COMP 392: Practicum provides a student an opportunity to obtain academic credit for work experience.

To set up a Practicum, the student must arrange for a faculty sponsor BEFORE the work experience begins. (Failure to do this usually results in denial of COMP 392 credit.)

The faculty sponsor will evaluate the academic value of the proposed work experience. This might involve interviews with the student and the supervisor. Some negotiation among all three parties might be expected. Not all summer jobs qualify for COMP 392 credit. The job must involve development and application of computer science expertise, not simply computer operations.

During the job experience, the student should keep the faculty sponsor informed of progress, especially if the job deviates from the qualities agreed upon in advance. At the end of the job, the job supervisor is asked to write a letter to the faculty advisor commenting on the student's job performance. This letter is treated as a confidential assessment and may carry some weight in assessing the student's academic performance.

In the semester following the job experience, the student registers for COMP 392 with a number of credit hours as agreed by the faculty sponsor. The student writes a report describing the accomplishments during the job. The exact nature of the report is negotiated between the student and faculty advisor in advance.

On completion of the report, the faculty sponsor determines a grade, S or F, that will be recorded at the end of that semester.

COMP 392 does not fulfill any specific requirement in the academic program. It counts for hours and as an elective. There is nothing to prevent a student from petitioning to let a job experience count as satisfying a particular course requirement in the major, but a solid case would have to be made, and the faculty's disposition will be to disapprove such petitions unless the case is truly compelling.

COMP 392 may be taken multiple times but for no more than 6 hours of credit, total.