Has Anyone Ever Failed A Capstone Course?

[corpsole2]

Those of you who have taken a capstone course through TESC or Excelsior: have you ever gotten a low score or failed a capstone course? At TESC you need a minimum of 60% to gain the credit for the course. As of today, I am still at 35% (though she still has to grade the Discussion Forum and the ETS).

I ask this because I was doing just fine with the course up until this morning, when my mentor sent back my latest assignment with a zero grade. She said she couldn't grade it until it was revised. It's good that she is giving me another chance, but it felt like a punch in the gut when I read her notes. I realized I have been sloppy with the survey and the sub-questions I posed.

She mentioned a survey should have at least ten questions; mine had three. But I don't think she'll have me go back and have my respondents retake a revised survey. It might be too late in the course to do that. I'll probably just get dinged for it, even though I hate that it will be.

I think her main problem was it wasn't formatted correctly. And no wonder. I discovered my survey questions were being used as my sub-questions in the chapter. I went back to the original sub-questions in Chapter 1, and the wording was very different! For some reason I had changed it. ::headdesk:: Not to mention, I hadn't provided the graphs for the demographic data I provided.

So, I am spending my morning in big time revisions of the chapter. I am also revising the survey in case she wants me to have them retake it.

I will talk to her tonight to have her clarify what she wants from this this assignment.

[ironheadjack]

The answer to this question also interests me.

[starlinghunter]

What course are you doing? (corpsole 2)

[corpsole2]

What course are you doing? (corpsole 2)

I am doing a capstone course with Dr. Haydel. It is a minimum 25 page paper with original research on a broad range of subjects.

[Westerner]

Whoa, really sorry for you! Good thing she's giving you another chance. As far as failing, that could only happen if your total grades for the class don't add up to that 60%. That includes discussion posts, the Capstone chapters, the ETS, and the completed Capstone. It's kind of nerve-wracking to see the percentage so low, until the end of the class when you hopefully get a good score in the final project (because usually it's weighted more) and the percentage goes up. I'm sure once you correct it, she'll give you a better grade than 0. Best wishes!

[corpsole2]

Thanks, Westerner.

She said having so few survey questions makes the original research really thin. However, no where in the textbook or in the modules did it specify the number of questions for surveys. I'll ask her about that tonight.

She is usually very understanding, so I imagine she will not have me revise the survey for this module. But she might have them retake it before I submit the finalized paper.

[corpsole2]

I just have this idea in my mind that I want to crack the 60% threshold or be near it when I submit the final paper for the final 30% grade. I figure I can be around 65% by the time I am done with the paper and submit it. It all depends on the these last few assignments. :-)

[Westerner]

I just have this idea in my mind that I want to crack the 60% threshold or be near it when I submit the final paper for the final 30% grade. I figure I can be around 65% by the time I am done with the paper and submit it. It all depends on the these last few assignments. :-)

That definitely sounds doable!

[corpsole2]

I just got off the phone with Dr. Haydel. I can't say enough how great of a mentor she is for this course. For those who haven't done the course: do your best to get her as your mentor.

She told me that the zero grade is merely to get students' attention that something is wrong. It turned out my survey questions were my sub-questions, and so she felt she had nothing to base the grade on. She laughed when I told her of the mishap that I forgot to put the sub-questions in there. So it is squared away.

She also said to keep my survey the way it is. She said surveys should have a maximum (not a minimum) of ten questions, otherwise all the graphs and narratives would be messy and unwieldy. I'm glad I don't have to revise the survey and have everyone re-take it.

She mainly wants to see it formatted correctly, with the requisite graphs and data in correct order. This is not the chapter to interpret the results.

I'm feeling about 80% better than this morning. I just have a few minor revisions and I'll re-submit it. I'll let you know what the grade is.

[corpsole2]

I just got back the grade on the revised chapter four. Dr. Haydel gave me 90%. Standing between me and 100, I guess, is that I didn't need to italicize as much as I did, and for some reason my carefully formatted graphs keep moving from their titles, thus creating dead space. She noted that, as well. Other than that, she definitely praised that paper.

I am so much better than yesterday. When she grades the Discussion Forum and the ETS, I should be around 50% - within striking distance of the 60 I was shooting for going into Module Six.