Course Syllabus

Assignments turned within 24 hours of the posted deadline will be docked 10 points. After 24 hours, students can still turn in missing assignments for up to a week but will receive no more than 50% of the grade.

1. There are no ‘excused’ or ‘unexcused’ absences, there are only absences.
2. Missing more than 5 classes for any reason will result in failing the course.
3. You have available three PTO (paid time off) days to use, with limited conditions*.
4. After using your 3 PTOs, you final Participation score will be reduced by one letter grade on your fourth absence, and another letter grade after your fifth absence.
5. After missing more than 5 classes, you will fail the entire course.

*Here are the limited conditions for PTOs: To qualify for one, you must notify me and the TA BEFORE the class that you won’t be attending (no excuses or doctor’s note needed). You will then be granted a PTO, meaning you’ll get full participation points for the day. However, you will still use up 1 out of the 3 unpenalized absences.

For a list of excused absences, consult this page on attendance.

V550 — Project Management and Implementation

This semester, part of your project management work will happen alongside AI tools built specifically for this course. This is a pilot. It has not been run before, here or anywhere I know of.

Why

Employers have moved faster than curricula have. People graduating into public sector and nonprofit work are handed AI tools in their first week and expected to know what to do with them. Mostly nobody teaches them, so they learn by guessing, and the guessing is expensive.

The skill that matters isn't operating the software. It's judgment — knowing when the output in front of you is good, when it's confidently wrong, and being able to explain the difference to a supervisor or a board.

So, this is not a course about AI. It's a course about project management in which AI is one of the materials you work with. Law students learn on LexisNexis, business students on Bloomberg terminals. This is our version.

What we'll do

You'll work through scope, cost, risk, and stakeholder management the way the course has always covered them, with AI involved at specific points rather than throughout.

One of those tools is a scope agent built for this class. It works through a project scenario with you and checks your work along the way. It will push back. Sometimes it will be right. The others are structured workflows you'll run against commercial tools you may already use.

The assignment underneath is always the same: do the work, evaluate what the AI gave you, and document where you disagreed and why. That last part is graded, and it's the part employers are actually asking about.

What I owe you

• Nobody is expected to arrive knowing how to do this. Class time will cover it, and technical help will be available when tools misbehave.
• Honesty about the experiment. Some of this will work. Some won't, and I'd rather say so now than pretend otherwise in week nine. There are traditional assignments ready if a piece doesn't hold up.
• No penalty for the pilot's problems. If a tool fails, that's my problem to solve, not a grade you absorb.
• A real feedback channel. Anonymous mid-semester feedback, and an open door before that. If something isn't working, I need to hear it early enough to fix it.
• No prior experience assumed. Eighteen months ago the only thing I'd used AI for was deciding what car to buy. I've learned a lot since, mostly by being wrong first. You are not behind.

What I'd ask of you

1. Patience with the rough edges and the willingness to tell me where they are.
2. These tools are not authorities and I don't want them treated as ones — the students who get the most out of this semester will be the ones who argue with the output.

We'll get into specifics soon.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities (e.g. mental health, learning, chronic health, physical, hearing, vision neurological, etc.) You must have established your eligibility for support services through the appropriate office that services students with disabilities. Note that services are confidential, may take time to put into place and are not retroactive; Captions and alternate media for print materials may take three or more weeks to get produced. Please contact your campus office as soon as possible if accommodations are needed. Find your campus office serving students with disabilities.

All work should be your original product, unless explicitly noted otherwise. Any materials you reference or take from others should be properly cited. Cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication in any form will not be tolerated, regardless of any justification. For more detailed information see the  Student Responsibilities section of the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct. Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. The minimum consequence is failing the assignment. In a case of more serious offense, a student may fail the course. Students should NOT present work from other courses in this class (i.e., using pieces of previous papers you have done is considered plagiarism). I may use the services of Turnitin.com to check for originality of your written work. 

As your instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment on our campus. Title IX and our own Sexual Misconduct policy prohibit sexual misconduct.  If you have experienced sexual misconduct, or know someone who has, the University can help. I encourage you to visit Stop Sexual Violence website to learn more.  If you are seeking help and would like to speak to someone confidentially, you can make an appointment with a Mental Health Counselor on campus.

It is also important that you know that federal regulations and University policy require me to promptly convey any information about potential sexual misconduct known to me to our Deputy Title IX Coordinator or IU’s Title IX Coordinator.  In that event, they will work with a small number of others on campus to ensure that appropriate measures are taken and resources are made available to the student who may have been harmed.  Protecting a student’s privacy is of utmost concern, and all involved will only share information with those that need to know to ensure the University can respond and assist.

Introduction

The O’Neill School takes matters of honesty and integrity seriously.  We expect O’Neill students will, at all times, maintain academic integrity and civil and professional standards of conduct.

Scope

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code applies to all courses and programs offered by O’Neill, and to all students who participate in O’Neill classes and programs, regardless of whether students are admitted to O’Neill. Students studying at O’Neill are expected to continue their commitment to ethical behavior in all their endeavors, including, but not limited to, coursework inside and outside of O’Neill, internships, community service, and overseas study.

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code incorporates IU’s Code of Student Right, Responsibilities, & Conduct and extends to matters of civility and professional conduct, including, expectations about class attendance, punctuality, participation in class, and decorum in class and at other school functions.

Academic Conduct Requirements 

All students enrolled in O’Neill courses are subject to the academic misconduct provisions found in the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct. 

All students enrolled in O’Neill courses are subject to the academic misconduct provisions found in the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.  

Academic misconduct includes the use of any technology or assistance, including AI, that is not permitted by the instructor.

Civility and Professional Conduct Requirements

O’Neill requires that all students treat others with mutual respect and behave professionally in the classroom and during all academic and non-academic activities.

These civility and professional conduct requirements foster an appropriate atmosphere inside and outside the classroom:

• Students must act in accordance with the O’Neill School mission and values.
• Students must regularly attend and be fully prepared for class, including completing readings.
• Students must not behave in a way that interrupts or distracts from teaching or learning. For example, students must be punctual in their arrival to class and be present and attentive for the duration of the class. They must not sleep, do work for another class, or wander in and out of the classroom, pack up, or leave class early (unless an emergency exists).
• Students must abide by the course policy regarding use of electronic devices in the classroom, including a requirement that no electronics are allowed or that students are not permitted to use devices for non-class related purposes.
• Students must responsibly participate in class activities and during team meetings for course assignments.
• Students must attend scheduled meetings with faculty or staff, events for which they have RSVPed, interviews with prospective employers, and student organization meetings.
• Students must address faculty members, other students, and others appropriately and with respect, whether in person, in writing, or in electronic communications.
• Students must show tolerance and respect for others.
• Students must practice respect and responsible stewardship of the physical resources of the school, refraining from destroying or defacing school property, integrating practices of sustainability, and contributing to a clean and orderly physical environment in all buildings, classrooms, offices, and meeting spaces.
• Students must comply with the personal misconduct responsibilities within the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.

Reporting

Students must abide by the O’Neill Student Honor Code themselves and hold their peers to the same standards. Students should report suspected instances of academic, civility, or professional misconduct to the instructor of the course. Students should report suspected instances of personal misconduct to the IU Office of Student Conduct.

Make-up Exams

Exams can be taken only during the time and date posted on the syllabus schedule. Plan accordingly.

Requesting a Lil’ Bump

The instructor will respond with a somewhat courteous “no,” to any student requests to move you to a higher grade at the end of the semester because you are “really, really close” to that higher grade. Changes like this compromise the integrity of everyone’s grade, and force the instructor to draw inconsistent, unfair and sometimes arbitrary lines about what is “good enough.” The requirements for each grade are spelled out clearly for you below. Expect that they will be followed strictly.

Grade Appeal

If you feel that you’ve been graded unfairly in a course, you have the option to appeal that grade. Each school sets its own policies, procedures, and deadlines for grade appeals—check your school’s academic bulletin for details. 

Dropping a Course

During the first week of classes you may drop a class with no grade recorded on your transcript. From the second week of classes through the fourth week (the ‘auto W’ period), you may withdraw from a class with an automatic grade of ‘W’. This will be recorded on your transcript, but not included in your GPA.

After the fourth week (and before the final exam period), a student wishing to withdraw with a grade of ‘W’ must be passing the course at that time. You must complete a ‘Drop Only’ form and contact the offices listed for signatures before giving the form to the instructor. The instructor will confirm on the form that you are passing at that time for a ‘W’ grade or that your grade is an ‘F’. This ‘F’ grade WILL be included in calculation of your GPA.

Faculty members are required to report any student who stops attending a class and does not withdraw (with a grade of ‘W’ or ‘F’). Failure of a course due to non-attendance may affect financial aid award amounts.