Introduction to Building Your Portfolio

What is PLA?  PLA = Prior Learning Assessment  “Process of earning college credit from learning acquired through a student’s work, training, volunteer experiences, and personal life.” – Colvin, 2006

 Credit by examination  Portfolio of experiential learning  Transfer credit evaluation  Training and certifications evaluation  Placement exams  Simulations  Interviews  Work sample evaluation  Demonstration  Prepared Speeches

 Portfolio = “A formal communication presented by the student” (Colvin, 2006)  Identifies and articulates learning clearly  Includes sufficient evidence to support the student’s learning claims  Evaluated by Subject Matter Experts  Kaplan University Faculty with Subject Area Expertise  Can lessen the amount of time and money to earn a college degree

 Portfolio Assessment is based on a student’s experiential learning  Experiential Learning = Any learning that has been acquired as a result of reflecting upon events or experiences in a person’s life.

Case Study 1: Shannon Shannon has been a software developer for 12 years. She entered the field after completing one semester of college when she was presented with a full time job offer from a local computer company. Shannon was always good with computers and needed the money to help with her father’s medical treatment. She has been instrumental in developing software requirements and implementing new products for the company. While in her current position as a developer, Shannon has mastered Visual Basic, Java, and programming language structures. Now, she realizes the importance of a college degree to advance in her field and has decided to return to school and pursue a bachelor of science in software development. Shannon believes she would be a good candidate for the portfolio assessment program at Kaplan.

Case Study 2: James James has been working on his parent’s farm since the age of 6. He has learned how to use all of the farming equipment and has learned how to manage the business of the farm. James completed an associate degree in business at a local community college shortly after completing high school. Since then, he has worked on the farm and volunteered his time at the local children’s shelter. At the age of 45, James has decided to pursue a degree in business. He enrolls in the Bachelor of Science in Business program at Kaplan University and sends his transcripts to the PLAC for evaluation.

 Students will develop a portfolio of their experiential learning.  Students will develop one portfolio for multiple courses.  Kaplan does not guarantee the award of college credit.  Students need to complete all requirements and document their experiential learning in order to be a candidate for credit for that learning.

Steps in the Portfolio Development and Assessment Process

In EL 203, students will explore their prior learning and begin developing their portfolio. Students will:  Explore their prior sponsored learning  Explore the Course Explorer for courses that match their learning  Develop the Components of their Portfolio

Students have 30 calendar days after the last day of Week 10 of the EL 203 course to submit their portfolio for evaluation.

Faculty Evaluator(s) review and evaluate student portfolios for college credit using the evaluation criteria set forth by Kaplan Higher Education.

Students will:  be notified within 3 weeks of the results  receive feedback on their portfolio

Credit recommendations are written to the student’s Kaplan University transcript shortly after the student receives his or her credit notification.

Students who participate in portfolio assessment are required to pay:  Tuition for EL 203 – Current Kaplan University Tuition Rate  Assessment Fee - $ The assessment fee is:  One-time fee  Billed to the student in the beginning of EL 203  Covers the cost of the evaluation and all administrative processes  Only refundable to students who do not submit their portfolio for evaluation Reminder: Students must successfully complete EL 203 in order to submit their portfolio.

Five Components of a Student Portfolio 1. Educational Goal Statement 2. Expanded Resume 3. Learning Autobiography 4. Credit Request 5. Supporting Documentation

Key Concepts  Goal setting is the first step in the prior learning assessment process.  Goal setting allows students to make informed decisions about their education.  A strong goal statement is clearly written and provides the reader with specific information on where the student plans to go.

Instructor’s Role in Goal Setting Help students formulate a strong educational goal statement A strong goal statement is:  clearly written  provides specific information on what the student intends to achieve or direction on where they would like to go

Clear goals will help students:  decide for which areas of learning to request credit  know where to spend their time and effort when deciding on the courses for which to petition for credit based upon their current degree plan. Specific and clearly written goals will also help the faculty evaluator understand the student’s work and credit requests.

Educational goal statement  should be at least 150 words long Chapter 2, pages offer some helpful tips and a sample. Consider the following questions:  Why did you decide to attend or return to college?  What are you interested in learning about? Why?  What has happened to you in your life that has led you to want a college education? Save your educational goal statement! It will be part of your portfolio.

Note: Once I have graded your Educational Goal Statement and you have revised it (if necessary), you can log in to the Portfolio Development and Assessment System (PDAS) to enter it into your electronic portfolio. You will be able to copy and paste the contents of your Educational Goal Statement into the text box in the system. Although this is not a requirement of this course to use the system, you will need to submit your final portfolio electronically through the system. Placing your Educational Goal Statement into the system after it has been graded may save you time later.

 Review the PowerPoint Presentation in DocSharing  Student_User_Guide_PDAS  Create Your Account in PDAS  Week 2 – Receive an from “Do Not Reply” Address  Invitation to Create Your PDAS Account  Create You Account Immediately  Save Your Account Information in a Safe Place  Discard Invitation After Account Creation

 Expanded Resume  Using the PDAS to Create Your Expanded Resume