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Chapter 8: Project Control and Evaluation

From "IQP Guidelines" By John T. O'Connor*

Reporting and Review Requirements

Proper guidance and direction, communication, off-campus interaction and overall project visibility are some of the ingredients of a successful IQP experience. Accordingly, to provide for these students are frequently expected to meet the following reporting and review requirements.

• Weekly Meetings and Progress Reports: A one-page weekly "Project Conference Report* (PCR) is to be sent to each project advisor on a specified day of the week, prior to the weekly meeting. The PCR should state: what was accomplished during the week; what is planned for the next week; any problem areas encountered during the week; any changes from proposed plans. These Project Conference Reports are the bases for the project meetings between the project students and their advisor(s).
• Interim Project Review: The project advisor(s) may require that a status report be submitted as a basis for an oral presentation and discussion sometime during the execution of the project.
• Chapter Drafts: All work handed in must be doubled spaced, paginated, and clearly labeled as to where it fits into the report (chapter number and title, section titles, etc.). Chapter outlines (including all major divisions, subdivisions, etc.) should be approved by the advisor(s) before the chapters are written, and the outline must be submitted with the draft. All submissions must be grammatically correct, easily readable, and proofread (be sure to use a SPELL program with the word processor). Students should not expect the project advisor(s) to do proofreading, correcting of grammar, or try to figure out what they are trying to say. Care on their part will solve most of such problems; the Writing Resource Center may be of help to those with serious difficulties. Each submission should be read by ALL of the authors of the report. All work submitted must be dated and have the author(s) clearly indicated. Project advisors may choose to use a code sheet similar to that given in Appendix D (*Common Problems in Report Writing") for ease in making specific observations on submissions.
  Fine-tuning, types of corrections may not made in the first draft. The focus is on suggestions for major directional changes, content additions, reorganizations, etc, When a new draft is submitted, all previous drafts must accompany it.
• Deadlines for Project Report Drafts: In order to minimize last minute rushes which lead to tension, confusion, and poor quality work, it is necessary that adequate planning occur for the 'last" term on the IQP. In order to complete the project on time, it will be necessary to have a complete, typed, "final' draft to the project advisor(s) by the middle (15th day of a 28 day class schedule) of that Term. That much leeway will be necessary for the advisor(s) to read this draft carefully, suggest final revisions, and for the students to make those revisions and have the final version typed and back to him (them) for final reading. The 'final' draft will incorporate all the suggestions/corrections which have been made previously by the advisor(s) on the original draft (all previous drafts must be submitted with each new draft). Since--in most cases-- the 'final' draft submission will be the first time the advisor(s) has(have) seen the report as a complete unit, students should expect that the advisor(s) will have additional comments and/or suggestions.
• It is necessary that this 'final' draft be typed and complete (including Table of Contents, Abstracts, Footnotes, Bibliography, Appendices, etc.- - see Section IV) so that it can be read as a total unit. Typing format should be in final form (check K.L. Turabian's style manual--latest edition). Also, since accidents do happen, copy(ies) of this typed version should be submitted rather than the original.
• Final Project Report Submission: At the completion of the project, at least one clear copy of the final report must be submitted to the project advisor(s). This will be forwarded to the Registrar's Office, along with the appropriate "Completion of Degree Requirement" forms, by the advisor(s).
• Oral Presentations of Final Report: The project advisor(s) may require an oral presentation of the final project. This is particularly advisable where outside sponsors are involved.

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Last modified: November 15, 2006 10:19:58