Electronic Portfolios

Electronic Portfolio Guidelines

Student Affairs Administration (SAA)

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

 

All on-campus and on-line SAA graduate students will create an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) which will contain artifacts for each of the ten professional competencies (see below). The e-portfolio "shell" will be created during the SAA 700 Professional Practice in Student Affairs class and the final e-portfolio will be submitted for evaluation in the SAA 790 Capstone Seminar class.  This shell will provide a structure for publishing all the required and optional items for inclusion in the students' e-portfolios.   

 

Portfolio Goals

  • To serve as an initial self-assessment of students' competencies

  • To document learning events (artifacts) for each SAA Program Competency

  • To develop "reflective practitioner" skills

  • To integrate knowledge from a variety of learning experiences

  • To provide evidence verifying students' completion of the professional competencies

  • To contribute assessment data for the SAA program

  • To supplement students' employment resume

 E - Portfolio Required Elements (basic shell)

  • Home/Welcome Page

  • Resume

  • SAA Website

  • Professional Competencies

  • Artifacts -- minimum of two artifacts for each competency

  • Description of each artifact

  • Reflection statement for each artifact

  • Assessment for each competency

  • Summary of the Professional Competencies

 

E - Portfolio Optional Elements (Note:  This is a public site so be careful about private information)

  • About Me and/or Autobiography

  • Contact Information

  • Pictures/Videos

  • Personal Vision Statement

  • Links to personal website, blogs, professional organizations, international locations, etc..

  • Favorite Quotes

  • Links to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc...

  • Miscellaneous elements approved by student's advisor

Definitions:

 

Competency - A set of skills, behaviors, professional knowledge, and attitudes that serve as basic performance standards within the field of student affairs.

 

Artifact - An artifact is any formal or informal experience/opportunity that can be viewed as a learning event.  The learning events can be derived from the classroom, assistantship, internship, conversation with faculty and students, volunteer and service work, travel, reading, and/or other learning opportunities.  Artifacts can be displayed as documents, power points, videos, etc. that represent the learning event.  All artifacts must have a title, description and reflection statement.  Students are encouraged to collect several artifacts and consult with their faculty advisors to select the best artifacts to represent each competency.

 

Description - Students will briefly describe the learning experience related to the artifact.  The description would include information about the event, setting, and context.

 

Reflection - Each of the artifacts must be accompanied by a personalized reflection statement that connects the artifact to a program competency.   A reflection goes beyond the description of the event and is an opportunity for the student to analyze the event, think critically about the experience, gather insight, and evaluate how the experience contributes to meeting one or more SAA program competencies.

 

Assessment - Students will write an assessment of each of the 10 program competencies.  This assessment can include the integration of the "selected" artifacts and demonstrate the student's ability to make connections among artifacts, identify themes, recognize developmental progress, and establish additional learning goals for each competency.  Typically the students will update and/or complete the assessments at the end of each semester.

 

Program Summary - Students will complete their portfolio work by creating a narrative summary that demonstrates how the student has mastered all the program competencies set forth by the faculty.  This summary can include a comparison of the students' entry level competency skills with the students' self-appraisal of the competencies that have been learned throughout the program.  The summary can also include a description of future professional development goals.  In part, this summary can be a response to the question, "Who am I as a student affairs professional?"  

 

Faculty Responsibilities

Each instructor will discuss the potential for creating artifacts from various classroom experiences.  Additionally, the instructor will include an e-portfolio assignment in their syllabus to update the students' artifacts and reflections.  Instructors in the SAA 700 Professional Practice class will require the students to develop their e-portfolio "shell" and write their initial self-assessment for each competency.  The instructors for the SAA 790 Capstone Seminar will require that the students complete their final assessments of each of the program competencies and write a narrative summary that demonstrates the students' mastery of the SAA program competencies. 

 

Advisors' Role

The SAA advisors play a crucial role in helping the students develop a high quality e-portfolio.  The advisor should periodically connect with advisees, preferably after each semester, to review the progress the students are making with their portfolios.  Advisors can consult with their advisees to help them select the artifacts for inclusion in the portfolio.  Ultimately, the advisors will "sign off" on the e-portfolio as a graduation requirement.

 

Technology Assistance at UW-L

Instructional Technology Services (ITS) offers considerable assistance in creating, designing, and developing electronic portfolios.  Specifically, the Technology Leadership Cadre (TLC) provides on-line and video instruction, software recommendations, pre-approved templates, and personal consultation for students who are interested in creating an electronic portfolio.  The TLC website is

http://www.uwlax.edu/student/tlc/.  The Student Affairs and Administration program works closely with the TLC advisor, Saundy Solum, who regularly consults with the SAA on-campus and on-line students.  Her contact information is solum.saun@uwlax.edu, 103F Wing Technology Center, 608.785.8799.

Approved 4/15/2011

ACPA/NASPA Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners, 2010

  • Advising and Helping

  • Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

  • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

  • Ethical Professional Practice

  • History, Philosophy, and Values

  • Human and Organizational Resources

  • Law, Policy, and Governance

  • Leadership

  • Personal Foundations

  • Student Learning and Development

Note: More info about the competencies can be found in the professional competencies link on this SAA website.