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Capping off college with senior projects

CAPSTONE FESTIVAL SET FOR MAY 13, 14 AND 15

Tyler Garland’s mother, Heidi, is a breast cancer survivor who works to support and empower others with the disease.

To fulfill a CSU Monterey Bay requirement that all students complete a capstone – a creative or research project – Tyler developed a website to help Heidi reach a larger audience with her message of hope, inspiration and education. Heidi’s Heroes took the communication design major a year to create. It’s just one example of the work that will be on display during the Capstone Festival May 13-15.

At Cal State Monterey Bay, all students have been required to do capstone projects since the first graduating class in 1997. Some of those projects are archived in the campus library. During the Capstone Festival held at the end of each semester, the campus takes on the feel of an intellectual marketplace.

At recent festivals, a biology major presented a study of human stem cell proliferation, a social and behavioral sciences major looked at women police officers in American society and a psychology student examined the socialization of sarcasm.

Business students, working in teams, presented strategic business plans for local companies and organizations.

A World Languages and Cultures student gave a 25-minute talk – entirely in Japanese – on the arguments for and against changing Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. A PowerPoint presentation running in the background provided the information in English.

And a music major – with help from his friends – performed a three-movement piece he composed for a brass quartet.

While the projects require a great deal of time and effort, they’re worth it.

Research by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) has found that capstone projects are a high-impact educational practice. Participation in these practices can be “life-changing,” according to the AACU.

"Increasingly, people want to know what students can do with their learning and how they can apply that learning across all the courses in their college," the AACU’s Carol Grear Schneider told the Los Angeles Times.

In addition, she told The Times, colleges want to do a better job of preparing graduates for the demands of the job market and graduate schools. The capstones, she said, help students "become people who can problem-solve and produce something of high quality."

Research by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) shows a steady increase in those completing capstones. In 2013, 45 percent of students reported doing such a project compared to nine percent in 2000.

Campus-wide requirements like the one at CSUMB are most common at liberal arts colleges, where 74 percent of students reported completing a capstone project in 2013. At large research universities, 45 percent of students produced capstones that year, according to NSSE.

The capstone festival is scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, May 13, 14 and 15. The public is invited.

The Cinematic Arts and Technology capstone program will be held at 1 p.m. on May 14, with the program repeating at 6 p.m., in the World Theater on Sixth Avenue.