Professional Project

Overview

MARA 294, Professional Experience, Option: Professional Project

Graduates of the MARA program are likely to find themselves in positions where they will be required to conduct a professional project, such as evaluating and selecting an electronic content management system, developing guidelines for records created by or residing in social media, or developing training programs for new hires. The Professional Project option will allow each student to gain experience in completing an archives or records management project that has been submitted by an individual or organization.  

Qualifying for the MARA Professional Projects Option

To qualify for MARA’s Professional Projects option, you must:

  1. Be matriculated in the MARA degree program.
  2. Remain in good academic standing (minimum GPA: 3.0).
  3. Successful completion of 7 required courses: MARA 200, 204, 210, 211, 249, 285, and either MARA 286 or MARA 287.

Completing the Requirements 

If you meet the qualifications, you will be registered for MARA 294 Professional Experiences. Through consultation with the MARA Program Coordinator, you will identify a professional project submitted by an individual or an organization and supervised by a professional archivist, records manager, or information governance professional that can be completed during one semester.

You and the client will agree upon deliverables which can be recommendations, proposals or other products (e.g., training manuals, instructional podcasts, and proposals for new services) that can be implemented or used by the client organization. A copy of or link to the completed project (or other documentation that the project has been completed), a form indicating satisfactory completion signed and dated by the client, and a final report discussing the project and your personal experience are required for satisfactory completion of the course.

You are expected to devote a minimum of 135 hours to this project during the term in which it is taken.

Evaluating the Experience 

Several instruments will be used to evaluate your participation in this course. The actual method or combination of methods used for evaluation will depend on the project selected, learning outcomes, and assignments. Some or all of the following will be requested upon completion of the course:

  1. Participation. You will be required to enroll in the online course (MARA 294) and contribute to the online discussion and participate in in-class exercises.
  2. Project log. You will be required to maintain an on-going record of the hours you’ve worked and your activities. Further information regarding the project log will be available through the online course.

Project Report. You will be required to prepare a professional project final report (based upon the learning outcomes identified for the project) discussing how those outcomes were (or were not) accomplished. A copy of the final report must be submitted to the instructor through the Canvas learning management system along with the final project or, in the case of a project that is not a document (e.g. an electronic records management system or database), along with access information or other documentation so that the instructor can access the final project.