ECE 482 - Capstone

Faculty Responsibilities

The course model for ECE 482 consists of faculty serving as course coordinator(s) and design-team facilitiators.

A course coordinator has the following responsibilities:

• maintains the course model
• ensures consistency from term to term
• manages the course on a day-to-day basis (e.g., arranges lectures on teaming, technical topics, professionalism, communication, etc.; arranges guest speakers; informs students of deliverables; records student attendance; etc.)
• plans for design-team projects (topics, sponsors, lab support, etc.)
• forms the design teams
• implements a grading procedure
• evaluates student performance and assigns student grades
• coordinates faculty supervision of design and skill teams
• facilitates design team(s)
• facilitates primary skill teams, including Management Skill Team
• supervises TAs (lab manager and web manager)
• plans the final project exposition
• uses assessment tools to evaluate student learning and course outcomes

A design team facilitator has the following responsibilities:

• provides project ideas (optional)
• works with the coordinator to develop a project description and set of project requirements by the first week of the term (preferably earlier)
• writes a memo for each project being supervised to supplement the request for proposals (RFP)
• facilitates design team(s)
• facilitates a skill team (optional)
• delivers technical lectures (optional)
• meets weekly with each team
• attends presentations and demonstrations given by each team
• meets with a team's customer/sponsor (if applicable)
• as needed, instructs team, helps team find assistance, and guides team through the engineering design process
• serves as a mentor for the team on professional aspects of the course
• reviews team progress and provides feedback to team and course coordinator
• reviews student deliverables to support the grading procedure

The faculty facilitator is not expected to be an expert in all the disciplines associated with the execution of the project. Rather they are to be project supervisors directing the activities of the team and motivating the team to exploit the human and technical resources of the department, college, and university.