Is Portfolio Assessment Right for You?
When exams are not available for the specific course of interest, a Portfolio Assessment may be an option for those who can answer YES to the following four questions.
Is your learning college level?
If you are seeking college credit, it is fair and understandable that the learning be college level. A few of the qualities that college level learning may have are:
- Show some relationship to your degree goals
- Be equivalent or consistent with the learning students engaged in college courses (as defined by the faculty)
- Be reasonably current given the subject area (for some areas, like cybersecurity, trainings from several years ago may substantially vary from course material being taught today)
- Not repeat learning for which you have already been awarded credit
- Be applicable outside the specific job or context in which it was learned
(Lois Lamdin Earn College Credit for What you Know p. 99).
Would the learning fulfill a requirement in your program of study?
- Login to [MyCCRI]
- Click the [For Student tab]
- down on the left side, click the link for [Degree Works Student Degree Evaluation]
- Enter the relevant information requested and click [Submit]
- Review the courses you have taken and what is left to take in your program of study
- The courses left to take may be options for a portfolio
- Earning credits that will not help you graduate or earn a certificate in your program of study is a waste of time and money. As such, you need to consider each subject and course to determine if and how it fits within your program.
Have you reviewed the Course Descriptions and Student Learning Outcomes associated with the course you would like to earn credit for?
- Go to the list of academic programs on the CCRI website. Once there, click on the program that best fits the content associated with the learning you are thinking about trying to seek prior learning credit.
- From the links on the left, read through the course descriptions and Student Learning Outcomes for the courses that you wish to try submitting as part of your portfolio.
Can you provide evidence of your learning?
Evidence is the supportive material you will need to submit as documentation for your claim of college-level learning and is the foundation of your portfolio. Effective evidence does the following:
- Provides direct documentation of your knowledge and skills
- Pertains specifically to the topics in your course description
- Supports the statements in your narrative about your learning experiences
Examples of evidence may include, but are not limited to:
- Your professional resume highlighting relevant prior learning related to course outcomes
- Letters from previous or current supervisors highlighting relevant prior learning related to course outcomes
- Relevant certifications or licenses relevant to course outcomes
- Industry-recognized credentials relevant to course outcomes
- Proof of trainings relevant to course outcomes
- Samples of your work relevant to course outcomes
If you do not have or cannot obtain any evidence in support your request, you will not be able to proceed, as this is a requirement for portfolio assessments.
If you can answer YES to all four of the questions above, then you may be a candidate for a Portfolio Assessment!