Instructor Guide

Complete guide for managing the Regis University Portfolio system

Overview

This system provides a centralized platform for showcasing Regis University Data Science students' practicum projects across multiple semesters. As an instructor, you'll manage one repository that maintains historical data while highlighting current and exceptional work through the spotlight feature.

Supports both MSDS 692 (Practicum I) and MSDS 696 (Practicum II) courses in the Data Science Master's program.

Setup for Every Semester/Course

Follow this streamlined process for each new semester. The system is designed to minimize manual work while maintaining professional quality and consistency across all student portfolios.

1. Upload CSV

Create and upload student roster CSV file to the regis_std repository

2. Run Automation

Execute automated system to create student folders and templates

3. Deploy

Generate and deploy final portfolios to the main website

One-Click Student Portfolio Generation

Skip manual setup! Upload a CSV file and let our automation system create professional portfolios for all your students automatically.

Access Portfolio System

Quick Start (2 Minutes)

  1. 1 Create CSV with student roster
  2. 2 Name it: 2025_Summer_MSDS692.csv
  3. 3 Upload to automation repository
  4. Student portfolios created automatically!

CSV Format Required

Student Name,Email,Username,Project_Title,GitHub_Profile,Practicum_1_GitHub,LinkedIn_Profile,Portfolio_Page
"John Doe","jdoe@regis.edu","jdoe001","ML Trading Bot","https://github.com/jdoe001/ml-trading","","",""
"Jane Smith","jsmith@regis.edu","jsmith002","Data Analytics Platform","https://github.com/jsmith002/data-platform","","",""

✅ Email cleaning automatic (@worldclass → @regis)
✅ Professional templates generated
✅ Course folders organized by semester

What Gets Created Automatically

Student Folders:
• Profile templates
• Asset directories
• Project file organization
Professional Portfolios:
• University branding
• Mobile responsive
• SEO optimized
Integration:
• Auto-sync to main site
• JSON data generation
• Image optimization

CSV-Based Semester Workflow

1

Create & Upload CSV File

Create a CSV file with student information and upload it to the regis_std repository data folder.

📁 Required CSV Format:

File naming convention: YYYY_Semester_CourseCode.csv

  • MSDS 692: 2025_Summer_MSDS692.csv
  • MSDS 696: 2025_Summer_MSDS696.csv
Student Name,Email,Username,Project_Title,GitHub_Profile,Practicum_1_GitHub,LinkedIn_Profile,Portfolio_Page
John Doe,jdoe@regis.edu,jdoe001,ML Trading Bot,,,,
Jane Smith,jsmith@regis.edu,jsmith002,Data Analytics Platform,,,,
Required Fields (Instructor):
  • • Student Name
  • • Email (@regis.edu)
  • • Username (from email prefix)
  • • Project_Title
Populated by Students (Optional):
  • • GitHub_Profile - GitHub profile URL
  • • Practicum_1_GitHub - Project repository URL
  • • LinkedIn_Profile - LinkedIn URL
  • • Portfolio_Page - Custom portfolio link (auto-generated if empty)
2

Run Automated Setup: Create Student Folders

Execute the automation to create individual student folders and templates.

🚀 Action: "Setup Student Environment"

Creates folder structure, profile templates, and README files for each student

Start Automation

✅ What Gets Created:

For Each Student:
  • /data/students/{username}/ folder
  • profile.md template
  • README.md with instructions
  • • Asset folders (presentations/, reports/)
Repository Structure:
  • • JSON data files generated
  • • Course-specific organization
  • • Ready for student uploads
3

Students Upload Their Work

Students access their assigned folders in the portfolio system and upload project materials according to the Student Guide.

📝 Profile Content

  • • Update profile.md
  • • Add project description
  • • Include skills & background
  • • Contact information

📊 Project Files

  • • Upload presentation (PDF/PPTX)
  • • Upload final report (PDF)
  • • Add project screenshots
  • • Include demo links

🔗 External Links

  • • GitHub repository
  • • Live demo/deployment
  • • Blog posts (optional)
  • • Other relevant links

📍 File Upload Locations:

Students save files to: https://github.com/iamgmujtaba/regis_std/tree/main/data/students/{username}/

  • • Presentations: presentations/{username}_practicum_slides.pdf
  • • Reports: reports/{username}_practicum_report.pdf
  • • Profile photo: avatar.jpg or avatar.png
4

Generate HTML Portfolios

Run the portfolio generation system to convert markdown files to professional HTML portfolios and deploy to the website.

🎯 Action: "Generate & Deploy Portfolios"

Converts markdown to HTML, applies Regis branding, and publishes to website

Generate

🚀 Deployment Process:

  1. 1. Parse student markdown files
  2. 2. Generate HTML with Regis branding
  3. 3. Optimize images and assets
  4. 4. Update portfolio website
  5. 5. Deploy to production site
  6. 6. Update JSON data files

🌐 Final Result:

Each student gets a professional portfolio at: https://iamgmujtaba.github.io/profiles/{username}.html

All portfolios are automatically added to the main course website with proper navigation and search functionality.

Managing Spotlight Projects

What are Spotlight Projects?

Spotlight projects are exceptional student work featured prominently on the homepage. They showcase the best examples across all semesters and inspire current students.

Adding a Spotlight Project (Manual Process)

Spotlight projects are manually curated by instructors. To add a project to the spotlight section, update the spotlight.json file in the main repository's data folder:

📍 File Location:

data/spotlight.json (main repository)

Note: This is separate from the CSV workflow and requires manual editing.

{
  "spotlightProjects": [
    {
      "studentName": "Alice Johnson",
      "semester": "spring-2025", 
      "projectTitle": "ML-Based Predictive Analytics Platform",
      "description": "Innovative platform using advanced ML algorithms for real-time data analysis...",
      "github": "https://github.com/alicejohnson/ml-analytics",
      "demo": "https://alice-demo.herokuapp.com",
      "profilePage": "profiles/ajohnson.html",
      "tags": ["Machine Learning", "Analytics", "Python", "Real-time"],
      "achievements": ["Best Technical Innovation", "Industry Partnership Award"],
      "semester": "2025-spring",
      "course": "MSDS696"
    }
  ]
}

Repository Structure & Automation

📁 Repository Structure

regis_std/
├── data/
│   ├── 2025_Summer_MSDS692.csv
│   ├── 2025_Summer_MSDS696.csv
│   ├── students/
│   │   ├── jdoe001/
│   │   │   ├── profile.md
│   │   │   ├── README.md
│   │   │   ├── presentations/
│   │   │   ├── reports/
│   │   │   └── avatar.jpg
│   │   └── jsmith002/
│   │       ├── profile.md
│   │       └── ...
├── scripts/
│   ├── generate_json.py
│   ├── process_csv.py
│   └── sync-to-portfolio.py
└── .github/workflows/
    ├── setup-students.yml
    └── deploy-portfolios.yml

🤖 Automation System

Setup Student Environment

Trigger: Upload CSV file to data/ folder

Actions:

  • • Parse CSV files
  • • Create student folders
  • • Generate profile templates
  • • Create JSON data files

Deploy Portfolios

Trigger: Manual or scheduled

Actions:

  • • Convert markdown to HTML
  • • Apply Regis branding
  • • Optimize images
  • • Push to main repository
  • • Deploy to GitHub Pages

⚠️ Important Notes

  • • CSV files must follow the exact naming convention: YYYY_Semester_CourseCode.csv
  • • Automation workflows may take 5-10 minutes to complete
  • • Students need repository access to upload their files
  • • Final portfolio generation should be done after all students complete their uploads
  • • Spotlight projects in data/spotlight.json are maintained manually

Quick Reference

🔗 Important Links

📊 CSV Template

Download template:

Download CSV Template

Required columns: Student Name, Email, Username, Project Title
Optional: GitHub, Presentation, Report, Blog, Other, Demo

LaTeX Report Template for Students

Share this professional LaTeX template with your students for writing their practicum reports with proper academic formatting:

Practicum Report Template

Professional LaTeX template for MSDS 692/696 reports with Regis branding

Download Template

💡 Template Features:

  • • Professional academic formatting
  • • Pre-configured sections for practicum reports
  • • Bibliography and citation support
  • • Regis University branding
  • • Easy to compile and customize

📋 For Instructors:

  • • Share this link with students at the beginning of the semester
  • • Encourage consistent formatting across all submissions
  • • Template includes guidelines for proposal and final report sections
  • • Reduces formatting questions and improves report quality