CPT Report Policy Manual

CPT Report Policies, Dept. of Computer Science    

(Oct 18, 2020,  in use since Dec 16, 2019, most recent update 04-04-2022)

 

About this Document:

 

This document outlines the key policies about CPT Reporting. The purpose of this document is to ensure that

  1. We have a good CPT Reporting system compliant with Higher Learning Commission’s guidelines and requirements.
  2. We guide our students well while working in the industry and reflect well on their knowledge learned.
  3. CPT Reporting is a graduate-level course and an important part of their graduation.
  4. Faculty grade it with good care, effectiveness, and in a timely manner.
  5. All work in harmony (Faculty, Career Center, Graduation Committee, CPT Technical Support Team, and other groups as appropriate) so that the whole process goes smoothly and students can graduate as per schedule.

 

This document will be updated as needed.

 

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Policies

1.1 General Description:

  • Students are enrolled sequentially in the five topics in the order listed below.
  • CS575 Practicum on CS Theory in Practice (Repeat CS575 until getting at least 8 credits)

Once the students are above 8 credits of CPT in CS575 and still need to do CPT, then they will be assigned the courses as per the below order.

  • CS573 Practicum on Contemporary Tools and Techniques
  • CS579 Practicum in Team Organization and Leadership
  • CS578 Practicum on Technical Management
  • CS574 Practicum on the creativity in the field of Technology

If students complete all five courses, they repeat the cycle except CS575.

  • CPT Terms, Start and End dates are available at Infosys Link: https://infosys.cs.miu.edu/infosys/NewCPTreport/cptTermDates.jsp
  • Refer: CPT Report Syllabus frequently asked questions and contacts from Sakai\Resources.
  • A welcome email will send to the students once they are assigned to the CPT course.
  • Each course needs to be graded using the rubric described in the syllabus.
  • Reports are all submitted and graded in Sakai. Reports are graded PASS or NO PASS.  (Note to Faculty:  the designation NC (No Credit) is only used for courses that have letter grades [A, B, C, NC]
  • Regularly check @miu.edu email account to know the CPT welcome email, Notification, Grade release, and Faculty comments.
  • Refer Sakai\Assignments to know the course assigned, Open Date, Due Date, Graded status, and Faculty Comments.
  • All Email communication must require a Student id and Full name.
  • Reports due within 7 days of the end of CPT term. There are 4 CPT terms each year.
  • The earliest a student may submit a CPT report is 5 weeks before the end of a term.
  • As described in each CPT course syllabus, reports must be a minimum of 1000 words in Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR) format. Students always must submit an original, new report, and not copy (plagiarize) from one of their previous reports or internet resources.
  • Plagiarism checking is required for all reports (Faculty need to review reports when grading).
  • Reminder emails are sent out automatically to students from Sakai each day during the last 10 days of each CPT reporting period if they have not yet submitted a CPT report.
  • Grades need to be finished within 8 weeks of the end of term. However, if it is a graduation month December or June, grades should be finished within 2 weeks. There will be times when CSGraduation@miu.edu needs a CPT report graded before the end of a term.
  • Writing a CPT report is meant to be a thoughtful task, and the time available the writing process is very reasonable. There is no real reason to fail it.
  • A minimum of 70% is the passing grade for CPT Report.

1.2 No Pass / No Submission  

  • Failing a CPT course will generally make it much harder to change to OPT work authorization status and it could result in denial of a change of visa status (such as H-1B or Green Card). Getting a NO PASS in CPT may disallow them from meeting OPT requirements – so that should be a strong motivation to be more vigilant on this!! Additionally, a NO PASS is a permanent record on their MIU transcript.  We have seen employers deny a job applicant (or not promote a current employee) if the student is getting NO PASS in CPT during employment.  Also, a NO PASS grade could result in not being accepted to a PhD program in the future.
  • All no submissions are marked as NP (NO PASS) the day after the due date. Because students can view their grades in the Student Portal, it is common for students to urgently contact Faculty when they see the NO PASS grade.  However, students receive reminders every week for four weeks before the due date.  Therefore, we recommend administering corrective action to students who don’t take deadlines seriously.  Genuine mitigating circumstances should be documented (e.g., note from doctor).
  • All reports are due on time.
  • If a student wants to get replace up to one NO PASS (NP) grade, they need to contact their faculty adviser for approval to submit a late report or to resubmit a failing report. If the Faculty Advisor approves the late or resubmission, the general policy is to charge $300 for that report.  This is done by notifying the students and sending an email to csfinance@miu.edu of the additional charge.
  • If a student misses or fails reports from any two CPT reporting periods, they will be on dismissal review for their enrollment in the MSCS program. Dismissal means they would lose their MIU enrollment and their Form I-20 with MIU.  Dismissals are processed by MIU PDSO and MIU CSRegistrar@miu.edu with the student’s Faculty Advisor attending the dismissal meeting.

 

1.3 Resubmission Requirements

During the grading time, faculty have the authority to evaluate that the student needs to resubmit the report.

The student cannot resubmit their CPT report on Sakai after the deadline. According to the CPT policy, faculty can receive their student CPT report through email only when the adviser evaluates and approves the student’s reason for the late submission/resubmission.

Students should not contact the CPT Faculty Manager or CS Tech directly. Instead, the request from a student should only come through their Faculty Advisor.  If a student complains that they are no longer required to submit a CPT report, you may refer them to computercareers@miu.edu to check their employment status and reporting requirements.  Anyone who was F-1 visa status at any time during the 13-week CPT term must submit a CPT report even if now the student is on a new visa or has changed to OPT before the end of the term.  Additionally, the MSCS graduation requirement is that a minimum of 8 credits of CPT MUST be achieved (unless the student has already scheduled taking one additional MSCS course (4 credits of either on campus or Distance Education courses) instead of taking 8 credits of CPT. Students taking one additional course instead of CPT must pay additional tuition (currently $3,000/course).  There is no additional tuition fee for taking the CPT practicum course (e.g. in the case of a U.S. Financial Aid student who prefers to take 8 credits of CPT instead of paying tuition for one more course needed to graduate).

Ask your student to send the resubmission request to you with the below details.

Student First, Last Name:

Student Id:

CPT Term: _____________                                                                       Example: 2022 Spring A

Course Name: CS57___________________________________________ Example: CS575 Practicum

 on CS Theory in Practice

Reason for the resubmission:

CPT Report File attachment. Need to follow the file name format as below

Coursename_studentid.pdf or .doc

Example:  CS575 Practicum on CS Theory in Practice _983775.pdf

CS-Tech requested to follow this format to identify the student and upload it efficiently.

Faculty Adviser email to cshelpdesk@miu.edu and cc to CPT Faculty Manager (rmohanraj@miu.edu) with the above details, CPT report attachment.

 

1.4 The Timeline and Process:

  • First Registration completed within 10 days from the CPT start date and every two weeks, new CPT enrollments are added to the course (site), and an enrollment notices welcome letter is sent to students.
  • Enrollment management and assignment to faculty and to report groups is done by cshelpdesk@Miu.edu (CS Tech Support)
  • The day after the due date for the CPT term, all students with non-submission get the NO PASS (NP) entered by Computer Science Registrar/Assistant Registrar/Graduation Director.
  • A week before the due date for the CPT term until finish grading, faculty get a grading reminder email with the list of ungraded students every week.
  • Grades are posted and visible in Sakai,
    • Grades are uploaded by our CS administrative team into CAMS, where they are also visible to students in their student portals.

1.5 Grading Policy:

    • Grading should be done with care which includes checking whether Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR) format is used properly, things are described well, identifying grammatical and spelling errors (and report to the student to fix such errors), the rubric is used, the report has at least 1000 words and the like.
    • A minimum raw score of 70% is the passing grade for a CPT Report.
    • Turnitin plagiarism checker is integrated with Sakai. When plagiarism is found, the Faculty Advisor should notify the student promptly:

                       Dear [Student]:  Sakai’s plagiarism software returned a score of xx% on your CPT report submitted [date].  Every CPT                                 report must be original work by you, and you should not copy from one of your own previous reports.  If you are using a                           reference source to support your current report, that reference must be listed as part of your report.  This information is                           contained in each CPT reporting syllabus.  Your current report is now graded NO PASS.  This is a serious consequence                             that becomes a permanent part of your MSCS graduate transcript.