1. What could students put on their web pages?

    Semester 1
        * Vision Statement- How they plan to use communication literacies in their lives- that is, business, career, and education
        * Three-to-four projects that address different audiences and purposes.  For example, an essay, narrative, art critique
        * End of Semester narrative about their LC experience.

    Semester 2
        * Vision Statement (Revised)
        * Narrative/Reflection on LC experience, revised
        * Research Project
        * Praxis/Service-Learning Project

    Semester 3
        * Vision Statement (Revised)
        * Narrative, Revised
        * Creative Project (poems, stories, plays)
        * Resume
        * Speculative/Experential Essay

    Semester 4
        * Works that illustrate competencies learned from internships, leadership positions on campus and in the community, work experiences, field-based research, and service learning projects.
        " Works that respond to the general education dimensions & learning community projects
        " Resume
        " Related documents
 

2.  How would this proposal benefit students?

Beyond providing students with additional credit, the Web-based portfolio would
            "  Create a publication opportunity
            " Demonstrate (e)=literacies
            " Help students retain liberal arts & master literacies
            " Help students identify patterns emerging in their areas of study and interest
            " Help students be more proactive than reactive in their educational plans and in pursuing post-graduate opportunities.
 

3.  Who is going to grade the portfolios?
I suggest that we form a committee, which represents our disciplines, and that committee members receive credit for teaching one  section of Literature and Writing.  Members would stay on the committee  for two years, and they would determine whether the portfolios should be  graded and what needs to be completed by the conclusion of the four  semesters.

There are significant advantages to grading the portfolios: students are motivated by grades.  If we grade the portfolios on an "A-F" scale-as opposed to merely assigning a pass/fail grade-then we'll need to provide a grade each semester.  I should
remark, however, that the schools that are experimenting with requiring university-wide portfolios, such as Kalamazoo College and Bridgewater College, do not grade them.

4.  How would these additional credit hours interfere with 1101 and 1102?
They wouldn't.  Students would still receive credit for Freshman English 1 & 2.

5.  Would students complain that there is too much writing?
Yes, some students probably may still complain about "WAC."  But, as we know, we can counteract these complaints by helping students better understand writing within the academe and writing outside the academe-it's significance as a way of learning and persuading.

Where can I learn more about Web-based portfolios?

For more information about its ambitious program, see Kalamazoo College's examples at http://www.kzoo.edu/pfolio/index.html

Bridgewater College has an interesting twist on portfolios-calling them "Personal Development Portfolios."  You can
learn more about their approach at http://www.bridgewater.edu/departments/pdp/pdp.html.