IND 299 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview 

In this course, you will explore the value of the Bachelor of Arts in General Studies (BA.GST) degree and how the vast knowledge gained in this diverse educational program gives you an innovative edge professionally, personally, and for civic engagement. As you prepare for your future beyond this degree, it is crucial that you be able to articulate, in a professional manner, how your experience has prepared you for the opportunities you seek. To help you practice the skill of formally defending your experiences, skills, and goals, you will create an academic plan of study for the final project in this course. In this document, you will have the opportunity to illustrate your personally designed strategic plan for achieving your goals and earning a BA.GST degree.  

Your academic plan of study will begin with developing a SMART goal statement that communicates the knowledge and skills you will attain to support the achievement of your goal. Next, you will defend your concentration and consider enduring skills that support the completion of your goal statement. You will then compile a comprehensive list of the completed and planned coursework required to earn your degree by the anticipated graduation date. Finally, you will present an extended rationale for your goal and the steps you have outlined to reach that goal. Your perceived professionalism as you present your academic plan is just as important as the content of what you say. Be sure that you cleanly and professionally format your plan and check your document for any spelling and grammar errors.  

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Three, and Five. The final product will be submitted in Module Seven. 

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:  

• Illustrate the applicability of academic learning by explaining its connections and value to personal and professional planning  
• Utilize relevant research in explaining how strengths and weaknesses can be leveraged to achieve personal and professional goals  
• Employ fundamental writing skills in articulating plans of study appropriate for academic and professional audiences 
• Apply fundamental goal principles and strategic planning techniques in supporting feasible plans of academic study 

Prompt 

Create an academic plan of study that will explain and support your intention to earn a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies degree. Begin by forming an achievable goal statement. Then, discuss your prior experiences and planned academic learning and how you can use your achieved knowledge and skills to direct your educational and professional goals. Finally, build a case for your plan of study by articulating its value to you moving forward. Remember that this is a formal, professional document that must be formatted and presented in a manner appropriate for academic and professional audiences.  

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: 

1. Goal Statement: In this section, you will introduce the career and/or personal goals related to achieving your BA.GST degree. You will do this in a brief goal statement (one to two paragraphs). You will then develop a SMART goal related to your academic plan of study. Remember that your introduction needs to establish the basis of your decisions for your audience. 
   
   1. Concisely introduce your academic plan of study with a goal statement that details your career and/or personal goals in a manner appropriate for academic and professional audiences. 
   2. Develop a SMART goal related to your academic plan of study.
2. Enduring Skills: In this section, you will connect your academic learning to specific enduring skills to determine the value of this knowledge and how it can be applied to your goal statement. Enduring skills refer to skills that will benefit you throughout your lifetime both in your professional life and in your personal life beyond the workplace.  
   
   1. Identify three enduring skills that define any aspect of your prior or planned academic learning related to your SMART goal in Milestone One. 
   2. Explain how any prior or planned academic learning relates to personal strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to refer to the specific enduring skills you are developing. Support your response using research.  
   3. What additional learning, courses, or research do you feel you could use to expand on your skills? How will this academic learning connect to your unique pathway and goal statement? Be sure to address why this knowledge is valuable to your goals and how will it help you plan your future.
3. Concentration: To complete this section, you will need to choose a concentration in the General Studies program using the provided list and then research what knowledge, skills, and abilities you will need to complete this concentration.  
   
   1. Defend the concentration you have chosen based on how it will help you achieve your personal or professional goals. Be sure to reference the knowledge you plan to gain in the concentration. 
   2. Back up your assertions with research that supports your concentration choice.  

4. Coursework: In this section, you will think about your enduring skills and your concentration in relation to your goal, and you will plan out the coursework for your entire degree program. This should be a specific and detailed outline of the number of credits needed, the courses needed at each level (200-level, 300-level, etc.), the courses you have already completed, and so on. 

   1. Provide an organized list of your degree requirements and your completed and planned coursework. Be sure to organize courses according to your program evaluation.  
   2. Provide a brief annotation (one to two sentences) of each listed course, illustrating why the course is applicable to your personal or professional goals. 

Note: All students are expected to review the academic catalog for prerequisite courses that are required as part of their program. All courses and their prerequisites must be program applicable for financial aid purposes. 

5. Academic Rationale: In this section, you will articulate the value of the BA.GST degree using research and specific examples to illustrate the benefits of completing this degree plan.  

   1. Discuss the larger relevance of the General Studies degree to achieving your goals. Be sure to address the benefits of your General Studies degree and the value of a diverse education to achieving your future goals. 
   2. Incorporate research (e.g., course resources, scholarly articles, networking sites, webinar opportunities) that will support you in achieving your goals.

Milestones  

Milestone One: SMART Goal 
In Module Two, you will introduce the career goals and personal goals that are related to achieving your BA.GST degree. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.  

Milestone Two: Enduring Skills 
In Module Three, you will connect your academic learning to specific enduring skills to determine the value of this knowledge and how it can be applied to your goal statement. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.  

Milestone Three: Coursework and Concentration  
In Module Five, you will select the concentration for your academic plan of study, as well as plan out the remaining coursework for your degree program. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.  

ACTION: If you have not already done so, be sure to declare your concentration by completing the Undergraduate Program Modification form by the end of Module Five.  

Final Submission: Academic Plan of Study 
In Module Seven, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.