Important EPICS Pre-Semester Announcements

Welcome Students

Welcome to the EPICS family new students, and welcome back to the returners! We are looking forward to see the impact you will make in the community through your work this semester. We know this fall will be unprecedented in many ways, but the excitement we feel to see your growth and the accomplishments you make this semester have carried us through the worries and the long days to get everything ready for your arrival, and we can’t wait to get to work with you all. Whether you will be with us in-person in the EPICS labs or joining us remotely, we believe we have a set of community challenges that will inspire and challenge you. We hope that EPICS will become your second home, and that you get the opportunity to develop wonderful new relationships with your teammates, advisors, and with the EPICS staff. With that in mind, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us if we can be helpful in your transition back to class. There are a lot of changes this semester, so please pay careful attention to these and more upcoming announcements.

Professional Development Hours (PDHs)

All students are required to complete five (5) PDHs per credit hour each semester. The PDHs replace traditional lecture in the EPICS program. The requirements are listed in the PDH Menu.
Since there are so many changes this semester, both new and returning students will be required to complete the ‘Intro to EPICS’ PDH.

‘Intro to EPICS’ will be live-streamed 3:30-4:20 PM Eastern Time on Monday, August 24, and will be recorded and posted to the EPICS YouTube Channel for any students who can’t attend live to review during the first week of classes.
To open the live-stream, use this link.

All first time students will be required to complete the five Required PDH Series in Brightspace.
All returning and two-credit students will be required to submit a PDH Plan by the end of Week 2.

‘Intro to EPICS’ should be included in all PDH plans.

Lab Attendance

EPICS is a team oriented design course. Unexcused absence to lab will result in a steep penalty to your grade.

Attendance to all lab meetings can be in-person or virtual for each student.

If you need an excused absence, be sure to let your TA and advisor know in advance if possible.

Our goal is to ensure that students are participating fully, but we are understanding that situations arise and will work with you each on a case-by-case basis.
We will be as accommodating as possible for all students this semester, as we realize COVID may result in students who are ill, need to attend to ill family members, or other situations that are outside of the normal. Please communicate any need for accommodations with your advisor and TA.

Grades

EPICS does not include exams, but instead grades are determined based on the artifacts you generate through a real design-project.
See the milestone schedule for due dates and details.
Midterm grades will be provided by week 7.
See https://engineering.purdue.edu/EPICS/teams/team-documents/Grading for details.

Lab COVID-19 Modifications

All EPICS students must comply with the requirements outlined in Protect Purdue, including the proper use of face masks at all time.
Week 1, Design Review labs, and all labs after Nov 20th will meet virtually only.
For all in-person labs, teams will meet one-project-at-a-time or equivalent to reduce classroom density.
The EPICS labs will be available on a restricted basis. Details will be shared prior to the first lab.

EPICS Resources

Website: New students will want to become familiar with the EPICS website, where you will find the syllabus, lab and lecture schedule, assignments (milestones), and more. See https://engineering.purdue.edu/EPICS/purdue.
Brightspace: All EPICS teams will have a Brightspace page available prior to the start of the semester. See. https://purdue.brightspace.com/.
Microsoft Teams: All EPICS teams will have a Microsoft Teams instance to collaborate, share files, and conduct video conferencing.

Design Review

All EPICS teams present to outside reviewers two times per semester. For Spring, those will be weeks 7 and 15.
Midterm Review: Sept 28 - Oct 2
Final Review: Nov 30 – Dec 4

Purchase Request System

Your team will need to purchase materials for use in the construction of your project.
All purchase requests will be initiated and managed through Docusign.
The Docusign Purchase Request Form can be accessed through the EPICS website.

Andrew Pierce

EPICS Assistant Director

Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering – Room 1209

701 West Stadium Avenue

West Lafayette, IN 47907-2045

Email: pierce1@purdue.edu

Phone: (765) 414-2107

http://www.purdue.edu/epics