Below is the plan for the "senior gateway": how we determine whether you are ready to continue to senior phase. This will be based heavily on your performance on the "Senior Checkpoint" and as a back-up the "Junior Phase Final Project". Let's talk about the logistics…
The Junior Phase Final Project (JPFP) is, well, a project you will complete SOLO. You will be expected to construct a working full-stack application. We will provide the constraints for what you should build (e.g. "users should be able view all of their uploaded photos"). In order to allow your implementation to be more open-ended and organic, we will not provide automated test specs. 📖 JPFP Study Guide
The Senior Checkpoint is test-spec based and you will also be working solo. To reiterate, instead of providing written-in-English constraints for how it should operate, we will provide automated test specs (just like the other checkpoints, e.g. pillars). 📖 Senior Checkpoint Study Guide
We have found that both of these can have incredible educational value! Additionally, we (and that includes you) can use them to help determine whether or not you are prepared for senior phase. What does it mean to be prepared for senior phase? It means that you are in a place where you understand the syntax and data flow of the tools you are using, so that you can make meaningful contributions to your team projects during senior phase; otherwise, you will be stressed out, and your team will be stressed out. Overall, this means that the Senior Checkpoint and the Junior Phase Final Project act as a kind of gateway to senior phase.
That probably sounds a little terrifying, but we would like to remind you that the checkpoints are there to let us intervene as early as possible. We've seen firsthand what happens when someone is floundering in senior phase, and believe us that you will want to know sooner rather than later - before entering senior phase.
You have 3 hours to complete the Senior Checkpoint, unless you have time-based accommodations in place with your Program Lead prior to the checkpoint. If you do not test well make sure that you take the time to have a great JPFP.
We will open the JPFP during the 5th week of the junior phase. This project involves using Node, Express, Sequelize, React, React Router, Redux, and React-Redux (word of advice: Redux tends to be the most challenging area for students during the project; it's worth really studying Redux this weekend and early next week).
We will set aside class time for you to work on the JPFP. Refer to your calendar for specific dates / times for the JPFP work time as well as the Senior Checkpoint testing time.
You will be expected to complete the JPFP and the Senior Checkpoint solo; as such, please be aware that the instructors and fellows will provide limited help. Of course always feel free to reach out for assistance, just be aware that we will only help 1) clarify the prompt / test spec, 2) debug any system setup / configuration issues, 3) point you towards relevant online docs or resources.
If you want any help that is outside the above three categories, we will note it. We will tell you that we are going to note it before we give you that assistance. This means that if your project is borderline in grade, we will count it as a failing grade (more on the evaluation below). Examples of what would be outside of the above three categories (as in, we would make a note of it): helping you implement a feature, finding and / or resolving errors in your code, and giving you suggested improvements on code style or modularity.
Here's how the evaluation logistics will work. After you complete the Senior Checkpoint, we will evaluate it and determine if it indicates that you're prepared for senior phase. Here is the rubric for the senior checkpoint. Note how the Final Grade is determined.
Because spec-based timed evaluations are not the only way to judge your readiness for senior phase, we will also be evaluating your JPFP submission. Since the JPFP is a solo effort which incorporates all the cornerstone technologies needed to succeed in the Senior Phase, we will heavily rely on your performance there to help us make that call. A strong project submission, coupled with a demonstration of your ability to work independently in a productive way, could get you over the bar and into Senior Phase despite a sub-par checkpoint score. The scoring process for the JPFP is described by three files in the project repo (the README.md, REQUIREMENTS.md and RUBRIC.md). You can find the rubric here, and you will get access to the other files when you start the project.
As a true software project rather than a time-based exam, the JPFP is both a great way to shore up knowledge of our curriculum as well as demonstrate proficiency with it. The longer-time, more open-ended, project-based format of the JPFP allows you to showcase your skills in another way, besides the Senior Checkpoint, in order to demonstrate your readiness for Senior Phase.
So to be clear: Both your Senior Checkpoint and JPFP will be graded. But we will be grading the Senior Checkpoint first as it is much faster for us to grade and expect to receive a grade on your JPFP throughout Week 6 (your final week) of Junior Phase.
Copying other student's code or somehow acquired solution code is strictly prohibited. Consulting resources such as lecture videos, slides, workshop code, and previous checkpoints is allowed. You should be able to explain the code that you have written and you may be asked to explain and defend your code to instructional staff. If it is determined you are cheating on the Senior Checkpoint or the JPFP, this will result in expulsion.
You will receive feedback (rubric and comments) on your checkpoint at the beginning of week 6. Everybody will receive this qualitative feedback so that you can continue to improve your skills and deepen your understanding!
Alongside that, you will receive our decision on whether you are ready at the beginning of week 6. If we feel you are not yet ready to continue to senior phase, we will have a conversation about options and alternative paths moving forward.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your instructors, fellows, or anybody else at Fullstack!