High School Capstone Year
Graduation and Entering Into the World from NOLI
To earn a diploma, NOLI offers a graduation procedure open to students who are enrolled in at least their third year at a NOLI center, must be at least 16 years of age at the end that school year, and they and their advisors believe they have the breadth of experience and skills, and have complete a capstone project or thesis, and are ready to enter their next phase of their life can complete the graduation process.
The student may choose to continue their education in colleges and universities or they may choose to enter directly into the world of education, business, trades, arts, crafts, technical vocations, or start their own business. Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute will provide assistance in preparing for any of these goals.
The Capstone Project
The capstone project experience is required for all Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute School students receiving a diploma. It integrates theory and application from across the student’s educational experiences.
Requirements Start the Capstone Project
To assure success in completing their capstone project before starting the capstone project the student must: - Successfully completed at least two years of documented NOLI course work as defined in the students’ program of work. - Successfully completed 24 months of active Leadership Participation and Demonstrated leadership ability. - Their Supervised Occupational Experience Project shows earnings and investments of at least $1,000 or at least 300 unpaid hours outside of class time. - Show participation in their Local NOLI School Program of Activities - Show lead at least five activities above their local NOLI Center level - Demonstrated a satisfactory record of meeting or exceeding trimester and yearly goals
Capstone Advisory Team
The Capstone Advisory Team Function
Your Capstone Advisory Team’s is there to assure that the student is successful at completing their capstone project and it that it demonstrates the high standards that our students should meet.
The Capstone Advisory Team:
- When designing the project proposal
- Will meet for guidance and acceptance of the Capstone Proposal
- Is there to give advice and support when needed throughout the student’s Capstone Project
- Will participate at each trimester review during the span of the capstone project
- Will determine when mastery has occurred
- Will participate in the public presentation of the students Capstone Review
- Will asset the student in networking
The Capstone Team Will Consist of
- The students core mentor
- The director of the NOLI School the students attends (If this person is not a Level 6 Advisor the team will need an additional member at a Level 6)
- A NOLI Capstone Advisor (advisor from outside of Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute from their area of study (college department chair, business owner, master tradesmen, etc. and is certified as a NOLI Capstone Advisor)
- A member of the NOLI Advisory Board
The Capstone will Include
With the guidance and approval from the student’s core mentors and their NOLI Center Director NOLI The capstone project consists of a public presentation, portfolio displayed for public viewing, and one or more of the following:
- A design and construction experience
- An experiment to prove hypotheses
- A self-guided study or research project
- A presentation and report based an internship, co-op, or service-learning experience, or a public performance
Where the senior project does not consist primarily of a written document, advisors, may, where they deem appropriate, require some written documentation (length to be determined by the advisory team) to accompany the senior project. The precise nature or form of a senior project is to be determined by the student and the advisory team. The Capstone project is normally related to the student’s field of study, future employment, and/or scholastic goals, and is carried out under the daily direct supervision of the students NOLI Core Mentor and will give weekly updates to their Capstone and present their trimester presentations to them for review before the official presentation.
Team Project
The student’s capstone project need not be an independent effort. The Capstone Project maybe a collaboration with other graduating seniors and underclassmen.
Expected Outcomes:
- Reduce a topic to specific points of analysis
- Organize the points of analysis into a logical sequence
- Apply acquired competencies to the successful completion of a project
- Obtain, evaluate, synthesize, and apply project-related information
- Develop and follow a project plan
- Budget estimate hours of labor, cost of materials, equipment, time duration and other necessary resources to complete a project
- Organize, illustrate, and write clear and concise project documentation
- Accept advisement when needed
Requirements:
This capstone project represents the accumulation of thousands of hours of developing skills and is the culmination of this phase of their education. The capstone project can be the work of a single individual or a team.
The project should represent:
- At least 200 documented hours per student working on the project
- The number of students participating in a group senior project should not be so large as to unduly limit individual experience or responsibility and initiative
- The student is responsible for identifying costs and potential funding sources for his or her senior project prior to initiation of the project. Costly projects that will not show a net return or discouraged
- The Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute project record book format will be used to document budget, cost, and time, etc.
A Capstone with High Honors
For the centers that have FFA Carters this is the same requirements as the FFA American Degree and the student will be eligible for applying to National FFA Association.
Students that have raised a high bar for themselves may work to the Capstone with High Honors which the following requirements which are above minimum Capstone requirements:
- Has been an active member for the past three years (36 months) and have a record of satisfactory participation in the activities on the local and state level. (In the FFA the student must have earned the State FFA Degree)
- Have satisfactorily completed the equivalent of at least three years (540 hours) of systematic secondary school instruction in an agricultural education program.
- For the American FFA Degree they must have graduated from high school at least 12 months prior to the national convention at which the degree is to be granted.
- Have in operation and have maintained records to substantiate an outstanding supervised occupational experience program, through which the student has exhibited comprehensive planning and managerial and financial expertise.
- A student after entering agricultural education must have Earn at least $10,000 and productively invested $7,500 or Earned and productively invested $2,000 and worked 2,250 hours in excess of scheduled class time. Any combination of hours, times a factor of 3.56, plus actual dollars earned and productively invested must be equal to or greater than the number 10,000. Hours used for the purpose of producing earnings reported as productively invested income shall not be duplicated as hours of credit to meet the minimum requirements for the degree.
- Have a record of outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement and have achieved high scholastic record verified by the students center director.
- Have participated in at least 50 hours of community service within at least three different community service activities. These hours are in addition to and cannot be duplicated as paid or unpaid supervised occupational experience hours.
Archiving Capstone Projects
Each senior project will be archived electronically in their home NOLI Center and NOLI North Idaho Center library.
