TESU Capstone - question on due dates

[Muldoon]

I suppose this question might apply to any TESU class. I'm enrolled in the BSBA Capstone starting on 3/30. I'm trying to plan ahead and figure out when everything will be due.

When I look through the Capstone syllabus, it says to refer to the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

In looking for the calendar, I also see elsewhere that it says you can access course materials two days before the term starts.

So am I correct that I can't view due dates until the weekend before the course actually starts?

[Merlin]

I suppose this question might apply to any TESU class. I'm enrolled in the BSBA Capstone starting on 3/30. I'm trying to plan ahead and figure out when everything will be due.

When I look through the Capstone syllabus, it says to refer to the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

In looking for the calendar, I also see elsewhere that it says you can access course materials two days before the term starts.

So am I correct that I can't view due dates until the weekend before the course actually starts?

Sort of. The courses typically begin on a Monday, but they usually open up the course site and forum at the end of the day on the Friday before class starts. Once the course begins, the instructor will post the assignments and due dates for your cohort. So those extra two days don't really add much since in my experience the instructor doesn't start posting stuff until the day the courses officially begin. It is possible that your instructor could post that stuff up early though, so it may be there on the Friday before. The extra days are generally there for you to familiarize yourself with the site and post an introduction on the forum, etc.

If you want to work ahead, I recommend you start reading the textbook. Read every chapter of the text and take notes, since you'll need that for the weekly discussions and the midterm. You can initially skip the case studies since there are a ton of them and you won't know which specific case studies have been assigned to you until the assignments are posted.

[dfrecore]

I agree with Merlin, the best thing you can do if you want to start early is read the textbook, and take good notes.

[bjcheung77]

There really isn't a set schedule you can preview as each instructor/mentor will have it set up differently... In addition to reading the textbook and taking notes, you might start making your own record of the "lists", within each chapter, it usually has a list of X items, you should also write down terms you're unfamiliar with. Make sure you know your subject terms, you can probably find some quizlets people have made and use those flashcards or other info if you search the threads and read up on what others may have done.

[Muldoon]

Great, thank you all! It's not so much starting early as it is just trying to schedule my time in advance, because this is my first actual course through TESU and I don't know what to expect. I want to make sure I'm planning ahead with other life obligations over the next few months and allowing enough study time. My idea was to figure out the due dates so I can mark them all on my calendar. I will start reviewing my book though and taking notes so I can get a head start on portions of the work.

[Merlin]

Great, thank you all! It's not so much starting early as it is just trying to schedule my time in advance, because this is my first actual course through TESU and I don't know what to expect. I want to make sure I'm planning ahead with other life obligations over the next few months and allowing enough study time. My idea was to figure out the due dates so I can mark them all on my calendar. I will start reviewing my book though and taking notes so I can get a head start on portions of the work.

Well if you just need a rough calendar, the following is the schedule when I took the course. Our schedule was modified to work around some holidays, but you can assume that yours will be similar...

Week 1: Read Chapters 1-2, Forum intro due, Case Study 1 due
Week 2: Read Chapter 3, Discussion 1 posts & comments due, Case study 2 due
Week 3: Read Chapter 4, Discussion 2 posts & comments due
Week 4: Read Chapter 5, Discussion 3 posts & comments due, Case study 3 due
Week 5: Read Chapter 6, Discussion 4 posts & comments due, Case study 4 due
Week 6: Read Chapter 7, Discussion 5 posts & comments due
Week 7: Read Chapter 8, Discussion 6 posts due, Midterm exam
Week 8: No readings, Discussion 6 comments due, Discussion 7 posts & comments due, Case study 5 due
Week 9: Read Chapter 9, Discussion 8 posts & comments due
Week 10: No readings, Discussion 9 posts & comments due, ETS proficiency assessment due, Case study 6 due
Week 11: Read Chapter 10-11, Discussion 10 posts & comments due
Week 12: Read Chapter 12, Discussion 11 posts & comments due, Case study 7 due, Final project due

Obviously, if you read the textbook early and take good notes, you can avoid having to do it on the schedule they suggest. It will help quite a bit since those chapters are pretty long.

The discussion posts are mainly answering questions based on the reading assigned that week and engaging in conversations with your fellow students by commenting on their posts.

Each case study assignment just requires reading through the case study and writing a paper about it that covers 2-3 prompts. These took me about 2-3 days to complete.

The final paper is a monster, so to be safe, you should plan to start on that right after you complete the midterm.

[jsh1138]

I wouldn't get started too much before the class starts because you have to clear your thesis question or project with your professor. If yours changes your question or won't allow it, you're back to square one

My thesis had 5 sub questions and my prof disallowed 2 of them, for instance. So my advice would be to pick a topic and a couple of questions and see what the professor says before you start researching too much

[Muldoon]

Great, thank you all! It's not so much starting early as it is just trying to schedule my time in advance, because this is my first actual course through TESU and I don't know what to expect. I want to make sure I'm planning ahead with other life obligations over the next few months and allowing enough study time. My idea was to figure out the due dates so I can mark them all on my calendar. I will start reviewing my book though and taking notes so I can get a head start on portions of the work.

Well if you just need a rough calendar, the following is the schedule when I took the course. Our schedule was modified to work around some holidays, but you can assume that yours will be similar...

Week 1: Read Chapters 1-2, Forum intro due, Case Study 1 due
Week 2: Read Chapter 3, Discussion 1 posts & comments due, Case study 2 due
Week 3: Read Chapter 4, Discussion 2 posts & comments due
Week 4: Read Chapter 5, Discussion 3 posts & comments due, Case study 3 due
Week 5: Read Chapter 6, Discussion 4 posts & comments due, Case study 4 due
Week 6: Read Chapter 7, Discussion 5 posts & comments due
Week 7: Read Chapter 8, Discussion 6 posts due, Midterm exam
Week 8: No readings, Discussion 6 comments due, Discussion 7 posts & comments due, Case study 5 due
Week 9: Read Chapter 9, Discussion 8 posts & comments due
Week 10: No readings, Discussion 9 posts & comments due, ETS proficiency assessment due, Case study 6 due
Week 11: Read Chapter 10-11, Discussion 10 posts & comments due
Week 12: Read Chapter 12, Discussion 11 posts & comments due, Case study 7 due, Final project due

Obviously, if you read the textbook early and take good notes, you can avoid having to do it on the schedule they suggest. It will help quite a bit since those chapters are pretty long.

The discussion posts are mainly answering questions based on the reading assigned that week and engaging in conversations with your fellow students by commenting on their posts.

Each case study assignment just requires reading through the case study and writing a paper about it that covers 2-3 prompts. These took me about 2-3 days to complete.

The final paper is a monster, so to be safe, you should plan to start on that right after you complete the midterm.

Perfect, thank you! That's exactly the type of detail I was hoping to find. Obviously I'm sure it will vary depending on how the teacher has everything set up, so I won't put anything on my calendar until the due dates are officially released, but that helps me visualize the approximate amount of work needed. Looks like I can expect basically one chapter every week plus discussion, and then 7 case studies, a midterm, and final paper. Thank you!

[Merlin]

I wouldn't get started too much before the class starts because you have to clear your thesis question or project with your professor. If yours changes your question or won't allow it, you're back to square one

My thesis had 5 sub questions and my prof disallowed 2 of them, for instance. So my advice would be to pick a topic and a couple of questions and see what the professor says before you start researching too much

The BSBA capstone final paper is a bit different. Pre-approval is not required for anything since you're not allowed to create your own thesis topic. For the final paper, everyone picks from a list of case study scenarios (there were 3 choices in my capstone), each representing a different company and problem to address. From there you research the company and create a ~20-page analytical report, with recommendations for the company's CEO, to address the scenario. The report must be in APA format and requires properly cited references that support the company/situation analysis and recommended action plan.

Theoretically, one could begin work on their final paper at any time after the class officially begins and the companies and scenarios are published. However, the paper is meant to synthesize the concepts and knowledge gained during the course so it may not be possible to start on it too soon. Starting after the midterm worked for me, so that is what I recommend to others to make sure there is enough time.