That's kind of the point: the assignment is to take an existing codebase (probably a crappy one), figure it out (who remembers what they were thinking a year ago?), and add to it without breaking it.
So then you give every student the same existing codebase (along with the same set of requirements), and as a bonus this helps them learn and adapt something written by a different person.
Saying: "Use the same thing you worked on last quarter" dooms everyone who made wrong foundational choices with their old project to spend most of their time "fighting the last war".
"Saying: "Use the same thing you worked on last quarter" dooms everyone who made wrong foundational choices with their old project to spend most of their time "fighting the last war"."
Not unless you told them before they started the previous year's project that it'll be used further along the line.
I'd just make it one really long subject that spans 3/4 years.
