Course:FRE547

MFRE Graduating Project
FRE 547
Section:
Instructor:	Kelleen Wiseman
	Janelle Tan
Email:	kelleen.wiseman@ubc.ca; janelle.tan@ubc.ca
Office:	MCML 329 & 348A
Office Hours:
Class Schedule:	Term 1, 2, 3
Classroom:	MCML 154
Important Course Pages
	Syllabus
	Lecture Notes
	Assignments
	Course Discussion

COURSE INFORMATION

Course material and schedule:

Posted on the MFRE Student Portal (pswd: MFRE2024) and MFRE Weekly Online Schedule
Workshops will be held throughout Terms 1, 2, and 3
Graduating project will be conducted in Term 3

Classroom: MCML 154 (unless noted otherwise)

UBC Canvas: All student grading materials should be uploaded via Canvas

Course Registration: Students only need to register for FRE 547 Term 3 through SSC (Registration available in March). Students do not need to register for FRE 547 for Term 1 or Term 2.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Professional Development Workshops: This series of mandatory workshops are held over three terms, Term 1 - September to December, Term 2 - January to April, Term 3 - May to August. Workshop topics focus on the themes of results, ownership and communication. Specific workshops include professional communication, business research techniques, effective teamwork, project management, proposal development, business writing, equity and inclusion, networking, advanced software and analysis applications, career portfolio building online and off, and delivering presentations.

Graduating Projects: The Graduating Project is undertaken during Term 3 (May to August). Projects can be MFRE-sourced or individual student-sourced but in all cases should provide students with the opportunity apply academic skills and concepts from the MFRE courses. Students are expected to work on their Graduating Project full-time (35 – 40 hours per week) during the term. Graduating Projects provide students with the opportunity to gain relevant work experience and are a required part of the MFRE degree requirements. Therefore, both paid and unpaid projects from a range of industry partners are cultivated as graduating projects.

Note:

Attendance is mandatory for all workshops and professional behaviour including focused attention, no cell phone viewing, no working/viewing/typing on laptop or tablet, showing up for class on time, and not walking in and out of the classroom during workshop is required.
FRE 547 has a strict no-cell phone and no-computer/tablet policy to ensure engagement and respect for workshop facilitators. Students are strongly encouraged to take handwritten notes during the workshops.

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor: Kelleen Wiseman, MBA, PhD MCML 329, kelleen.wiseman@ubc.ca

Co-Instructor: Janelle Tan, PMP, MFRE MCML 348A, janelle.tan@ubc.ca

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Describe the importance of active participation in one’s own professional development.
Identify skills that support effective, respectful, and inclusive collaboration with team members in group activities or projects.
Identify the value of listening to others’ points of view with respect.
Demonstrate professional verbal communication in meetings, formal and informal presentations, elevator speech.
Demonstrate professional written communication skills adapted for different audience and formats (e.g., emails, working reports, citations, reports).
Describe the characteristics of an effective project proposal project and how a proposal can support successful completion of a research/business graduating project.
Explain the value of applying critical and creative thinking to a research/business project.
Locate, assess, and select data and literature to support quality project deliverables.
Describe and demonstrate the importance of taking responsibility for one’s conduct in a professional workplace setting.
Contrast the use and application of academic theory and industry practice in a workplace setting.
Demonstrate the ability to adapt to different professional behaviors important in the workplace (e.g., project ownership & initiative, communication, accountability).
Develop career-focused materials (e.g., cover letter, resume, linked-in profile, interview guide) to support future job applications.

ASSESSMENTS

Grade	Evaluation Item	Due Date
10%	Active Professionalism in MFRE (Mandatory workshop attendance)	Term 1, 2 & 3
5%	Final Graduating Project proposal	Mid May
2%	Mid-stream presentation	Mid June
3%	Final Presentation	End of August
65%	MFRE Graduating Project end-of-term report/deliverables	End of August
15%	MFRE Graduating Project process (professionalism)	Throughout Term 3

Assessment Policies:

Exams: There are no exams for this course

Plagiarism: All incidences of plagiarism will be turned over to the MFRE Academic Director and managed via the MFRE program policies.

Turn it In Access for MFRE Courses: All assignments/papers must be submitted to this service and similarity index reports reviewed. Turn it in has been set up for MFRE courses, and the log-in credentials are in the MFRE Student Portal.

Active Professionalism in MFRE

This is a course focusing on professional development, workplace competencies, and knowledge/skill development and application that is customized for our MFRE students and projects. Participation is important to the successful delivery of the material and the individual attainment of professional development skills.

While we recognize that everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to participation, we also acknowledge the important role of stepping out of one’s comfort zone in order to develop professionally. Therefore, we expect students to engage during the workshops and make the effort to actively participate in a value-added manner, contributing to their own learning and the learning of others. Active professionalism opportunities include:

Within FRE 547 Workshops:

Demonstrates good preparation: Reviews reading material, completes pre-work assigned, and has thought through how the workshop topic can contribute to individual professional development. Attends workshops on time and takes notes.
Completes required assignments on time: Submits required assignments on time, including survey requests, email response requests, meeting requests that may be sent by the course instructors from time to time.
Personal learning and reflection: Identifies personal areas of improvement for specific competencies; internalizes workshop material and considers how they can be applied in future scenarios.
Seeks feedback: Identifies personal areas of improvement and proactively seeks feedback from peers, instructors, or staff through meetings or office hours, with a focus on professional growth and development. Internalizes feedback and applies them where applicable.
Engages in activities and discussions: Participates during in-class activities with enthusiasm, responds to facilitator’s questions, asks quality questions, engages with other students, or volunteers to share ideas with the class.
Contributes to cohort learning: Demonstrates self-awareness, responds respectfully to other points of view, allows others to share ideas, encourages others to share view/ideas, thinks through own points, questions others in a constructive way, and offers or supports suggestions that may be counter to the majority opinion.

Within MFRE Program:

Applies professional skills in other MFRE courses:

Applications in Assessments and Activities: Applies the skills covered in the workshops to courses (e.g., professionalism in reports, writing, communication, teamwork, presentations) and the graduating project.

Applications in Interactions and correspondence with MFRE Program faculty, staff, and peers: This includes taking responsibility for one’s behaviour, showing initiative for one’s own learning, demonstrating professional communication, building rapport, and acting with respect and integrity at all times.

Demonstrates continuous improvement of professionalism over the academic year.

GRADUATING PROJECTS

Form of Projects

Graduating Projects can take various forms including a consultancy project, internship, or research project. Students can source projects on their own or can apply to MFRE-sourced projects. The MFRE program provides a Graduating Project Guide for Industry Partners (available on the portal) that can be used to introduce the MFRE program and project requirements for use when contacting potential project partners. We require industry partners to provide quality learning experiences to our MFRE students for this FRE 547 required course and thus both paid and unpaid Graduating Projects are encouraged.

General Timeline for Graduating Projects

January: Posting of research projects (sourced from MFRE faculty members).
Early- Feb: Deadline for students who would like to conduct a research project as a first choice for their Graduating Project to upload their statement of research interest.
Early March: Workshop session regarding MFRE postings and process.
Mid March: Deadline for student applications for MFRE postings.
End of March: First round of decisions for postings.
Mid to late April: Second round of decisions for postings.
Late April: Students assigned a Faculty Supervisor by the MFRE Graduating Project Manager. The role of the Faculty Supervisor is to provide academic supervision and guidance in the development of the project proposal and project deliverables.
First Week of May:
- Mandatory Summer Workshops begin in the first week of May. Check the schedule before making any plans.
- Students start work on their project (i.e., proposal development) with Project Partner and Faculty Supervisor.
Mid June: Mid-stream presentation to assess student’s progress and continuation on project.
July/August: Mandatory Summer Workshops (2 to 4 workshops)
End of August: Completion of Graduating Project and Final Presentation

Grading of Graduating Project

The Graduating Project makes up a large percentage of the FRE 547 6-credit course. The Grading Rubric available on the MFRE Student Portal provides details of process and deliverable elements.

Time Commitment for Graduating Project

Because the Graduating Project involves a full-time (i.e., 35 hours /week) commitment, students should not

Work in other non-MFRE positions during this Term 3.
Enroll in any courses during Term 3 other than FRE 547, the only exception being if there was a course that was required for success in the Graduating Project and this course was requested by the student’s Faculty Supervisor and approved by the MFRE Academic Director.

Student Guidelines

Available on the MFRE Student Portal.

POLICIES APPLICABLE TO UBC MFRE COURSES

Respectfulness in the Classroom

Students are expected to be respectful of their colleagues at all times, including faculty, staff and peers. This means being attentive and conscious of words and actions and their impact on others, listening to people with an open mind, treating all MFRE community members equally and understanding diversity. Students who act disrespectfully toward others will be asked to leave the class and be marked as absent for the day. They may also be removed from a team, lose credit for in‐class assessments and activities, or be asked to complete a group assignment individually.

Respect for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The MFRE Program strives to promote an intellectual community that is enhanced by diversity along various dimensions including status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, social class, and/or disability. It is critical that students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives be valued in and well‐served by their courses. Furthermore, the diversity that students bring to the classroom should be viewed as a resource, benefit, and source of strength for your learning experience. It is expected that all students and members of our community conduct themselves with empathy and respect for others.

COVID‐19 Considerations

All students must assess themselves daily for COVID‐19 symptoms prior to coming to class. Please stay home if you exhibit symptoms or have tested positive for COVID‐19. A list of COVID‐19 symptoms can be found here . Use the BC Ministry of Health’s self‐assessment tool), to help determine whether further assessment or testing for COVID‐19 is recommended. Full UBC COVID‐19 Campus Rules can be found here . Note: Please stay home if you exhibit symptoms or have tested positive for COVID‐19 and immediately contact Olivier Ntwali, Academic Program Coordinator, your Course Instructor, and your Course Assistant.

Recordings and In‐Class Attendance

There is no required distribution of recordings of class. Recording will be provided based upon on the decision of the course instructor. Classes are designed as and are intended to be in‐person. Your attendance is expected. If you are unable to attend, the policy regarding missed classes described in the MFRE code of conduct and syllabus applies. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the materials you need for missed classes.

Writing Exams

All exams will be in-person and will follow MFRE exam protocol (See Student Portal). Exams may be online, e.g., in Canvas, but students must be physically present and invigilated. If a student is unable to write an exam, they must have a verifiable doctor’s note and must contact the Course Instructor, Course Assistant, and MFRE Program Coordinator before the scheduled exam date/time. Documentation must be provided to explain your absence. If the documentation is considered legitimate, the Course Instructor will let you know how to proceed.

Plagiarism Penalties

Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are taken very seriously in the MFRE program. All incidences of plagiarism will be escalated to the MFRE Academic Director. Incidences of academic misconduct may result in a reduction of grade, a mark of zero on the assignment/exams of concern, failing the course or program, escalation/referral to the Dean’s office and/or President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline, and/or expulsion from UBC. Note: If a MFRE student is required to extend his/her program due to failed course or unsatisfactory progress, they will need to pay the full MFRE tuition fees for that term(s) regardless of the number of courses that need to be retaken. It is each student’s responsibility to review and understand what constitutes academic dishonesty and plagiarism and how to avoid them. Review MFRE Code of Conduct, UBC academic dishonesty policies/penalties and course‐specific policies.

Turn it In Access for MFRE Courses: Internet‐based plagiarism detection service

Turn it in has been set up for MFRE courses. Submit all assignments/papers to this service and review similarity index reports. Turn it in Login (website). For instructions: See the Student Guide to MFRE Student Guide To Setting Up And Using Turn It In on the Student Portal (website.). Use provided Class ID and Enrollment Key to access MFRE course folder, submit assignments/papers, and review similarity index reports.

Working with Others on an Assignment

You are encouraged to work with other students, but you must turn in your own individual assignment. If you have an answer that is too close to another student’s answer, this will be considered academic dishonest, and this will be managed according to the MFRE and UBC policies.

Missing Classes

Students are expected to attend all classes, labs, or workshops. If you cannot make it to a class, lab, or workshop due to a medical or personal emergency, please email your instructor, your course assistant, and Olivier Ntwali, MFRE Program Coordinator ahead of time to let them know. Students who miss classes regularly without a reasonable excuse may be subject to MFRE‐imposed penalties at the discretion of the Academic Director.

Centre for Accessibility

The Centre for Accessibility (CFA) facilitates disability‐related accommodations and programming initiatives designed to remove barriers for students with disabilities and ongoing medical conditions. If you are registered with the CfA and are eligible for exam accommodations, it is your responsibility to let Olivier Ntwali, Academic Program Coordinator, and each of your Course Instructors know. You should book your exam writing with the CFA using its exam reservation system: for midterm exams or quizzes, at least 7 days in advance; and final exams, 7 days before the start of the formal exam period.

Copyright

All materials of this course (i.e., course handouts, lecture slides, assessments, course readings) are the intellectual property of the instructor or licensed to be used in this course by the copyright owner. Redistribution of these materials by any means without permission of the copyright holder(s) constitutes a breach of copyright and may lead to academic discipline and could be subject to legal action. Any lecture recordings are for the sole use of the instructor and students enrolled in the class. In no case may the lecture recording, or part of the recording be used by students for any other purpose, either personal or commercial. Further, audio or video recording of classes are not permitted without the prior consent of the instructor.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Academic misconduct that is subject to disciplinary measures includes, but is not limited, to the following:

Plagiarism, which is intellectual theft, occurs where an individual submits or presents the oral or written work of another person as his or her own. In many UBC courses, you will be required to submit material in electronic form. The electronic material will be submitted to a service which UBC subscribes, called TurnItIn. This service checks textual material for originality. It is increasingly used in North American universities. For more information, review TurnItIn website online.
Cheating, which may include, but is not limited to falsification of any material subject to academic evaluation, unauthorized collaborative work; or use of unauthorized means to complete an examination.
Submitting others work as your own, may include but not limited to i. using, or attempting to use, another student’s answers; ii. providing answers to other students; iii. failing to take reasonable measures to protect answers from use by other students; or iv. in the case of students who study together, submitting identical or virtually identical assignments for evaluation unless permitted by the course instructor.
Working with Others on an Assignment, You are encouraged to work with other students, but you must turn in your own individual assignment. If you have an answer that is too close to another student’s answer, this will be considered academic dishonesty and this will be handled according to the MFRE and UBC policies.
Resubmission of Material, submitting the same, or substantially the same, essay, presentation, or assignment more than once (whether the earlier submission was at this or another institution) unless prior approval has been obtained from the instructor(s) to whom the assignment is to be submitted.
Use of academic ghostwriting services, including hiring of writing or research services and submitting papers or assignments as his or her own.

Student Responsibility: Students are responsible for informing themselves of the guidelines of acceptable and non-acceptable conduct for examinations and graded assignments as presented via FRE code of conduct guidelines; course syllabus and instructors; and UBC academic misconduct policies, Review the following web sites for details:

Penalties for Academic Dishonesty: The integrity of academic work depends on the honesty of all those who work in this environment and the observance of accepted conventions. Academic misconduct is treated as a serious offence at UBC and within the MFRE program. Penalties for academic dishonesty are applied at the discretion of the course instructor. Incidences of academic misconduct may result in a reduction of grade or a mark of zero on the assignment or examination with more serious consequences being applied if the matter is referred to the Dean’s office and/or President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Note: If a student needs to extend his/her program due to a failed course or unsatisfactory progress, they will have to pay the full MFRE tuition fees for that term/s.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) In the MFRE Program

The process of developing content for evaluation (i.e., course assignment, coding, presentation, report, or exams) is an important part of a student’s learning experience. This process allows students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts and apply what they have learned in different domains and settings. The evaluation items are designed by the course instructor to support students in the development of analytical, evaluative, judgment, communication, and presentation skills which are essential competencies for MFRE graduates. The MFRE program requires that all work conducted for individual, or group evaluation in the course must be a student's original creation unless exemptions are allowed and stated by the course instructor.

Using AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or other Generative AI models to generate content or conduct analysis for evaluations, without proper citation, is considered plagiarism and academic misconduct. Content that falls into this category and requires citing AI as a source includes but is not limited to cutting and pasting content from any AI-generated material, paraphrasing content from a generative AI, and using any generative AI tool for analysis or summary. If students use AI in their submissions, they must cite the AI generator using citations consistent with the UBC Academic Honesty Standards. Committing academic misconduct will result in penalties, as stated in this document, which can range from a grade of zero to program failure. Students are responsible for understanding and avoiding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

For policies regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for FRE 547 Graduating Project, please consult with the MFRE Academic Director and Faculty Supervisor at the start of the graduating project.

Resources: Review the following:

UBC Policies of Academic Honesty:

UBC Academic Misconduct and Discipline (website.)
UBC Learning Commons web‐based Academic Integrity (website)

Turn it In Access for MFRE Courses:

Turn it in Login (website) and Student Guide to MFRE Student Guide To Setting Up And Using Turn It In on the Student Portal (website)

Citing Sources:

UBC Learning Commons Citation Resource (website)
Purdue Lab How to Cite Sources (website)

Plagiarism

Purdue University Plagiarism Overview (website)
SFU Avoiding plagiarism (website)