Tools for Assisting Those Interested in Applying Project Management to Their Hampshire Education

For those interested in using project management software to organize their Hampshire work,

Openproj is a decent choice as far as zero-cost software is concerned. It also allows

import of Microsoft Project files. The URL for Openproj is: http://openproj.org/openproj

If someone can provide me with a means by which to upload a .MPP file, I will upload

a scheduling template for F10.

The Role of Project Management in Addressing Hampshire’s Historical Problems : Project management offers many potential benefits to the Hampshire community:     1. A tool for well-communicated shared understanding of work to be done and deadlines for its completion    2. A means by which the college and students, in a mutually accountable way, can share an appreciation of the actual workload assumed by all parties in all contexts    3. A tool for reconciling accountability between a number of constituencies, inclusive of students, faculty, external accreditation agencies, and graduate admissons through accurate depiction of work and its requirements, as well as student progress in completing work     4. The transformation of the work of the advisor and Advising Office(if actually still needed) from that of a punitive enforcer of external imperatives to that of a supportive project manager operating as a problem-solver with regard to the student’s needs     5. A mechanism for facilitating small, medium, and large scale collaboration between students on projects of varying degrees of complexity, assuring that roles and responsibilities can be appropriately linked to fair and accurate evaluations of individual participants    6. An extremely career-relevant competency for students which can have beneficial effects in future employment and/or entrepreneurial activity In the end, rather than enforcing structural changes in the academic program to susbtitute for what advising and mentoring should accomplish, it would be much better for Hampshire to adopt a well-accepted and established management skill which has many benefits for all concerned. In the business world, particularly in contexts like construction, engineering, and law, project management is employed to ensure that contracted initiatives follow a plan, stay within budget, and assure mutual accountability for all participants. In many respects, a Hampshire education can be properly conceived of as a four year master project with a number of sub-projects. The sub-projects can be organized in a way that accounts for centrally imposed college deadlines, external accreditation imperatives, and student learning styles. Papers, presentations, and other forms of produced work fit nicely into what project management folks refer to as ‘deliverables’, while staffing(faculty supervision), funds, and space constitute ‘resources’. Fundamental to the shared understanding of time-based mutual obligations between Hampshire and a student is what is known as the Gantt Chart. It shows a graphical representation of the time each task takes in the context of the calendar and in relationship to other tasks. The full complexity of a project management approach as articulated in the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge may not be necessary for beneficial effect for Hampshire, as Hampshire represents a rather unique application of this framework. A Simplified Expression of Project Management Concepts as Applied to a Hampshire Education   Basic Assumptions :  168 hours in a week  66 days available for actual courses or course-equivalent work per semester, exclusive of weekend time and breaks/vacations  a course is a classroom-based learning vehicle implying an instructor, a syllabus that specifies deliverable work and activity, and anywhere from 10 or more students in a formally recognized activity which presumes a minimum of three hours in classroom time and three hours in outside time for a total of six hours per week of focused activity  a course-equivalent may or may not involve a classroom-based learning vehicle with an instructor and 10 or more students, but will involve a minimum of six hours per week of focused activity as defined in a contract that specifies supervision and/or instructional obligations for a faculty member or other approved supervisor, as well as an enumeration and sequencing of the learning activities and deliverable work that are the scope of the course-equivalent  four year time period to complete the degree, thus compelling a student to structure a program to meet that end goal and allowing for the minimization of centralized imposition of deadlines   Proposal to Transform Hampshire’s Existing Structure into a Project Management Framework :  At Hampshire, students work to achieve a bachelor’s degree through the completion of a four year project which is divided into three major sub-projects:   Division I : Consistent with external NEASC imperatives and internal values defining liberal education, students complete seven evaluated courses/course-equivalents and one community-engaged learning activity. Four of the seven evaluated courses/course equivalents must each be specified as falling within one of the thematic areas such that all are explored: Culture, Humanities, and the Arts; Mind, Brain, and Information; Physical and Biological Sciences; Power, Community, and Social Justice. The seven evaluated courses/course-equivalents each consist of six hours per week of either three hours of classroom instruction and three hours of external work, or six hours structured in a manner consistent with the course-equivalent. A retrospective essay and portfolio of work developed in the seven evaluated courses/course equivalents are the deliverables expected of the student. The community-engaged learning activity is a forty hour sub-project of Division I which requires the student to provide community service work within the Hampshire community under supervision, with a retrospective essay by the student and an evaluation from the activity supervisor as deliverables. The deliverables for the student’s Division I advisor consist of a minimum of four thirty minute meetings per semester with the student to discuss progress and recommended steps, as well as a final evaluation for Division I. Students and their advisors will also develop a Gantt chart at the beginning of Division I which will show all deadlines and work from all activities and maintain/update this chart throughout. Division II : Consisting of four semesters, Division II is a student’s concentration which will normally include five courses or course-equivalents during each semester. Each course or course-equivalent will consist of six hours per week of either three hours of classroom and three hours of external work or six hours per week structured in a manner consistent with the course-equivalent. In addition, students must fulfill the multiple cultural perspectives and community service requirements. Deliverables in terms of time, activity, work products, and documentation of fulfillment of these requirements are negotiated with the Division II committee. Deliverables for the Division II student consist of a portfolio consisting of papers written for courses or independent projects, course and field work or internship evaluations, artistic products, or other evidence that the terms of the Division II contract have been fulfilled as well as a Gantt chart developed and refined over time showing all activities and work. The members of the Division II committee will commit to at least four meetings of thirty minute duration during each semester to assess progress and recommend actions as appropriate. A filed Division II contract constitutes a contract between the student and Hampshire College which commits resources and is a good faith statement by Hampshire that the student’s program will be supported with appropriate faculty and courses/course-equivalents. Division II committees are required to produce an evaluation in a manner consistent with college deadlines. Changes/revisions to a Division II contract must be consistent with a mutually agreed-upon change management framework included within the Division II contract. Division III : Consisting of two semesters, Division III encompasses an advanced independent study project dealing with a sophisticated and complex set of questions, concepts, skills, and abilities as well as two advanced educational activities. The primary advanced activity must be an advanced level course or supervised teaching activity. The other may be one of the above activities, a supervised internship, or a course of independent study for which the student is properly registered. The time to be devoted to the advanced independent study project is two semesters of four course equivalents, or twenty four hours per week, while each advanced educational activity, one per semester for a total of two, shall be one course equivalent, or six hours per week. Deliverables for a Division III student consist of: a thesis, portfolio, film, exhibit, recital, performance, or committee-approved combination of these in a form that can be evaluated by committee members, as well as evaluations for the two advanced educational activities. The acceptance of the Division III contract constitutes a binding agreement which commits Hampshire College to assuring that the faculty personnel resources necessary to the student’s work will be in place for the duration of the work. The College also guarantees that for a completed Division II, the student is entitled to faculty to pursue related work in Division III. A Division III committee is required to produce an evaluation in time to meet college deadlines for graduation at the time of the completion of the Division III. Changes/revisions to a Division III contract must be consistent with a mutually agreed-upon change management framework included within the Division III contract. By specifying clear time frames across all levels of the system, as well as expected deliverables and commitments from all concerned, a project management approach to a Hampshire education provides assurances to all parties of a well-structured and mutually accountable experience. Given the plethora of student concerns voiced over the years, this is the most responsive and responsible way to improve the Hampshire experience, and enable external constituencies to more easily understand and respect Hampshire’s graduates.

' Important Additional Note: As presently structured, this approach also allows for the concurrent design, execution, and refinement of Division I and Division II as opposed to the current system which uses administratively imposed deadlines to unnaturally require that Division I precede Division II. This is in essence a restoration of freedoms students had prior to the cognitive behavior therapy deadlines imposed by the 'retentionists'. For those faculty concerned with one semester Division III's and late/pressured Division I work, recall that under this approach, student work takes place in the context of a plan designed to be a true mutually binding contract. Normative time-based expectations are incorporated into the contract structure through their expression in the specifications for Division I, II, and III. Should there be skepticism regarding the management of hundreds of individual project plans which may differ substantially, I would remind Hampshire personnel that there are 425,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools, and of these, 10-13% will likely be eligible for a covered special education treatment necessitating an IEP, resulting in a total of 42,500-55,250 students. Somehow, Chicago Public Schools manages at least 42,500 IEPs. One would think Hampshire could manage 1500 student academic project plans.'