Students accepted into DACC's Scholars Program are required to complete at least four independent study projects prior to graduation. Each project is undertaken as an additional workload for a course in which the Scholar is currently enrolled. To count towards fulfillment of Scholars Program requirements, the projects must be sponsored by the faculty member who is teaching the course. The following information should assist you in helping Scholars students fulfill their commitments to the Scholars Program.

Purpose of the Scholars Projects:
To allow exceptional students the opportunity to:

• explore areas of particular personal interest;
• conceptualize and orchestrate their own independent study;
• gain experience in independent thinking, planning, and learning; and
• further their intellectual growth through nontraditional endeavors.

• Scholars Projects can only be completed in degree-credit courses of at least three hours credit.
• The student can attempt no more than two Scholars Program Projects in any one semester.
• Students must seek your permission to complete a Scholars Project in your course.
• A Scholars student's grade in your course is independent of the Scholars Project. You are to issue a course grade to Scholars students using the same
• standards applied to all other students in that course. A Scholars Project is evaluated separately from the course (more on this later). It is not considered part of the course work and should not be used in issuing the course grade.
• Scholars Projects are evaluated by both you, as the faculty member sponsoring the project, and the Director of Scholars Programs.
• Scholars Projects will only be counted towards fulfillment of Scholars Program requirements if:
• the faculty member sponsoring the project and the Program Director agree that it was successfully completed, AND
• the student receives at least a "B" in the class, based on regular course work. (If the scholar receives a "C" or lower in the course, his or her project will NOT be counted towards fulfillment of Program requirements, regardless of the quality of the project.)

1.      A Scholar should initially approach you for permission to do a project in your class. The student may or may not have a project idea at that time.

2.      The decision of whether or not to sponsor a project is at your discretion. Although your involvement in the program is sincerely appreciated, you are not expected to sponsor a project if the proposal does not, in your opinion, meet your standards, relate to your course, or have scholarly merit, or if you are unable to assist and guide the student as needed and provide a fair and unbiased evaluation of the finished project.

3.      If you agree to sponsor a project, the Scholar will develop a project proposal for you to discuss. You are not expected to provide a topic or activity for the Scholar to undertake. Rather, the Scholar is responsible for fully developing the project idea. You may, however, offer general suggestions or any guidance needed to ensure that the project is appropriate and worthy of Scholars status.

4.     Upon acceptance of a proposal, you and the Scholar are to complete a Scholars Project Proposal Form. The Scholar should bring this form to you. If not, you can get a copy from the Director of Scholars Programs or from the Scholars web site (http://www.dacc.cc.il.us/scholars). Please be sure the completed form provides sufficient detail. If the student has already completed the form but you modify it during your meeting, please have the student complete an updated form that you both sign and date.

5.     Once the Project Proposal is completed, the student will submit the form to the Director of Scholars Programs for approval. You will receive an email or phone confirmation when the project is approved, or you may be contacted with a request for more information or modification.

6.     Scholars are expected to get sponsorship for their projects within the first six weeks of class.

7.     Scholars are to meet with you twice after the proposal is initially approved and before completion, for progress reports. A brief Project Update Form (available from the web site, the Scholar, or the Director of Scholars Programs) is to be completed at each meeting and submitted to the Director of Scholars Programs. The main reasons behind this are:

• To ensure that progress is being made throughout the semester instead of the entire project being completed at the end of the semester,
• To be sure the project is working as anticipated and has not been changed (if so, please complete and submit a modified Project Proposal Form),
• To offer any guidance and direction the Scholar might need, and
• To encourage communication about the Scholar's efforts and discoveries.

9.    Scholars Projects should not merely be extra course work. For example, if a course requires five book reports, merely submitting an additional book report would not be an acceptable Scholars Project. These projects should present unique learning possibilities beyond that offered through regular course work.
Extra credit work allowed for anyone in the class does not constitute Scholars work.

10.   When the project is completed, the Scholar should notify you and arrange to present the project. This presentation must be done no later than one week prior to the final exam in your class.  Please have the Scholar inform the Director of Scholars Programs about when, where, and how the presentation will occur.  Depending on the project, the presentation may be made to a class, to you, or to some other group.  You and the Scholar should have already determined the format for the presentation with the initial Project Proposal Form.

11.    During or following the Project Presentation, you will complete a Project Review Form. This form is then to be discussed with the Scholar. If the project does not meet your expectations, please explain why and provide an opportunity for the Scholar to rectify the problem.

12.    Once the Project Review Form is completed, please submit it directly to the Director of Scholars Programs. The form acts as verification of project completion and will be placed in the student's Scholar Program file.

13.    Scholars students must submit something from their project to the Director of Scholars Programs as a permanent record of their effort (for example, a copy of a written project, videotape, audiotape, etc.). Details of what will be submitted should be worked out between the Scholar and the Program Director.

14.    After the end of the semester, if all obligations have been fulfilled, as a faculty sponsor, you will receive a $100 stipend for sponsoring a Scholars Project.

Project Proposal Form
Project Update Form
Project Review Form

Contact the Director of Scholars Programs
Back to Scholars Home page
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