IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS MESSAGE, THEN YOU HAVE NAVIGATED TO AN OLD VERSION OF THE MMS 200 COURSE PACKAGE SITE.

The new course site is available on sites.google.com/up.edu.ph/mms200specialprojects

Please contact Diego at dsmaranan@up.edu.ph and let him know where you encountered the outdated link so that it can be fixed

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions about your progress as an MMS 200a student, do the following:

Review the specific Implementing Guidelines for MMS 200.
If the Implementing Guidelines do not help, read the FAQs listed on this page.
If this FAQ do not help, contact your adviser or your MMS 200 Course Facilitator as appropriate.

FAQs

Enrollment questions

Is MMS 200 dependent on the timing of enrollment (e.g. Part 1 = 1st Term; Part 2 = 2nd or 3rd Term)?

Can I get advising support from my adviser outside the terms I am formally enrolled in the course?

Is it possible to enroll in MMS 200b even if I just finished MMS 200a last term?

Questions about your adviser

I have an adviser. Until when is the submission of the final project proposal (MMS 200a) or final report (MMS 200b)?

I want or need to switch advisers. What should I do?

My adviser is not responding to my emails. What should I do?

MMS 200b questions

If I cannot finish my final report this term, do I need to enroll MMS 200 again? Should I drop MMS 200 while working with my adviser since I really do not think that I can fulfill the requirements?

If I cannot finish my final report this term, will this be a problem for my adviser?

If I cannot finish my final report this term, will my previous MMS 200a grade of "S" be invalidated?

Enrollment questions

Is MMS 200 dependent on the timing of enrollment (e.g. Part 1 = 1st Term; Part 2 = 2nd or 3rd Term)?

No. You can take MMS 200a during any term. Similarly, you can take MMS 200b during any term.

Can I get advising support from my adviser outside the terms I am formally enrolled in the course?

If you are in your gap term between MMS 200a and MMS 200b, you can get advising support from your adviser but only if you are enrolled in other courses or enrolled in Residency. If you are not in your gap term, or if you are not enrolled for MMS 200, your adviser cannot provide you advising support.

Is it possible to enroll in MMS 200b even if I just finished MMS 200a last term?

The guidance we have given for the timing of taking MMS 200a and 200b is based on years of our experience, and you will need to be responsible to your adviser regarding the quality of you work in MMS 200b, which runs the risk of being significantly substandard because of your decision to take it right after MMS 200a. If you enroll in MMS 200b right after MMS 200a, any complications that arise from your project rest solely on you, and neither your adviser nor UPOU can accept any responsibility for such complications and outcomes. To reiterate, only enroll in MMS 200b when you think you are close to completing your project.

Questions about your adviser

I have an adviser. Until when is the submission of the final project proposal (MMS 200a) or final report (MMS 200b)?

Suggested due dates for MMS 200 activities are listed in the Google Classroom for MMS 200. However, these are merely suggested due dates. You will need to coordinate directly with your adviser, as every adviser will set different deadlines for their advisees. See also the section, The role of your adviser.

I want or need to switch advisers. What should I do?

Contact your current adviser and explain your situation.
Contact the MMS 200 Course Coordinator and explain your situation.
Based on your conversation with the MMS 200 Course Coordinator and depending on how far along you've come, you will probably need to do one of the following:
1. If you have not made a lot of progress with your project to begin with, it is best if you re-enrolled as an MMS 200a student (see the previous section.)
2. If you have already made significant progress with your project, you should use the AdCom system to be matched to a new adviser, but instead of attaching a capsule proposal, attach a draft of your final report or the most updated version of your revised project proposal with a covering letter explaining your situation. (NB: the MMS 200 Course Coordinator will have to configure the AdCom system to allow you to use it again.)

My adviser is not responding to my emails. What should I do?

You and your adviser need to agree in advance how much feedback and exchange you expect from each other. For MMS 200a students, I recommend at least one interaction between your adviser and you after the approval of your capsule proposal. For MMS 200b students, I recommend at least two interactions.

If you do not feel that you are receiving the kind of feedback and exchange that you had agreed upon, try the following:

Ask your adviser for clarification on how much feedback and exchange you need to be having with each other. Perhaps you and your adviser have a different set of expectations around the amount of interaction the two of you will have.
If the previous step does not help, do the following:
1. Document in the MMS 200 Google Classroom a summary of your interactions with your adviser. (e.g., “Email sent to adviser containing draft: 21 June 2019, 4:15 pm. Email received from adviser with comments on draft: 22 June 2019, 8:00 am.” etc.). Specific activities are provided in the classroom for this purpose.
2. Request the MMS 200 FIC to review the summary of your interactions.

MMS 200b questions

If I cannot finish my final report this term, do I need to enroll MMS 200 again? Should I drop MMS 200 while working with my adviser since I really do not think that I can fulfill the requirements?

You need to discuss this with your adviser. They might agree to give you an EXT for MMS 200b if they believe that you can finish your final report within the time allotted for EXT completion. However, if you think unlikely that you will be able to finish your final report within the EXT completion period, you might indeed be better off dropping MMS 200. This is entirely something that you need to negotiate with your adviser.

If I cannot finish my final report this term, will this be a problem for my adviser?

You need to discuss the issue with them. For instance, perhaps your adviser will be going on an extended leave soon and will not be able to advise you in an official capacity if you submit your final report after their leave has started. Generally speaking, if you have a question about what your adviser is looking for and is acceptable to them, you will need to discuss it with them directly.

If I cannot finish my final report this term, will my previous MMS 200a grade of "S" be invalidated?

No.

Other questions

I want to make significant changes to my project, or I want to pursue a project entirely different from what I had originally agreed to do with my adviser. What should I do?

If you want to change your project from the one which was approved and for which you were matched to an adviser (and if this is something that you had not explicitly negotiated with your adviser), you will need to do the following:

Inform your adviser of your intention to change projects. Offer to go through the adviser-matching system again. Because you were matched with your adviser based on a specific project proposal, your current adviser may not be be the most appropriate match for your new intended project. For example, "Dear Prof. XYZ, I wish to change my project from the one we agreed I would pursue. Please see attached my new proposal. Because this is not the project we had agreed on, I have been advised to go through the adviser matching system again, unless you are willing to continue supervising me despite the change of direction I wish to pursue."
If after speaking with your adviser you have both agreed that it is in your best interest to change advisers, contact the MMS 200 Course Coordinator so you can be allowed to go through the adviser matching system again. Your current adviser is under no obligation to continue advising you if you wish to pursue a different project. In this case, you will need to "reset" your MMS 200 history and go through the AdCom system again.

Re-enrolling MMS 200a

If you have already completed and received a grade of "S" MMS 200a from your current adviser, you must nevertheless re-enroll MMS 200a.

Register for MMS 200 at the start of the term.
Back up any information you submitted to the MMS 200 Google Classroom. You will be resetting your Google Classroom data in the next step.
Reset your Google Classroom data by doin the following:
1. Delete all previous submissions that can be deleted.
2. Un-enroll in the MMS 200 Google Classroom.
3. Re-enroll in the MMS 200 Google Classroom.
Follow the directions in the Google Classroom for MMS 200a students.

Can I ask the MMS 200 Course Coordinator for feedback regarding my project?

It depends on whether you already have an adviser or not. If you have not been matched to an adviser yet, certainly. However, if you already have an adviser, the MMS 200 Course Coordinator is not in a position to review or comment on your work; only your adviser is.

I am retaking MMS 200a but I already have an adviser. Should I still use the AdCom system?

If you

were previously matched with an adviser but have not received an 'S' for MMS 200a, and
do not intend to make significant changes to your project proposal, and
do not intend to switch advisers,

then you do not need to go through the AdCom system. You simply need to work with your adviser to get an 'S' for MMS 200a.

Will there be deductions if activities in the Google Classroom are turned in late?

Not necessarily. The dates listed in the Google Classroom by the MMS 200 Course Facilitator are merely suggested dates. Your assigned adviser (and not the MMS 200 Course Facilitator) is the one who decides on your grades for MMS 200a and 200b. Your grade will depend on their grading policy.

For MMS 200a, your goal should be to be matched to an adviser as quickly as possible, so the sooner into a term that you can submit your capsule proposal to the AdCom system, the better. The AdCom system will not close if you do not meet the suggested submission date, but you may have a more difficult time getting a grade of "S" from whoever your adviser will be, since you will still have to meet their requirements.

Are all the activities in the Google Classroom required?

It depends. Refer to the description of each activity (see example on this page).

You must do all activities marked as "compulsory".

Other activities are only recommended because they usually concern MMS 200b processes; by the time you are an MMS 200b student, you would already have been assigned to an adviser and your adviser may have their own way of working with you and supervising your work. However, completing the recommended activities on the Google Classroom can help the MMS 200 Course Coordinator monitor the quality of the interactions between you and your adviser, which can be important if you or your adviser run into any issues regarding your project which require external intervention.

Can I make an ePortfolio/personal portfolio, or do a personal branding exercise, for my MMS 200 project?

While you are all encouraged to create a personal website or ePortfolio and to create a personal brand for yourself, your ePortfolio should be something that you should be working on throughout your career, and not a one-time product you create for your MMS 200 capstone project. However, whatever you do for your MMS 200 project could certainly become part of your ePortfolio.

Can I do my project in one term instead of two terms?

Generally speaking, no. MMS 200 is a 6-unit course (which means that you must enroll it twice), and it is a 6-unit course for a good reason: it takes time to create a high-quality project and write up a project report that is worthy of a passing grade.

Do I need to get ethics approval?

UPOU is currently developing its policies for ethics review of undergraduate research activities. In the meantime, you do not need to get ethics approval. You must, however, accomplish the activity in the MMS 200 Google Classroom related to the TCPS Core certificate course on research ethics if you intend to work with humans participants. Please also note that your adviser is expected to have some research ethics training and should be able to guide you through your questions.

Can I work with children or teenagers for my project?

You are discouraged from working with minors for your project unless you apply for research ethics review from UPOU. However, please note that applying for research ethics review from UPOU is currently a long and complicated process that may delay your project.

There are a few circumstances when it may be acceptable to work with children, such as when you are carrying out low-risk research activities involving your own family members, for example. Or if you are passively observing the activities of children without setting up special conditions nor interacting with them. Talk to your adviser if you are determined to work with minors, and make sure you have completed the TCPS Core certificate course on research ethics in the MMS 200 Google Classroom.

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