All capstones involve a significant amount of support on behalf of your advisor and second reader. S/he will likely be balancing your needs with many other responsibilities as well as the needs of other students. For this reason, professional courtesy and a positive working relationship are essential to your success. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind. Make sure you are clear about how to facilitate the communication so your faculty members can support you. If you aren’t sure of the best way to exchange information and communicate, ask.

• Communicate! Check with your advisor to see when you might expect to get his or her feedback on your draft. Follow timelines for the cohort. It is assumed that you will work actively and will revise your official document in your Laulima Dropbox during the process and not everything needs review. Alert your advisor when you have submitted pieces that require feedback.
• Faculty members are involved in a variety of projects and are advising a number of graduate students. Do not wait until the last minute to submit drafts and certainly do not expect that if you have done this, it is realistic to expect a response immediately. Generally faculty members will try to get their feedback to you one to two weeks after you have submitted your copy.
• Many faculty members who will be assisting us with second reading are on 9-month appointments and are not available in the summer. Thus you should not assume that you can readily receive assistance from a second reader on your project during the summer. Be sure to check with your advisor well in advance so that you can develop a realistic timetable for completing your project.
• There are deadlines for each capstone’s oral and submission. Please consult your program literature and Laulima announcements or cohort emails for these dates early in the semester you plan to graduate.