Graduate Independent Study - Evaluation
All deliverables are due at the end of the semester in which you sign up for your Independent Study project. Approximately two weeks before the beginning of exams, you must submit the following to your advisor:
- Two (or three) printed, unbound copies of your final report.
- At the discretion of your advisor, an electronic copy of your report
- Any other materials (such as software) appropriate for your project; discuss the complete set of deliverables with your advisor.
Some advisors will grade your work based on an electronic copy of your final report, and request that you deliver the printed copies directly to the Independent Study Coordinator .
We will bind the hard copies of your final report. One is kept by your advisor, and another is kept in the department archives. If you provide a third printed copy, we will bind that one as well and send it to you at no additional charge. The printed copies you submit must NOT be stapled or bound in any way other than binder clips or rubber bands.
Your advisor is solely responsible for assigning your grade for the Independent Study course. However, your advisor must report those grades to the IS Coordinator no later than the beginning of final exams. Therefore, advisors need time to carefully evaluate the project materials and read the final report, and often insist on having two weeks to do so. However, the specific deadline for getting your materials to your advisor can be worked out between the two of you.
Do NOT make your advisor track you down. It is YOUR responsibility to contact your advisor as the semester deadline draws near. If you are having trouble completing your IS project work on time, you may be eligible for an extension, but you must contact your advisor well ahead of the end of the semester to request it. If you do not contact your advisor as the end of the semester draws near you will be dropped from the course and have to sign up for it again in a future semester, paying full tuition.
There is no good reason for an Independent Study project to receive a poor grade, but unfortunately it happens all the time. There are three main problems students have regarding IS projects that result in low grades:
- Procrastination
- Not keeping their advisor informed
- Violating academic integrity
The trouble with Independent Study projects is that they are independent. Unless your advisor is the strong hands-on type, no one will be standing over you saying that a particular deliverable is due on a certain day. Because of the lack of intermediate deadlines, the rest of your life can tend to get in the way. Too many past students have allowed the semester deadline to approach without making satisfactory progress, and their final results are hurried and inadequate. You MUST avoid the trap of procrastination. Find the time to make steady progress on your project, just as you would if it were a regular course meeting weekly. If you find yourself unable to create a schedule that results in steady progress, request that your advisor take a stronger role in setting intermediate deadlines.
One of the worst things you can do is leave your advisor out of the loop as you work on your IS project. There is a strong correlation between high Independent Study project grades and the interaction a student has with his or her advisor. Limited interaction is often detrimental to the project and the final grade. You may think you're proceeding as planned, but your advisor may have other assumptions. Or you may want to shift the emphasis of your topic, which is often fine, but only if your advisor is part of the decision to do so.
Most advisors are happy to read early drafts of your final report and suggest changes. That type of interaction usually results in projects of high quality that meet your advisor expectations. In these cases the final evaluation that your advisor performs becomes a rubber stamp. But to accomplish this you must (1) avoid procrastination and (2) keep your advisor informed of your project.
Academic integrity is such an important issue we've given it a full discussion in another section of this site. Make sure you read that page carefully.