A lean approach to manage a capstone senior project course

The senior project course (IT461) in the Industrial Technology program at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) is a quarter long capstone course that complements the "learn-by-doing" educational approach at Cal Poly. Our short time frame, an 11-week academic quarter, poses a challenge for both students and faculty. This paper provides details of a new design for the IT461 course. A lean, paperless approach to course management is presented. Using this approach, little or no paper is exchanged between students and faculty. The reduction in waste can be significant in engineering or technology senior project courses. Evaluation of the results shows that students see paperless course management as an effective approach to improving the value of the course in short time available. Examples of industry-based projects that were completed under the modified program are presented.