By Rae Maher

It is a good idea to save your projects and assignments where you can find them later.

For students at the University of Montevallo, it’s not a bad idea for students to save copies of their old assignments.

At the college level, students must complete a senior project. Sometimes it is called a seminar, sometimes a project, and sometimes just a portfolio. For Mass Communication students it’s a senior capstone.

Usually completed in the last academic year, typically as late as the last semester, the senior capstone is a graduation requirement.

For the capstone, students create a portfolio from past assignments to show what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown. Additionally, students produce a project of their choice over the course of the semester, putting what they’ve learned into practice.

At the University of Montevallo, there are two Mass Communication concentrations. Each has their own capstone requirements.

Both Mass Communication Capstones count as one credit hour courses. Unlike with Direct Study courses, these hours cannot be adjusted.

The broadcast production capstone focuses on video and audio editing as students prepare to enter the world of visual media. The course is described as producing an advanced media project and a digital portfolio, complete with analysis.

The multimedia journalism capstone focuses more on journalistic writing. Like the broadcast production capstone, it requires practical work and a portfolio.

A lot of thought goes into these projects, regardless of which capstone the senior needs to complete.