Assessment is an important part of life today in higher education, with stakeholders demanding indicators that we are doing what we say we are doing, and that we are doing it well.It is difficult to perform assessment in a program such as Professional Studies, as the individualized, flexible and responsive nature of the program creates far too many variables when comparing the academic plans of our students.No two students are pursuing an identical program of study (general education courses, distributive electives, major electives, academic minors, etc.), nor are they all pursuing the degree for the same reasons.

As a result, it is necessary to have each student identify their own goals and outcomes to measure their success.Yes, I do include the program graduation rates in my assessment information, but we need to go beyond that.So, the graduation portfolio is intended to serve as a source of information to support our efforts to determine our effectiveness.

There is one other reason you are being asked to produce the portfolio.In my informal conversations with program graduates, I have learned that one of the challenges they faced was creating an adequate explanation of what a Professional Studies degree is, what it means and what they got out of it.The work you must do in developing the portfolio should result in a greater understanding of your degree and should enhance your ability to “sell” it, if you will, and thus sell yourself to prospective employers, internship providers and/or graduate schools, either during an in-person interview or in written essays.

Portfolio Components (required):Each student must provide the following documents:

A current professional resume.Each student must submit a professional resume, in proper format.
A reflection paper, in which you tell me about your college journey.This is the fun part.Take a serious, thoughtful, honest look back at your total college experience.This should be in an essay format, not q and a.Please include every institution you have attended.Tell me (among other things):
Why did you decide to go to college in the first place? I decided to go to college in the first place because I knew that higher education would allow me to go after a career that I am interested in.
What goals did you set for yourself when you started college? Personal and professional development, exercising everyday at the gym, make new friends, study everyday, etc..
What major did you pursue when you started college (if undeclared, please indicate)? I began with Economics and Finance.
What colleges did you attend, why did you transfer (if you did)? Stockton University
How many times did you change your major?Tell me about each time you did. I wanted to pursue a career in Physical Therapy, and changed prior to beginning my college career. I switched to the Business Economics and Finance major which is what I started with. Three semesters later I changed to the Professional Studies major with minors in geography and planning and business and technical writing.
How did your goals evolve during your time in college before you came to Professional Studies? My goals became larger during my time in college before I turned to Professional Studies as I learned more and more.
What led you to become a Professional Studies major?Were you considering other possible majors?Why did you select the minors you added to your academic plan? I did not fully research to the extent that I did prior, of the actual career paths that were available to me. After, I realized that I was interested in many different things more than I was to just one. This was my gateway to Professional Studies where I was able to choose the courses that I took with more freedom than any other major. I considered Physical Therapy, as well as Business Economics and Finance. I chose the minor of Geography and Planning because I was interested in how colleges were educating the subject of Geography. I am fascinated by how the Earth formed in combination with living beings. I chose the minor of Business and Technical Writing because I am interested in business and enjoy writing.
What were your goals once your started professional studies?BTW, I know one of them was probably to simply graduate; I get that one.Please go beyond that.Do you believe that you have achieved those goals?Tell me how you can tell.What is your “yard stick?”(How are you measuring this?) Once I started, I was fully committed to doing the best I could. I believe I have achieved that goal and was able to measure this through the grades that I was given for each and every assignment.
Did you encounter obstacles along the way?Tell me what they are/were and how did you overcome them. I encountered an obstacle in Calculus of my personal memory retention. I would study and study, then have to relearn the same material in addition to the new material each and everyday. I overcame this memory barrier that I had encountered in every class by having to relate the topics to other things that I was actually interested in.
What did you learn about yourself as a result of your college experience?How will that help you in the future? As a result of my college experience, I learned that I enjoy learning about certain subjects more than others. This preference of what I enjoy will help me in the future since the process has given me the ability to have guessed and checked, and now I have a better sense of what I enjoy.