TESU Liberal Arts Capstone mentor feedback

[Mamasaphire]

Regarding Dr. Tomko:

I am about to finish the Capstone course (guided study) with Dr. Tomko. He was fine with my topic not being degree-related (I'm a History major). You have to get approval with whatever topic you choose, whether degree-related or not, so you can always ask!

Another regarding Dr. Tomko:

I just finished the Liberal Arts Capstone at TESC. I took it with Dr. Andrew Tomko in the August, 2013 term, and got a 100. I like research and writing so I found this course enjoyable and ended up with a paper over twice as long as required. One thing I found useful at the beginning was looking at other people's papers to get an idea of what the professor was looking for, I got Westerner's, and links to mine are at the bottom. Hopefully you will find them useful. The only thing I would change in the final version would be to eliminate some of the repetition from the introductions to the chapters. Dr. Tomko was helpful, but this class is supposed to be your own project. If you do a good job and follow the format correctly, you will get a 100. The one thing I would do differently would be to send in drafts of the assignments before actually submitting them for grading. One reason to do this was that Dr. Tomko at least, wanted some things done differently than a strict reading of the manual and APA style would require. This ended up with me getting a 90 on the final paper, but when I changed some things and resubmitted he adjusted the grade.

Regarding Dr. Haydel:

It also depends on the mentor's preferences. I am on Module Three with Dr. Haydel as my mentor. She is the creator of the capstone course for TESC, and she does require you to strictly follow APA guidelines. Beyond that, she is great to have as a mentor! When I made the mistake of submitting my last assignment without the Annotated Bibliography, she allowed me to go back and cook one up so she could adjust the grade, which she did once I submitted it. I got an 89 on the assignment for a few grammar errors. I guess I have a habit of still personalizing my writing, whereas I need to be abstract.

Regarding Dr. Steve Ryan and Dr. Casey Maugh:

As far as recommendations go, I had Steve Ryan in the Capstone class and I would HIGHLY recomend him! Great, caring, helpful mentor. He's prompt to reply to questions and doesn't just grade you--he wants to help you complete a good project, works with you and gives ideas and suggestions. I also had Casey Maugh, in a Communications class. She generally graded well, but was rarely around the discussion forums, didn't give much feedback on assignments, and was sometimes inconsistent in grading. But her demeanor was, as Professor Ryan's was too, cheerful and enthusiastic. If you can't get Prof. Ryan, get her.

Regarding Dr. Casey Maugh:

If you can sign up with Casey Maugh, then you may find it manageable.