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IE 479 Yağmur Ak Zeynep Küçükerol. Student Reactions to the Field Consulting Capstone Course in Operations Management at the University of Dayton. General View. A research project carried out by Michael F. Gorman About feedback on a capstone course by students
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IE 479 YağmurAk Zeynep Küçükerol Student Reactions to the Field Consulting Capstone Course in Operations Management at the University of Dayton
General View • A research project carried out by Michael F. Gorman • About feedback on a capstone course by students • At University of Dayton • Started at 2003
Who is Michael Gorman? • A Professor at University of Dayton • Born at 7th July 1965 • Research Interest: • Transportation • Logistics • Supply chain • Pricing and Revenue Optimization • Business Pedagogy
Information about Project • Operations Management Capstone Course: Undergraduate Student Field Consulting Applies Theory to Practice
Capstone Course Description • Six credit-hour: • One credit: Problem Identification and Project Proposal • Five credit: Project Execution
Capstone Course Description • Student team composition • 3 students in each team (ideal case) • Skill + Experience + Abilities = Project Success • Deliverables • Project Proposal • Midproject Report • Final Report • Recommendations
Criteria for Forming Teams • Choice of 2nd and 3rd majors • Analytical tools skills • Overall GPA • Grades in Operations Management courses • Previous job experience (internships) • Student Preferences • Class & Work Schedules
Learning Goals • Technical Skills • Technical & Analytical concepts and tools • Data collection • General Business Skills • Problem identification • Project management skills • Soft Interpersonal Skills • Professional communication • Team work skills
Technical Skills and Tools • No formal technical training • Apply OR skills and OM topics • Data collection & analysis • Changing data format
Challenges for Problem Definition • Differences of opinions • Misunderstandings • Misinformation • Ferret out the `truth’
Project Outcomes • Final paper based on many drafts • Working as a team • Common understanding • Mutually agreed-upon recommendation • Client & Advisor satisfaction
Additional Project Example • Bilkent Senior IE Design Project • (IE 477- IE 478) • 6 credits • Real Business Clients • 1 year period • Analytical and Social Skills • Problem Definition & Execution • Advisor feedback Similar to the Capstone Course Project at University of Dayton
Research Project of Michael Gorman • Collects qualitative and quantitative data from students’ evaluation of capstone project. • Carries out surveys among the same students at 3 points of their career. • Right after completion of the course • Upon graduation • 0-7 years after graduation
Quantitative Analysis Information • Based on Likert scale • Between 0-4 points • 0- strongly disagree • 1- disagree • 2- neutral • 3- agree • 4- strongly agree Example of a likert scale
Right After Completion of the Course • Challenging • Rigorous • Highly Educational • Most valuable elements are: • data analysis • real-world environment • Extremely Valuable
Identified Risks • Client Risk • All clients are not fully attentive and interested • Project Risk • Lack of data availability, more proposals • Communication Risk • Feedback
Upon Graduation • Real-world experience • Felt like a part-time job • Beneficial report • Challenges of operations consulting • Team work
Graduates (0-7 Years) Participation to survey of graduate students for 7 years
Graduates (0-7 Years) • Most Challenging Element? • Most Helpful Element? • Most Useful Element?
Qualitative Graduate Survey Results • Most memorable aspect? • Most important lessons? • OPS Capstone Experience? • Value most about the course? • Should be more emphasized? Text data-mining exercise is conducted to evaluate the results
Evaluation Method • It is an exact method • A zero to four point scale • Mean, Standard Deviation and p value are calculated • Comparison made based on mean differences • In Graduate Survey Analysis • A Chi-squared goodness-of-fit test • Percentage of students responded in each year is calculated • P value is calculated
Evaluation Method • In graduate survey analysis • Likert scale (between 0-4) is used • 0- less valuable • 4-most valuable
Opportunities for Improvement • Better project selection, scoping, definition and charter • Better communication and coordination among student teams, clients and advisors • More structured meetings, instruction and training • More time to complete the project
Conclusion • Students are highly motivated • Students think project is more helpful than challenging.(Likert Scale) • Course provides a real-world experience, develops both analytical and social skills. • Both qualitative & quantitative data • Push-based education Pull-based • Can test their skills
Conclusion • 3 factors: • Need to deliver for a client, not for a professor • Need to strive for results, not for a grade • Opportunity to analyze real problems, not imagined ones It is found at the end of the research that: It is necessary to extend the intensity of the projects through expanded credit hours to compensate for these challenges
In Turkey • Similar research studies are being done in universities in Turkey. • 3 Examples: • Atılım University, Computer Engineering Department • Başkent University, Biomedical Engineering Department • 9 Eylül University, Electrical and Electronical Engineering Department
References • http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1072/submission14.pdf • http://www.emo.org.tr/ekler/d3cd38f9afa6cfe_ek.pdf • http://www.emo.org.tr/ekler/2d69b2cd95850e5_ek.pdf