Capstone Course

The Engineering Department at the College of the Ozarks (CofO) invites you to participate in the education of future engineers by sponsoring a project for our  , the senior-level engineering design course. At CofO, the multisemester Capstone Course challenges our students to provide engineering solutions to problems impacting local industry, communities or organizations.

Throughout the course, small teams of students will apply the engineering design process and project management tools to develop an optimal solution to a client’s needs. Our Capstone projects provide the link between those needing engineered solutions and a dedicated pool of problem solvers!

BENEFITS TO COMPANY

  • Approximately 600 hours of work on your project from a team of engineers. 
  • Opportunity to evaluate student talent for job recruitment
  • Provide professional development opportunity within your organization for those assigned as technical mentors
  • Cost effective way to address problems that may have been overlooked due to resource constraints
  • Increased visibility within the engineering student body and within the College community

BENEFITS TO STUDENT

  • A practical real-world design experience
  • Advance problem-solving skills within teams
  • Develop time and finance management skills
  • Project management experience
  • The chance to connect and work with potential employers

THE IDEAL CAPSTONE PROJECT

The project undertaken by the team of two to four students (may be larger or smaller depending on the project) will be selected from those opportunities providing an educational benefit to the students as well as to provide maximum benefit to the project sponsor and the greatest chance of success.

We believe an ideal project would have the following qualities:

  • Project relates to engineering and requires evaluation and analysis of design and functional criteria
  • Project requires both a design phase and testing or modeling phase to arrive at a solution
  • Lower priority projects for an organization; mission-critical problems are not recommended; the course series and subsequent project timelines span over the course of three semesters.
  • Projects that are self-contained with a dedicated technical mentor serving as a team resource
  • Projects which involve little or no exchange of confidential information.

WHAT THE SPONSOR PROVIDES

  • A project description that describes the background, and purpose of the project, the project objectives, and the expected project deliverables.
  • A company delegate, referred to as the technical mentor (ideally an engineer), should be available to interface with the students and Capstone coordinator on an as-needed basis. The technical mentor should be available to clarify requirements and answer questions when needed.
  • Participation in student evaluation which may include grading of design reviews, reading and critiquing project proposal and final report, and submitting suggested final grades for the team members.
  • Sponsors are asked to fund the material costs and special software (if applicable) associated with their project. The students will present a budget and get approval before spending money on their project.

WHAT THE COLLEGE PROVIDES

  • A team of engineering seniors.
  • A weekly series of lectures on design methodology and presentation skills. Company representatives are welcome to give a lecture in their area of expertise. 
  • Student access to College resources including engineering facility and labs, computer labs and library. 
  • Co-advising of design teams with the technical mentor as needed and when appropriate.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The project proposal form can be accessed here. Additional information is also available in our FAQ section regarding the project approval process.

QUESTIONS? Contact Dr. Jeff Otey at (417) 690-2462 or email: jotey@cofo.edu.