Portfolio Project

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Faculty Guidelines: GUIDELINES FOR PORTFOLIO ADMINISTRATORS

Dear Colleague, 

Thank you for taking time out of your class to administer the senior portfolios. Your role is invaluable in making this assessment tool work effectively. This document is intended to help you make the portfolio project a beneficial experience for more students.

Start by reading the student instructions:
http://assessment.truman.edu/components/portfolio/studentguide.asp

Note that there are two ways to submit, online or via CD. Submitting online is preferred for logistic reasons, but submitting via CD is fine, too. Some faculty like to look at each submission before it is final; if you want to see what they are actually submitting, you may require them to complete the CD version.

What follows is a list of suggestions that have helped faculty in the past. Many of these suggestions come from the faculty members who read the portfolios, and who on occasion have been perplexed by some inappropriate submission or by something the student wrote on a cover sheet implying a misunderstanding. My purpose is only to guide you and definitely not to increase the burden you already have. I realize that capstone class sizes and curricula vary widely amongst the disciplines. Do only what you can.

1.         Encourage students to work on the portfolio throughout the semester. This is the most important request I have for you. One of the main differences between students who are happy after completing the portfolio and those who are angry is that the latter have waited until the last minute to work on their portfolio. Some have told us that they understand the promise of the portfolio in giving them the opportunity to reflect on their intellectual and personal growth, but because they were rushed, they had no time for introspection and reflection. You might try assigning one category of the portfolio every weeks during the first half of the semester. Some faculty collect and briefly review them, returning them for submission at a later time.

Since documents will be submitted electronically, students need not wait to send all items at the same time. Sending documents periodically throughout the semester will likely help students avoid the “procrastination bug”.

2.         If possible, read each prompt in class, encourage a brief discussion, and solicit questions. Refer questions you can't answer to the portfolio director or to a colleague who has participated in the May portfolio readings. The prompts have been carefully constructed and revised over the years to minimize the submissions of certain kinds of inappropriate works.

3.         Make your own due date for the final portfolio earlier in the semester than we require. This goes along with point 1 above. If a student has to prepare their (ungraded) portfolio at the same time they're trying to write final term papers and prepare for final exams, they invariably and understandably make it their lowest priority. They do a shoddy job and reap none of the intended benefits of reflection and self‑assessment. This is a constant theme mentioned by students in their cover letters.

Additionally, students in your course who will be graduating at the end of the semester must have the portfolio completed in order to obtain the necessary signature on the graduation clearance form. Typically, we need at least a week to process the portfolio before they can get the signature on the form, and the form must be completed four weeks prior to graduation. It is important that these students are aware of the need for timely submission of their portfolio to ensure a smooth graduation process.

4.         When we read portfolios, we are evaluating the university and its programs, not the students. Students need not feel inadequate if they don't have a good submission for a particular category. They should submit the best example they can find. If they are not especially satisfied with it, they can tell us on the completed prompt. The conclusion we draw is that the university has not provided an adequate opportunity for the student to produce an appropriate work. We do not conclude that the student is inadequate in any way.

5.         Students should be encouraged to submit an item for each category, i.e., a complete portfolio, even if they are not completely satisfied with the entry. (See point 4 above.)

6.         Students may, if it is appropriate, use the same work for two or more of the portfolio categories. It is certainly possible that a work submitted for one category is an excellent example of other types of thinking or inquiry.

7.         Students should be encouraged to put some thought (and time) into the explanations and self-assessments they write when completing the prompts. What students write here is also evaluated.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with your questions or concerns.

The portfolio website (http://assessment.truman.edu/components/portfolio/) includes everything the students need to complete the portfolio and for you to help with that. I have also included the best interdisciplinary papers from several years ago (the “Book of Fours”) on the site. Please let me know of things that you would like to see included there.

Finally, do not hesitate to refer your students to me if they have questions or concerns. Thank you for all you do in helping make the Portfolio Project a useful part of our campus culture!

Sincerely,

Scott Alberts
Director, LAS Portfolio Project
Phone: x7649
E‑mail: ss17@truman.edu