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Detailed Guidelines
> Purpose of Portfolio Examination
> Criteria for Submission of Portfolio
> Incomplete Grades
> Deadline for Submission
> Portfolio Requirements
> Evaluation and Assessment of Portfolio
> Portfolio “Exemplars”
> Advisor/Faculty Role in Portfolio Preparation
> Notification of Students Regarding the Results of Portfolio Assessment
> Procedures Following Notification of Results
Other Materials and Information
> Highlights of Portfolio Evaluation
> Doctoral-Level Courses that Satisfy Program Requirements for the Portfolio
> Portfolio Evaluation Checklist
Purpose of Portfolio Examination
The purpose of the portfolio evaluation is to provide, at an early point in the doctoral program, feedback on the strengths and weaknesses, if any, of a student's work thus far. Use of a portfolio, rather than an examination, has the dual benefits of distributing the assessment period over a longer time frame and of allowing the evaluation to be used on a range of the types of materials and performances that will be expected during the student’s doctoral work.
Criteria for Submission of Portfolio (dependent upon enrollment date)
A. Eligibility criteria for students who matriculated in Summer 2003 or later:
- Must have completed at least 18 credit hours (since matriculation) by September 30, 2004.
- Must have completed:
a. ED 506 Doctoral Research Methods
b. One additional doctoral-level course among those identified for their program
B. Eligibility criteria for students who matriculated in Spring 2003 or earlier:
- Must have completed at least one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study.
- Must have completed at least two of the Doctoral Core Seminars (e.g., ED 508, ED 509, ED 500, ED 501).
Students who are required to submit a completed portfolio, but do not do so, will be judged not to have passed. A doctoral student whose portfolio is not judged passable after two submissions will not be permitted to continue in the doctoral program.
Incomplete Grades
Students who have an incomplete grade in any of the following must complete the coursework for that course(s) prior to submitting a portfolio:
- ED 506 Doctoral Research Methods
- the one additional doctoral-level course among those specified
- any of the Doctoral Core Seminars
Students who do not both complete the coursework for the course(s) indicated above and receive a grade for the course(s) prior to September 30, 2004 will fail the portfolio examination.
Students are strongly encouraged to complete all other incomplete courses, because all grades of incomplete will be considered as part of the portfolio evaluation.
Deadline for Submission of Portfolio
Your portfolio must be submitted to either Brenda Grosswirth or Claire Urbanowicz in the Office of Student Services (Dewey Hall 2-161) no later than 5 p.m. on September 30.
Portfolio Requirements
Your portfolio must include:
- A curriculum vitae or resume.
- A copy of your approved program of study, or a copy of your proposed program of study signed and dated by your advisor. However, if your program of study has been submitted to the Office of Student Services, please call (585) 275-1009. Students Services will review and update your program, place a copy of your program in your portfolio file, and mail a copy to you.
- A narrative statement of no more than four double-spaced, typed pages. In this narrative statement, you should explain how your coursework and other doctoral experiences are integrated into a coherent plan of intellectual growth and scholarship, and you should articulate a cogent plan for continued doctoral study. This personal narrative should provide a context for reading the remainder of the portfolio by making apparent your academic development and scholarly interests. (See Portfolio Evaluation Checklist for more detail about the criteria used to evaluate this narrative statement.)
- Two papers that have been submitted for, and evaluated in, Warner School courses, including all comments written by the instructor and the grade for the paper. At least one of these two papers must be single-authored. These papers should be chosen to demonstrate the skills identified in Part III of the Portfolio Evaluation Checklist.
Keep a copy of all the materials that you submit in your portfolio. Materials submitted in the portfolio will not be returned. Portfolio materials are confidential to the Warner School.
In addition, Warner School faculty members will be invited to complete and submit evaluation forms to the Office of Student Services to be added to your portfolio. In particular, your advisor and the faculty in your program area will be encouraged to complete and submit such forms, as will the instructors of the doctoral seminars and the doctoral research methods courses. If you want instructors from outside the Warner School to submit written evaluations, please ask them to do so on stationery bearing the letterhead of their institution/school/department. Please request that the letters from outside the Warner School be mailed to the Office of Student Services, Attn: Portfolio/ Assessment.
Evaluation and Assessment of Portfolio
Evaluation of the portfolios will be undertaken by the Portfolio Committee, which has been constituted by the faculty and consists of one member from each of the three program areas. The advisor of each student also serves as a non-voting member of the Committee for the evaluation of his/her advisee’s portfolio. For your reference, the written materials in the portfolio will be evaluated according to the Portfolio Evaluation Checklist. That evaluation of the writings and an assessment of the other materials in the portfolio will be incorporated into the overall judgment of the portfolio.
It is important to underscore that the Portfolio Committee will assess each student with a view to the future based in part on past performance. The Committee is responsible for deciding whether each doctoral student shows promise to develop a breadth of knowledge about a specific research focus that is needed for successful completion of a dissertation. The Committee will be looking for evidence to identify a coherence between interests, program of study, motives, and scholarly work produced thus far.
There have been instances when the Committee did not “pass” a portfolio, even though the two course papers included in the portfolio were given grades of “B” or higher by other Warner faculty. Producing a passing paper for a specific course assignment does not necessarily mean that such a paper meets the criteria articulated in Part III of the Portfolio Evaluation Checklist or that the student will be successful in the advanced portion of doctoral work. Students therefore are encouraged to check their two papers for appropriateness and also to use their personal statements to make clear the coherence described in the paragraph above. You should reflect on your “intellectual trajectory and scholarly direction” and focus on your plans to achieve your research goals. Discussing a concept for a dissertation topic and demonstrating academic curiosity will help provide evidence of future academic promise.
Portfolio “Exemplars”
Students may review (not photocopy) “exemplars” from past portfolio submissions in the Office of Student Services. In order to review these exemplars, you must schedule an appointment by calling (585) 273-2927. Scheduling appointment times enables the Office of Student Services to give each student sufficient time for reviewing the exemplars.
Advisor/Faculty Role in Portfolio Preparation
It is recommended that you speak with your advisor about preparing your portfolio and personal narrative. However, advisors or other faculty members should not be asked to review drafts or final versions of your personal narrative.
Notification of Students Regarding the Results of Portfolio Assessment
Upon evaluating the completed portfolios, the Committee will write a letter to each student informing him or her of the decision of “pass” or “no pass” and their reasons for this decision. A copy of this letter will be sent to the advisor, the program chair, and the associate dean for inclusion in the student’s file. The assessment letter will be mailed to each student’s home address.
Procedures Following Notification of Results
Students who pass the portfolio are expected to meet with their advisor to receive further feedback about the portfolio’s contents and the Portfolio Committee’s assessment. Students whose portfolios are not passed will receive specific feedback in the Committee’s letter about what steps should be taken to improve portfolios for the second submission. Of course, students in this category should also meet with their advisor to discuss this feedback.
Please contact the Office of Student Services at (585) 275-1009 if you have questions.
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