CIDSE Project Portfolio Instructions

 

All students in the non-thesis degree program must complete  a project portfolio.  The portfolio  is a compilation of three completed projects that were finished in three Computer Science  program  courses.  Students must write a portfolio report that includes the highlights of the three projects.

 

How to select a project for inclusion in the portfolio

•     All 500-level regular Computer Science courses (no 400-level courses) are eligible for portfolio as long as the student can get an attestation from the instructor that they have done at least 30% of project work for the course in combination with an in-class project and additional out-of-class (self-study) work.

•     The student must have received a final grade of “B” or better in the course.

•     Students in the Cybersecurity or Big Data concentrations should have significant content from those areas included in the portfolio. At least 2 out of the 3 projects must be from the required concentration and/or concentration elective courses.

 

How to prepare the portfolio

The student must complete  the Computer Science Portfolio  Cover  Sheet and submit it with the portfolio report. The portfolio should have four sections: one summary page and one section per project. The portfolio must be typewritten and should be a minimum of 10 complete pages in length (three full pages per report    plus one full page for the summary). A project report that is 2 and a half pages is not acceptable. Large      margins that  have  been increased to meet the  length requirement are also not acceptable. If your  report is  not submitted according to the stated specifications, you will be asked to re-write it.

 

In writing your project portfolio report, you should not use the original project reports. For each of the three projects, you should (1) write an introduction, (2) an explanation of the solution and (3) a description of the results. Each of the three project descriptions should have (4) a description of your contributions to the project and (5) an explanation of what new skills, techniques, or knowledge you acquired  from the project.  Part (5) should also include a list of team members who worked on the project.

 

All sections of the portfolio should have the same format and all three reports should include references. Students should choose a format style that they are familiar with, such as IEEE or ACM. It is very important that the same  format is used throughout the portfolio report. Portfolios that do not follow the guidelines will not be accepted.

 

Plan Ahead

•   Effective Spring 2020, students will need to submit the required report for the class within two weeks of grades being due.

•   Do not wait until your final semester to take a course you plan on using. It makes it very difficult to meet the deadline if you have not completed the course.

 

Formatting:

•   Students should choose a format style that they are familiar with, such as IEEE or ACM. It is very important that the same format be used throughout the portfolio report.

•   Each report must include sources/references and these references must be properly cited inside the report.

•   Overuse of bullet-points and enumerations that decrease the amount of content needed to meet the page minimum will not be accepted.

•   The report should not have any grammatical or typographical errors. Use spellcheck and grammar check software.

•   Do not include the original project report; summarize the project highlights and significant points of the original report.

Important Checklist

•     Include a summary page that includes the summary of all three projects.

•     If the project was a group project, then the individual contribution of the student must be identified (this  is to be included in section part (5)).

•     All three project reports must include references and these references must be properly cited inside the report.

 

Submitting the portfolio

1.   You will be added to the Canvas course after you have applied for graduation.

2.   Fill out the Portfolio Cover Sheet. Portfolios submitted with incomplete cover sheets will not be accepted.

a.    A signature from the faculty is only required if the course was completed prior to Spring 2020. If approval was granted via email, the email(s) must be submitted with the cover sheet. Effective Spring 2020, the faculty has provided the advising office with the list of students whose report has been approved, so a signature is not needed.

b.   Online students are not required to obtain faculty approval on the coversheet regardless of when the course was taken. The list of approved portfolio reports has been sent to the advising office.

3.   The summary page and the three project reports must be submitted electronically to the Project Portfolio Canvas course. The submission will be checked using anti-plagiarism software.

4.   Upload a copy of your unofficial transcript to the Project Portfolio Canvas course. This will be used to verify that a “B” or better grade was earned in the portfolio courses as well as the required core area courses.

5.   Complete the Employment Information Survey.

6.   We do not recommend using courses you are enrolled in during your final semester at ASU. However, if    you choose to do so, and the grade for a course is not available by the time the portfolio is submitted, that should be noted, and the portfolio will be evaluated when the grade is available. You will also need to work with your course instructor to obtain the necessary approval by the degree conferral date.

 

Final approval of the portfolio

Your portfolio will be reviewed by the Graduate Program Coordinator or Program Chair. If the Graduate Program Coordinator or Program Chair is satisfied with  the student’s  project  portfolio,  the graduate  advisors will enter the results in the student’s official record (iPOS). The results will be reflected on your iPOS.

 

Deadline to submit the portfolio

Students must submit the portfolio in accordance with the deadlines  below. Please note that these deadlines  are for the term of graduation.

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (General)

 

1.       How and when will I know that my portfolio is approved? The results will be reflected on your iPOS.

 

2.       Will I be contacted if my portfolio is not approved? Yes.

 

3.       I will not be able to submit my portfolio before the deadline. Can I still graduate? The portfolio deadline is set so the Advising Staff and the Program Chair have enough time to review and process your portfolio so you can graduate during your anticipated term. Understand that there may be over 100 portfolios that need to be processed each term, so it is very important to adhere to the deadline. We will accept portfolios after the deadline, but any portfolios submitted after the deadline run the risk of not being processed in time for graduation. HOWEVER, we are going to do our ABSOLUTE BEST to help you graduate as planned. If you are going to miss the

deadline, submit the portfolio as close to the deadline as possible and document the reason(s) for missing the deadline.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (courses taken Spring 2020 and later; online students)

 

1.       Am I required to submit the portfolio cover sheet? Yes. All students must submit a completed cover sheet to indicate which courses you are using for your portfolio. Portfolios submitted with incomplete cover sheets will not be accepted.

 

2.       Am I required to submit faculty approval for my portfolio reports? No. The faculty has provided the advising office with the list of students whose report has been approved,

 

3.       I am currently enrolled in a course I am using for my portfolio. What do I need to know? You need to submit the portfolio as close to the deadline as possible. We will hold your portfolio until grades are posted and verify that you receive a grade of “B” or better in the course. You will also need to work with your course instructor to obtain the necessary approval by the degree conferral date.

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (courses taken prior to Spring 2020)

 

1.       Can I turn in more than one cover sheet? Yes. We understand it may be challenging to have all faculty sign one cover sheet so this is acceptable, but they must be submitted as one attachment.

 

2.       What do I do if a faculty is not responding to my email requests to review my portfolio? Please give a faculty member at least three weeks to review your portfolio. If you have not heard back, you may send a follow-up email and/or visit during their posted office hours. Document all attempts at communication. If the deadline for the portfolio submission approaches and you have not heard back from the faculty, please submit the portfolio along with ALL documented communication attempts.

 

3.       Is email approval from a faculty member acceptable? Yes. The email approval(s) must be submitted with the cover sheet as one attachment.

 

4.       What do I do if the faculty member of my portfolio course has left ASU? You may attempt to contact the professor. If you are having difficulties notify your assigned advisor immediately.

 

5.       I am using CSE 545 and/or CSE 543, taught by Dr. Yau, in my portfolio. What is the procedure for these courses? Please submit a copy of the report as the portfolio submission. This may match the previously submitted report, but this will not be a problem. You are not required to obtain Dr. Yau’s signature on the cover sheet.

 

6.       I am using CSE 548 and/or CSE 546 in my portfolio which I took from Dr. Huang. Do I need a signature? You are not required to obtain Dr. Huang’s signature on the cover sheet. The advising office has been given a list of students with approved portfolio projects.

 

7.       I am using CSE 546 in my portfolio which I took from Dr. Zhao. Do I need a signature? You are not required to obtain Dr. Zhao’s signature on the cover sheet. The advising office has been given a list of students with approved portfolio projects.

 

8.       I am currently enrolled in a course I am using for my portfolio. What do I need to know? You need to submit the portfolio as close to the deadline as possible. We will hold your portfolio until grades are posted and verify that you receive a grade of “B” or better in the course.

 

 

 

 

 

Updated May 2020