute the culminating experience in engineering curricula. A core characteristic is the student team and project-based nature, with many team deliverables. The ensuing difficulty is to fairly assess the individual team member’s contribution toward the team effort. Contribution: The method presented here is based on weekly peer evaluation of the individual team member’s contribution, which subsequently yields a participation factor (PF), in turn scaling the team grade in accordance with the individual student performance. Intended Outcome: This method allows the timely adjustment of the individual student effort to match the group expectations and rewards high-performing students by making higher individual grades than the team average possible, while penalizing underperforming free riders by not benefiting from other student’s performance. Application Design: The method allows students to continuously calibrate their own and their teammate’s expectations and improve their peer score by adjusting their individual efforts. This feedback also requires students to practice professional communication, and in particular giving and receiving critical feedback, and thus is highly aligned with industry needs. Findings: Results evaluated over three iterations of the assessment process indicate a weak positive correlation (0.26) of the peer evaluation with the individual instructor-graded deliverables as well as the individual student grade point average (GPA, 0.23). Further, survey-based data indicate student agreement that the PF is a fair reflection of the individual performance, and a neutral perceived overall assessment system effectiveness, with reported primary barriers being the difficulty in assigning fair peer grades and of open, critical discussion.

Abstract: The COVID--19 pandemic has impacted undergraduate and graduate student research. With the uncertainty right now, it is a challenge for faculty to offer clear guidance for how students can proceed with their research and capstone projects. In this brief editorial, we offer suggestions for moving student research forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract: Research suggests that employers value various soft skills highly when recruiting software engineering (SE) graduates in the software industry; however, SE graduate students tend to lack those soft skills. This study examines the effects of a capstone course with a problem/project-based approach in the acquisition of soft skills. In this capstone, the graduate students worked closely on a real-world project with the customers from Finnish public and private organizations. Moreover, the study maps out the identified soft skills from the capstone course to the desired requirements of soft skills in various roles in the software industry. Thematic data analysis of reflections given by 48 students identified fifteen soft skill categories that are mainly acknowledged by the students after the completion of the course. In particular, we have shown that the majority of identified soft skills in this course correspond to the desirable soft skills in the software industry. To conclude, the approach taken in this course is a powerful means to improve the soft skills of the graduate students to meet the needs of employers, and thus increase their employment prospects.

Abstract: Third year geoscience students were introduced to digital tools for fieldwork, Fieldmove on iPads, in a capstone field mapping course at Oslo University, Norway. Despite little prior experience wit...

Abstract: This paper presents the practice and experience in adopting an agile organizational model for a final-year capstone program in Software Engineering. The model developed is motivated by having real (and developing) software artifacts with incrementally changing team members working on a product-line. This in turn results in more sophisticated capstone student-project outcomes. The model proposed supports student mentoring and promotes, through its internal organization, leadership and personal responsibility. The students are supported by professional software engineers, up-skilling workshops, and academic supervisors who act as a personalized reporting and grading point for the team. The academic supervisors are themselves supported by a tribe leader, a faculty member who assumes overall responsibility for a product-line, and who acts as a report to an external industry client/ sponsor. This paper describes the motivation for the capstone model, its adoption, and some preliminary observations.

Abstract: Contribution: Internships designed to provide training and an initial period of contact with industry, prior to a computer science engineering capstone project, have a very positive impact on both industry and academic capstone projects. Background: Internships and capstone projects are widely used to integrate work-related learning in computer engineering curricula. Both activities offer numerous benefits for students, industry, and academia. Although their effects have been extensively studied separately, the interaction between them remains unexplored. Research Questions: What is the effect of internships on the development of a subsequent capstone project? Methodology: The hypothesis was that the completion of an internship will have positive effects on several aspects of the capstone projects: 1) improved student competencies; 2) improved capstone project outcomes; and 3) decreased supervision effort. Further, these positive effects were expected to be greater in industry-based projects than in academic projects. The hypothesis was tested through a quantitative study of data collected from 274 computer science engineering capstone projects. A period of time with internships was compared with another period without internships, and differentiating between academic and industry projects. Findings: Internships prior to capstone projects improve student skills in autonomy, technology, methodology, and project management; increase the complexity and technological novelty of the resulting projects; and reduce advisor involvement in practical (technology, execution) and keep-the-project-alive issues, and increase advisor involvement in monitoring student work (meetings, reports, and initial arrangements). This effect was observed in both industrial and academic projects.

Abstract: Teamwork is an essential competency for engineering graduates. Companies use high performing teams to efficiently adapt and meet complex societal demands. In several engineering programs students are expected to work in teams; however, teamwork is seen by most students as a course requirement to get a grade, rather than as a skill they need to master to become effective engineers. The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of students and measure the effectiveness of a teamwork training model used to manage large teams and promote teamwork competencies in engineering students when working on a real senior capstone design project. We used a mixed methods approach. For quantitative data, descriptive and inferential statistics are reported to understand how the students' perceptions about different teamwork constructs changed after the semester concluded. In addition, qualitative data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Results suggest that the teamwork model used to train the students was effective in helping them achieve their desired teamwork competencies and overcome the challenges of working in large teams. Students reported that they felt more ready to face the professional engineering working environment as they now recognize teamwork is a key required competency.

Abstract: Practitioners and educators alike see technologies and delivery methods changing the fundamental way in which we approach and execute building design. As such, these same items will requir...

Abstract: 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 d...

Abstract: A capstone project is a culminating experience that entails creativity, critical thinking, and advanced problem-solving skills. To that end, capstone projects enable students to prove their abilities, demonstrate their attained skills, and carry out a significant project in their field. In Computer Science Bachelor programs, there is a strong mapping between learning outcomes of capstone projects and all student learning outcomes. This paper presents an assessment framework for capstone courses that allows for sound evaluations of the performance of students and project qualities; besides assessing the student outcomes of the program. The developed framework comprises criteria, indicators, extensive analytic rubrics, and a summative statistical formulation. The presented course and framework are supported by the results, analysis, and evaluation of a pilot study for a single institution to explore the effectiveness of the proposed tool.

Abstract: When facilitating large-scale instructional change, leaders face stakeholder tensions that arise from different institutional pressures. Over the past 4 years, we have created an innovative live ca...

Abstract: The author empirically tested an in-class experiential team formation exercise that combines the benefits of professor- and student-directed methods. Previous studies have focused on analyzing the ...

Abstract: The benefits of undergraduate training in research are significant. Integration of such training into the undergraduate experience, however, can be challenging at institutions without extensive research programs, and may inadvertently exclude some populations of students. Therefore, inclusion of research into the academic curriculum ensures all students can access this important training. The 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience included a workshop on integrating research into the curriculum at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). In this last article of a three-part series, we describe models for integrating research into advanced stages of the undergraduate curriculum, specifically for juniors and seniors. First, we describe multiple models of faculty-mentored group-based research. Second, we detail a peer-mentored research system, in which seniors mentor groups of first through third year students. Third, we describe multiple examples of integrating research into "capstone" courses for seniors. Fourth, we describe models in which a senior thesis is a graduation requirement for all students. Lastly, we describe several models of implementing an optional honors thesis for students. Although similarities exist across these programs, their differences allow for specific secondary objectives to be met, which are often unique to institutions and/or departments. Therefore, for each of these examples, we describe the context, specific design, and required student assessments. We conclude by discussing some of the key successes and challenges of developing programs that facilitate undergraduate research by upper-level students, and suggest a number of concepts that should be considered by individuals developing and assessing new programs.

Abstract: Background Capstone, or bootcamp, courses have been shown to increase the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy of students prior to starting intern year and have been recommended by the Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE) to be incorporated into the fourth-year medical school curricula. However, a paucity of research exists regarding the exploration of the student perspective on critical curricular content and teaching strategies in a capstone course. Self-efficacy, one's subjective task-specific judgment of capability, has served in the literature as a framework for capstone outcomes and is derived from four sources of experiences: practice, observation of others, feedback, and one's emotional reaction to difficult situations. Utilizing this framework, we aimed to evaluate the impact of our capstone curriculum on students' self-efficacy and to identify critical curricular content and teaching strategies that affected students' self-efficacy and their transition into residency. Methods We designed a mixed methods study of our institution's capstone course in May 2019. Students were invited to participate in the retrospective pre- and post- self-efficacy survey and focus group immediately after the capstone and in semi-structured interviews four months after they began the intern year. Themes were identified via qualitative analysis using inductive coding to allow participants' voices to guide code development and deductive analysis using codes derived from the self-efficacy framework. Results Nine enrolled students participated in the study (surveys n=8, focus group n=7, follow-up interview n=6). Students reported the capstone was a very valuable educational experience (median 4.5 [interquartile range, or IQR 4-5]), increased their preparedness for intern year (median 5 [IQR 4.25-5]) and increased self-efficacy in multiple domains. Qualitative analysis revealed the critical curricular elements that most impacted students' self-efficacy were practical and communication skills to which students previously had limited exposure, in particular managing acute clinical needs, overnight cross-cover pages, inpatient pharmacology, daily intern communication (handoffs, consults, consenting), and end-of-life communication (goals of care, code status, pronouncing death). While all four sources contributed to self-efficacy, students reported that instructor and peer feedback were fundamental to providing context and substance to their performance. Students preferred practice-based learning via high-fidelity simulation and small groups for familiar tasks (daily intern communication, overnight pages, pharmacology) and observation of peers for new tasks (end-of-life communication and acute clinical deterioration). Conclusions This is the first study describing students' perspectives on critical curricular content and teaching strategies for a capstone course derived from qualitative analysis. Practical and communication skills with previously limited clerkship exposure and task-specific learning strategies increased the students' self-efficacy. Constructive feedback provided an important source of self-efficacy for all tasks, augmenting the benefits of practice and observation. This data provides preliminary groundwork for future research as multi-institutional studies are necessary to better understand students' needs around the curriculum to address residency transition.

Abstract: A narrative case study exploring the course design and implementation of a capstone undergraduate course for future teachers taught with a lens of pedagogical intersectionality, an integration of K...

Abstract: This article seeks to outline the implementation of a longitudinal interprofessional education (IPE) program in the predoctoral curriculum at a U.S. dental school. The challenges of implementing the curriculum in a complex environment are reviewed, and an overview of the 4-year curriculum is offered, including exposure, immersion, and clinical readiness components. Results of developmental evaluations are reviewed. Respondents to surveys regarding the capstone case conference experiences overwhelmingly suggest the conferences were educationally rewarding as well as enriching for each of the health professions represented. While response was limited, alumni surveys also indicate satisfaction with the IPE experience. A discussion of challenges and suggestions regarding successful implementation and expansion of IPE programs from didactic to clinical settings are also included.

Abstract: Companies desires for making productive discoveries from big data have motivated academic institutions offering variety of different data science (DS) programs, in order to increases their graduates' ability to be data scientists who are capable to face the challenges of the new age. These data science programs represent a combination of subject areas from several disciplines. There are few studies have examined data science programs within a particular discipline, such as Business (e.g. Chen et al.). However, there are very few empirical studies that investigate DS programs and explore its curriculum structure across disciplines. Therefore, this study examines data science programs offered by American universities. The study aims to depict the current state of data science education in the U.S. to explore what discipline DS programs covers at the graduate level. The current study conducted an exploratory content analysis of 30 DS programs in the United States from a variety of disciplines. The analysis was conducted on course titles and course descriptions level. The study results indicate that DS programs required varying numbers of credit hours, including practicum and capstone. Management schools seem to take the lead and the initiative in lunching and hosting DS programs. In addition, all DS programs requires the basic knowledge of database design, representation, extraction and management. Furthermore, DS programs delivered information skills through their core courses. Moreover, the study results show that almost 40 percent of required courses in DS programs is involved information representations, retrieval and programming. Additionally, DS programs required courses also addressed communication visualization and mathematics skills.

Abstract: PROBLEM Designing and sustaining a longitudinal, clinic-based interprofessional learning experience is logistically challenging, which has limited the educational opportunities available in health professions schools. The authors discuss the Vanderbilt Program in Interprofessional Learning (VPIL), which addresses some of the challenges facing clinic-based interprofessional experiences. APPROACH VPIL places first- and second-year students from 4 professional degree programs (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work) in Nashville, Tennessee, on teams where they work and learn together in authentic clinical environments over a 2-year period. The program was implemented in 2010 and includes 3 components: a summer immersion experience, seminar-based classroom and simulation sessions, and a weekly clinical experience. Students also complete a capstone quality improvement project. VPIL administrators have set up structures at the institutional, clinic, faculty, and student levels that have contributed to the sustainability of the program. OUTCOMES Between 2010 and 2019, VPIL admitted 398 students who participated on 91 clinical teams. In addition, 55 clinical preceptors and 12 core faculty trained students for future collaborative practice. The program has received consistently high ratings from students, who have produced 69 quality improvement projects at their clinics. These projects have addressed aspects of the care delivery process and produced durable materials, showing that the program has contributed to important innovations in the health system. NEXT STEPS VPIL faculty continue to improve the curriculum and administrative structures and work to expand the program to reach a wider variety of health professions students. Going forward, lessons from the program could assist educators in creating opportunities for students to learn interprofessionally and deliver high value health care in increasingly complex delivery systems.

Abstract: Adopting an active learning approach to improve the performance of engineering students in higher education is becoming highly important This paper investigates how art education could be integrated into STEM-based engineering curricula to improve creativity, critical thinking, reasoning skills, aesthetic sensibilities and appreciation This new STEAM-based approach is explored in three different case studies for courses in electrical circuits, digital design, and control systems to highlight its correlation to the designed course learning outcomes of the syllabi and how to implement it using small projects, lab experiments, or conducting active simulations General attributes of art education are tied to the courses’ contents, with focus on the amount of details, structure, and organization of specific applications such as photography, painting, sculpture, and fashion design The main contribution of this paper is to raise awareness to the value of art in engineering programs, especially for academic institutions that adopt a liberal arts approach A rich discussion is given to address extensions to other courses and labs in different engineering programs, while addressing novel pedagogical approaches to better equip the students for the 21st century workplace The multidisciplinary nature of STEAM-based education is also investigated as an important tool to improve the quality of the capstone design projects of the students at the senior level

Abstract: Entry-level doctoral occupational therapy programs require students to complete a capstone experience and project that supports advanced skills through an in-depth learning experience with a student-selected mentor. Strong curriculum design and mentorship are vital aspects of successful capstone experiences and projects. Through the application of these key components, students are supported, in collaboration with mentors, to achieve mutually beneficial projects allowing advancement of the profession through dissemination of capstone work.

Abstract: The number of distance learning degrees has increased dramatically over the last decade. Yet, despite this increase, teaching computer security subjects for online students remains challenging. Online classes often need a special infrastructure such as devices with specific tools, or hardware requirements. It is also a challenge to design a course that is pedagogically sound, engaging and fun for students who may come from a wide spectrum of educational backgrounds. The quality of the education delivered also differs from one institution to another. To provide a sense of accreditation and regulation, the National Cyber-security Centre, which is a part of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom (UK) has certified only two online (i.e. distance learning) cybersecurity MSc degrees in the country.This paper presents an innovative way of designing capstone projects (i.e. case studies) along with the impact of it on retention, completion, and success rates in a world-class distance learning degree at the University of Liverpool (UoL) over the last ten years. The Chartered Institute for IT (i.e. BSC) is the accreditation body of the degree program studied in this research1.

Abstract: Capstone design courses, an established component of undergraduate engineering curricula, offer students the opportunity tosynthesize their prior engineering coursework and apply professional and technical skills towards projects with practicalapplication. During this experience, capstone faculty enable mentored exploration, coaching students to navigate the design processto complete complex, open-ended projects. These projects typically require specific knowledge and skills that students need toindependently identify and develop. Findings from our study of recent graduates during their first year of work suggest that thisself-directed learning experienced through the capstone design process provides critical preparation for professional practice. In thispaper, we examine self-directed learning in capstone and at work in detail, highlighting critical challenges in managing bothknowledge and time. The findings point to important ways that capstone design educators can design projects and mentor studentsto help promote this critical skill.

Abstract: During the academic year 2015–2016, our department implemented a capstone experience for all criminal justice majors. The contemporary scholarly literature on developing a capstone in a criminology...

Abstract: This scoping review examined outcomes of capstones in relation to entry-level doctoral education programs within the health professions. Aims of the study included mapping existing evidence related to capstone across entry-level clinical doctorates; investigating the purpose of capstones within health professions education; and identifying future research initiatives. Researchers applied and reported via the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews systematic approach, and Best Evidence Medical Education global scale. The study indicated a gap in existing literature. Few health professions described requirements for capstones as part of an entry-level doctorate. Reviewed articles offered no consistent definition, intent, process, or outcome for capstones. The majority of publications documented Kirkpatrick Level 2a educational outcomes, modification of learner attitudes and perceptions. No publications documented Level 3, 4a, or 4b educational outcomes reporting student behavioral change, change in organizational practice, or direct improvement to the health and well-being of patients or clients. The researchers recommend additional evidence-based educational research to expand the body of evidence related to the capstone.

Abstract: The engineering undergraduate curriculum presents substantial opportunities for improvement. Society is calling for a transformation (https://tuee.asee.org/). As the culminating experience for undergraduate engineering students, capstone design team projects represent a window on the curriculum and a particularly fertile ground for understanding these opportunities. However, the factors that influence success and failure in capstone remains an area of inquiry. The framework presented here proposes to help us develop a deeper understanding of these factors. We present a mixed methods analysis approach for identifying the critical factors impacting capstone design team success, where success is defined by student satisfaction. The proposed framework includes factors and their interactions in three fundamental areas: faculty mentorship, student backgrounds, and various contextual influences. The proposed framework capitalizes on the use of existing survey tools and course data to conduct a mapping of faculty mentor beliefs/practices against student perception and recognition of those practices. In conjunction with student reflective memos containing self-evaluations of their project and team experiences, interactions with faculty mentors, and overall satisfaction with their educational experience, this data will combine to provide a multifaceted assessment of which factors are influential and are value-added to the program. The mixed methods approach will include quantitative statistical analysis of programmatic data, qualitative social network analysis-based assessment of peer evaluations, and case-study triangulation with studentauthored reflective memorandum and faculty self-assessments. Preliminary results from application of the proposed framework at a large public metropolitan research one university will be shared. The ultimate objective of this work is to provide a meaningful in-depth understanding of the capstone design experience and insights based upon careful analysis and observations of engineering students working on “real-world” projects. It is envisioned that the results of the research will provide meaningful guidance to students, instructors and stakeholders for improved preparation of young engineers for the profession. Background and Outline With EC2000, ABET brought a paradigm change to engineering education that has continued through to the present day [1]. Beyond providing a foundation of science, math and engineering fundamentals, engineering programs needed to do more. In addition to a new focus on student outcomes, ABET imposed a new course requirement; a culminating experience (a.k.a. capstone) to provide graduating students with awareness, knowledge and skills for solving the challenging real-world problems that they would face in their careers [2]. The challenge for engineering programs became an issue of how to fulfill this new requirement. How do we teach students to think and act like real engineers? The introduction of the capstone course into the engineering curriculum signaled a return to a style of engineering education focusing on active experiential learning. At the time, relatively few resources were available for teaching modern engineering design in the broader context of global, cultural, social, environmental and economic factors [3, 4]. To help deal with the need for understanding the new experiential learning approaches in capstone and engineering education in general, research programs in engineering education were developed at various universities [5]. These new engineering education research programs served to expose deficiencies in our understanding of engineering design and teamwork in an academic setting, as well as the research methods used to develop that understanding [6] [7] [8] . While surfacing issues and challenges pertinent to the question of how to improve our teaching of students to become engineers, it is clear that further research is still needed to help us understand the inner workings of actual student teams in a natural setting [9]. What are the factors that make capstone students successful? Who are the observers in this natural setting that have the perspective and resources to make such a determination? Presumably, faculty who serve as capstone project advisors are the most likely candidates to have the appropriate perspective and may be the best observers. However, the very individuals who are immersed in the natural setting as capstone faculty advisors (a.k.a., project mentors or coaches) may not have the objective perspectives (nor appropriate time and inclination) necessary to conduct thoughtful unbiased assessments. There is a need to improve our understanding of experiential teaching methods in the context of engineering capstone design. What are the factors that influence student success? How do faculty advisors impact teamwork? What are the requisite skills and backgrounds needed by faculty advisors to properly guide students to become engineers? How does the nature of a project, the preparation and background of a student, or the skill mix of a team affect the learning and development process? The complexity of the interplay between these factors makes extracting the assessment from the natural setting a challenging task. In this paper, we will first provide a summary of some of the past efforts to improve our understanding of the potential factors that contribute to student success in capstone, along with the overarching objectives and approach for our work. Since defining student success tends to be somewhat subjective, we will then provide a brief commentary on the varying viewpoints and share a concise listing of the metrics in the proposed framework. An outline of the mixed methods framework will then be presented, complimented by descriptions of the survey instruments we have used to capture data from students and faculty. An overview of the case study analysis approach used to develop a deeper understanding of the factors that influence student success will then be presented, including summary data from nine case studies. Finally, this paper will share some of the preliminary observations from our initial implementation of the framework, concluding with a summary and plans for future work. Review of Prior Work, Objectives and Approach The ABET requirement to include capstone projects as a critical component of engineering education necessitated engineering programs to embrace active experiential learning. However, making fair and accurate student assessment in this kind of learning environment can be challenging, even for the best teachers. While past efforts to develop assessment methodologies for engineering capstone design have shed light on the subject [10, 11], it still remains unclear what truly makes one capstone team successful and others, perhaps less so. This very lack of clarity is a call for additional investigation into the relevant factors that influence student engagement and success. In the interest of seeking clarity on student project success, many researchers have focused on a variety of specific factors or methods that influence success. For example, it seems logical to assume that team composition may have a significant impact on project success. The confounding issue here is that there are many approaches described in the literature on team selection and making project assignments [12] . At one extreme, there is random assignment, which is probably not advisable for technically challenging open-ended capstone projects where a diversity of engineering experience and skills may be required [7]. Other approaches include grouping students based upon similar grade point average [13], personality profiles [14], student self-selection, or weighted mathematical algorithms of various forms [15, 16]. However, Aller, Lyth and Mallak [17] note that shared interests and motivation are probably the best predictors of team performance and “much more so than the methods identified.” Of course, this implies that project definition and the very nature of the project itself may also be factors. Bracken, et. al. consider the attributes for successful capstone project selection [18]. They conclude that perceived value of the project to students, relevance to the engineering discipline and the use of emerging “cool” technologies are factors, with the caveat that once a project commences and regardless of the project selection, that “having a crisis management plan enables the capstone practitioner to respond to the crisis in a calm and rational manner.” They go on to observe that “while a failed capstone project often leaves both the student, and sponsor (if applicable) and faculty project advisor disappointed, this doesn’t mean that learning has not taken place.” Clearly, challenge level may also be a factor associated with capstone project selection. In this vein, Pezeshki, Leachman and Beyerlein have explored the use of NASA Technology Readiness Levels along with resource and risk assessments to improve capstone project scoping in the interest of improving successful delivery of student project deliverables [19]. Another related factor may also include the initial perceptions students have when they are introduced to a capstone project. Hart and Polk examine these factors in the interest of offering appealing projects that “excite” and “engage” students [20]. Deriving results from their work it appears that the factors of importance to student capstone project preference can be summarized as follows: Factors Importance Interest in Project Area or Technology 78% Sponsor Reputation (Employment) 67% Well Defined Project Scope 67% Perceived Importance of Project 59% In addition to the possible success predictors of assessment, team composition and project definition, there are a host of other, perhaps more narrowly defined characteristics that have been described in the literature that may have influence on capstone project succ