Minot State CIS students present capstone

MINOT, N.D. - Minot State University computer information systems students presented a group capstone project, creating a 360-degree tour of residence halls at Minot State, at a public presentation on Monday, Sept. 8.

The capstone project provided students with practical experience and a recruiting advantage for Minot State University. The project spanned the 2024-25 academic year and met the requirements for the Systems Analysis and Design and the Projects in Computer Information Systems courses.

"The students learned that there are options beyond the original plan and that they need to work within resources, which can be sparse, to make a project successful," said Serena Pontenila, assistant professor in math, data, and technology.

The project started with a response to a Minot State-sponsored EMPOWER grant through the MSU Development Foundation. The capstone project created a proposal for an EMPOWER grant, and, while they ultimately weren't awarded the grant, the group was not deterred from pursuing the project.

The team completed the analysis portion of the project by consulting with numerous stakeholders and researching various options. The group rewrote the proposal with new information and brought it to their MSU project class. While working in the class, they secured funding for cameras and subscriptions for hosting videos from the MSU Development Foundation.

The project transitioned from concept to implementation as they completed the pilot program in the spring. During the summer, the 360-degree tour videos of the residence halls at Minot State were finalized.

"The students demonstrated the exact objective of our department's goal of scaffolding the learning from semester to semester," said Kristi Berg, professor of computer information systems. "We designed the curriculum to mirror workplace situations. Students completed the analysis portion of the project and then handed it off to a project team for implementation."

The 360-degree tours for Cook Hall, Crane Hall, Lura Manor, and McCulloch Hall can be viewed HERE.

Overall, this project adds value to the classroom and completes a key project for Minot State University. Cole Krueger, director of marketing at MSU and a key stakeholder of the 360-tour project, was pleased with the result and offered feedback that this project created a valuable, maintainable, and usable asset for MSU.

"We are excited to see this project completed as it is a great tool for prospective students and parents to see what our residence halls have to offer without having to make it to campus," Krueger said. "The students in the capstone project did a great job planning and executing the 360-tour video. It was a great experience for them and something MSU can utilize to attract future students."