Throughout my education at Santa Fe, I took several classes with Dr. Clay Smith. He is a fantastic teacher whose lessons I will carry with me the rest of my life. He was the one who encouraged me to join the IREX challenges and the Global Scholars Program. Short of his suggestions, I would have never heard of either programs and missed out on these great opportunities. When I decided to pursue my bachelors degree at Santa Fe, he was the type of teacher I was hoping to encounter, someone who will push you to achieve! Through his classes helped me polish my professional and technical writing. Below are two assignments from ENC2210 and GEB3213 that summarized what I learned from Dr. Smith.
ENC2210:
ENC2210 has improved my technical communication skills. Knowing good communication is key to a successful career, I took this class to improve those skills. Through Markel’s teachings, the assignments, and Dr. Smith’s guidance I have improved my ability to:
1. Communicate persuasively.
2. Create graphics.
3. Write instructions.
For the reasons stated, ENC2210 helped me achieve my goal of improving my technical communication skills.
GEB3213: TO: Dr. Clay Kinchen Smith, Professor C: Dr. Gary W. Boulware, Department Chair
FROM: Michael Anthony Watson M. W. Dr. Mark House, OM Lead
DATE: 13 April 2020
RE: My Review of and Recommendations for Santa Fe’s ePortfolio requirement
OVERVIEW
As you directed, I have completed the following tasks for this assignment:
1. Researched the College’s ePortfolio resources and requirements relative to the College’s proposal to require ePortfolios for all baccalaureate students and broader contexts:
• Student ePortofolios
• Graduation Requirements
2. Researched the utilization of ePortfolios at other higher education institutions:
• E-Portfolio
• Challenges for young professionals
• What is an ePortfolio?
• Eportfolios
• Medallion ePortfolio
3. Researched employers utilization of ePortfolios:
• E-Portfolios as a Hiring Tool: Do Employers Really Care?
• Study: Will Quality of Portfolio Site Influence Hiring Decisions?
4. Summarized my findings in this memo’s analysis section.
5. Recommended that you continue using ePortofolios because they:
• Help students’ document their academic career.
• Give students’ a tool in their search for employment.
Please see the following sections for details of my analysis and recommendations.
ANALYSIS
This section summarizes my analysis of the ePortfolio program:
Santa Fe
The ePortfolio program at Santa Fe, is required for both the International Studies (ISC) and Honors certificate programs. While both programs require an ePortfolio, I was only able to find information about the portfolio on the ISC page. Furthering my research, I discovered in 2013 Paloma Rodriguez helped Santa Fe launch their ISC program (Rodriguez, n.d.) and in the fall of 2014, Rodriguez led the partnership between Santa Fe and the Community Colleges for International Development, inc. conducting a survey of colleges offering International Studies/ Global Scholar Certificate programs. This survey found 35% of programs utilize ePortfolios as part of their capstone project for international studies (Rodriguez, 2015). This leads me to believe Santa Fe started their ePortfolio program around the ISC and the honors program was an afterthought.
Other colleges
While the pervasiveness of ePortfolios is not well studied, a 2013 ECAR survey found 57% of higher education institutions deployed ePortfolios (Dahlstrom et al., 2013). Many colleges use ePortfolios for multiple programs (Berkeley, n.d; Stonybrook, 2020; Clemson, n.d.), though locally it seems ePortfolios are centered on documenting international studies, as both the University of Florida (UF) and Florida International University (FIU) utilize ePortfolios to document their students international study progression.
Employers
Again, I was unable to find many studies on the usage of ePortfolios for employment, but what I did find was promising. A 2008 survey of 700 employers by Ward and Moser found only 17% used ePortfolios in their hiring decisions, but 75% were not familiar with ePortfolios and 56% of them indicated they would use ePortfolios in the future. Nearly 10 years later, Hover surveyed 121 employers, finding 86% will visit an eProtfolio when given the option (2017).
CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS
As you would agree, Santa Fe should retool their ePortfolio program, expanding its focus to include all students. My analysis shows as employers become familiar with ePortfolios, they will use them in hiring decisions. As Santa Fe is educating future employees and employers, building a solid ePortfolio program will better prepare students for employment, increasing Santa Fe’s graduate employment statistics. I would recommend:
1. Start a task force to research ePortfolios at other institutions
2. Utilize the recommendations from the task force to rebuild Santa Fe’s program
3. Broaden the ePortfolio program to include all students
4. Add ePorftolios to the Career and Job Placement services at Santa Fe
Moreover, I encourage you to revisit the program every 5 years because of additional benefits that I think students could receive. Santa Fe is in a unique position to become a leader in ePortfolio education, as many universities programs seem to be in their infancy. As employers become more familiar with ePortfolios, Santa Fe’s students will stand out amongst their peers, giving them a leg up in the employment process. If you have any questions about my recommendations, please contact me at Michael.Watson@SFcollege.edu.
My Rationale for Creating this Memo
I created this memo to highlight the benefits of an ePortfolio program. Before my research, I had a negative view of ePortfolios, but after I feel they are a beneficial tool. A retooled program, with a focus on ePortfolios by all professors, would prove beneficial to students reflecting on their assignments and help upsell themselves when transferring to other institutions or seeking employment post-graduation. Additionally, Santa Fe could look to lead the way in building an ePortfolio program, which could lead to a better working relationship between Santa Fe and other higher education institutions. An updated ePortfolio program will provide immense benefits to both students and the college alike.
References
Clemson University (n.d.). The what, why, and how of eportfolios. Clemson University.
https://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/eportfolio/information.html
Dahlstrom, E., J. D. Walker, and C. Dziuban. 2013. ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2013. Louisville, CO: Educause Center for Analysis and Research. https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2013/9/ers1302-pdf.pdf?la=en&hash=8EF7322F2F87F2E25F882F61829D215ECE6B5F5D
Florida International University. (n.d.). Medallion eportfolio. Florida International University.
https://goglobal.fiu.edu/students/medallion/medallion-e-portfolio/index.html
Global Certificate Learning Community (n.d.). Introduction. Global Certificate Learning Community. http://www.gclc.net/
Hover. (2017). Study: will quality of portfolio site influence hiring decisions? Hover.
https://hover.blog/online-portfolio-site-importance
International Center University of Florida. (n.d.). Eprotfolios. University of Florida.
https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/global-learning/international-scholars-program/eportfolios
Rodriguez, Paloma. (n.d.). ePortfolios in global certificate programs: a vehicle for comprehensive internationalization. GCLC. http://www.gclc.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Santa-Fe-College.pdf
Rodriguez, Paloma. (2015). International studies/global scholar certificate programs-survey report. CCID. https://ccidcertificate.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/report-february-2015b.pdf
Santa Fe College. (n.d.). Student eportfolios. Santa Fe College.
https://www.sfcollege.edu/international/international-studies-certificate/eportfolios/index
Santa Fe College. (n.d.). Graduation requirements. Santa Fe College.
https://www.sfcollege.edu/honors/graduation-requirements/index
Ward, C., & Moser, C. (2008, November 17). E-portfolios as a hiring tool: do employers really care? EDUCAUSE. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2008/11/eportfolios-as-a-hiring-tool-do-employers-really-care
Comments