Senior Project Scholarship Fund 2015

Project Description

Studies have overwhelmingly shown that students who participate in Senior Project programs develop stronger independent thinking and decision-making skills while experiencing the pleasure of learning something of their own choosing.  Their academic skills improve as well, and they are motivated to strive for greater rigor in both academic and technical learning.

At Cape Cod Tech, Senior Project is a one-credit graduation requirement, comprised of the following four phases: Product, Paper, Portfolio, and Presentation. All four components of Senior Project carry equal weight. The Product Phase, which is completed during the fall trimester, is a “hands-on” experience or product related to some aspect of their vocational technical training. Students must spend a minimum of 15 hours on their Product. At least 10 of those hours must be completed outside of school time. Students choosing to utilize a mentor may earn up to 10 extra credit points. Projects are often a  tangible demonstration of the student’s technical skills. Often, they incorporate elements of green technology (renew, reuse, recycle). Other students have community service-based projects where the student utilizes their technical expertise to benefit their community or a non-profit agency. In this situation, the student’s project would help people directly or contribute to the health and well-being of the people or the environment of Cape Cod or beyond. Each student will complete a Product Planning Sheet, a Product Journal and an Estimated Product Cost Analysis.

How will the project be evaluated (e.g. how will you gauge its success)

Senior Project is evaluated on a yearly basis by the Senior Project Design Team which is comprised of technical and academic teachers as well as administrators. Students requesting financial support will complete a Senior Project Scholarship Application. Data will be collected and evaluated on the number of recipients and if their financial needs were met.

Benefit to the students and the school

Frequently, we will see students that use their own money to complete the Product portion of their Senior Project when other resources are not available. Many of these students have other financial responsibilities. The Senior Project Scholarship Fund will provide students financial support for outstanding effort and performance on their Products.

Timeline of Project (when will you do the project, if applicable)

Students will have completed the Product Phase of their Senior Project by November 13, 2015. Many students will have already used personal funds for their Product completion. Therefore, we will notify students of the scholarship and the application process as soon as we are informed of the award of the mini-grant. We will promptly review the applications and award the scholarships to our students.