Capstone/Consulting Course for Non-Traditional Undergraduate Students

This work reports on lessons learned from the first offering of an information systems capstone project for non-traditional bachelor’s degree students at the University of Richmond. Capstone projects have long been offered in lieu of comprehensive thesis papers for information systems master’s degree programs, and to integrate core competencies in both masters and undergraduate programs. It is accepted that such a course is ideal for pulling together and integrating core competencies of the information systems bachelor’s degree program and certificate program for those already having an undergraduate degree in another field. These students are non-traditional students at the University’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Little change to the syllabus from master’s degree syllabi was made for this initial course offering. It was immediately obvious that significant changes to this course would be required for future offerings to tailor the course to extend its value to the target population. The goal is to maintain the realism of a real-world capstone/consulting project, while ensuring academic goals are met, and students realize value from the process. The author uses observation, course outcomes and evaluations, and reviews the literature to suggest ways to improve future offerings of the course