Summary of What to Include

Computer Science Portfolios

Concordia College, Moorhead, MN

As stated in Teaching at Concordia (No. 19, 1996-97, p 24), the CS Department's proposed program for ongoing assessment of the Computer Science major includes a student portfolio.  "This proposal requires each major to maintain a portfolio documenting his or her progress and achievements in computer science while a student at Concordia.  ...  The portfolio would be, physically, a folder to which the student may add [and remove] items while advancing through the major.  ...  The student could make the portfolio available to those asked to write letters of recommendation, as well as to prospective employers at job fairs and interviews. ...  Recommended items for inclusion are:

a)	an entrance statement, [now included as part of their Overview/Self-Evaluation/Self Reflection--see below] in which the student expresses his or her reasons for choosing computer science as a major, expectations for the major and career goals;
b)	samples of completed course work which the student deems representative of his or her best efforts;
c)	samples of noncredit computer projects of which the student is particularly proud ..."

Each Computer Science portfolio will be the student's property and will remain in their possession most of the time.

When turned in as a course assignment, students are asked to write a four or more-page overview/self-evaluation/self-reflection on what their portfolio says about the following (for a more detailed list of exactly what to include in your CS Portfolio refer to the  Summary of What to Include):

a)	their love of learning, commitment to excellence, etc. (included in Concordia's Ten Goals for Student Academic Life and further explained in Concordia's Ten Goals for Student Academic Life from a CS Perspective ),
b)	their success in achieving the department's six CS Dept Goals, and
c)	their progress toward their Personal Development Plan.

Portfolios will be assessed (much like they would be by a prospective employer) on the amount, quality and variety of material which illustrate the student's abilities plus (from an academic standpoint) on the quality and depth of the student's self-reflection. In addition, examination of the portfolio near completion of the CS major will allow the department to identify any major gaps in the CS program or in the student's development -- thus assessing the CS major at Concordia.

The first item following the reflection statement in the portfolio should be a resume. "Everyone engaged in a job-search should have a well-developed, high-quality, attractive, readable, and interesting resume that represents them in a professional way" [Developing Your Resume, www.acm.org/.../resume.html].

Additional items to include in the portfolio are:

a)	a sample of written work that demonstrates good written communciation skills,
b)	samples of completed coursework that are representative of good programming skills as an individual or member of a team, and
c)	samples of noncredit computer projects that show that the student has sought knowledge beyond the classroom.

The portfolio should be comprehensive but not overloaded.  Careful consideration should be given to what each item in the portfolio adds to the intended overall image or, in other words, what is the criteria /reason for including a particular item in the portfolio.  Each piece in the portfolio should be evaluated against whether or not it meets its intended purpose in a compelling way.  If an item doesn't add anything, it should not be included in the portfolio.

For a more detailed list of exactly what to include in your CS Portfolio refer to the  Summary of What to Include.

The rest of this document provides links to other information on how to design a portfolio that will make a good impression followed by details of the Personal Development Plan for CS majors.

For additional info on skills portfolios students might review texts such as the following:

1. Carrie Straub, Creating your skills portfolio: show your accomplishments, 1997.
2. Martin Kimeldorf, Portfolio power:  the new way to showcase all your job skills and experiences, 1997.
3. Karen Mannering, Staying ahead at work: how to develop a winning portfolio of work skills and attitudes, 1999.
4. Roland B. Vendeland, C.P. Bostaph, The employment portfolio: identifying skills, training, accomplishments, and references for the job seeker, 1999.

Or web links such as the following:

1. Your Job Skills Portfolio: Giving You an Edge in the Marketplace
2. Portfolio Power
3. Build Your "Career Portfolio" -- Starting Freshman Year
4. Martin Kimeldorf's Portfolio Library (author of Portfolio Power)
5. Creating an Impressive Portfolio (Colorado State Univ., College of Business, Career Section)
6. Examples of Portfolios, Other Resources and Bibliography or A similar page from U Wash
   (warning: these 2 pages are informative, but many of the links are inactive)

Personal Development Plan: [CS Focus Group, Draft #2: Oct 29, 1997, Concordia College-Moorhead, MN]

1. Career goals:  What type of position will you be seeking after graduation (e.g. corporate, grad school, other professional training)?  Do you have specific companies or universities in mind?
2. Credentials:  What majors and minors do you intend to complete at Concordia?  Will you be preparing for professional examinations (e.g. GRE, Actuarial, GMAT)?
3. Skills:  Briefly evaluate your current strengths and weaknesses as a computer technician/scientist.  List three professional skills which you would like to develop or improve before graduation.  [Also see ACM's Assessing Your Most Marketable Skills and Strengths.]
4. Curricular expectations:  List the computer (and computer-related) courses that you have taken or intend to enroll in.  Are there courses/topics which we do not currently offer that you would like to see taught?  [Also see ACM's Developing a Focus and Objective.]
5. Internships:  Are you planning to take a coop-ed internship?  Do you have a specific company in mind?  What do you expect to gain from such an experience?
6. Work study:  Are you serving (or interested in serving) the college as a paid lab consultant, grader, or in some other web/tech support capacity?
7. Professional involvement:  Are you aware of HCC (Concordia's Student Chapter of ACM)?  Do you intend to become a member?  [Also consider the IEEE Student Chapter.]
8. Extracurricular participation:  List other non-classroom activities in which you are (or intend to become) involved.  In what ways do you feel these will complement or contribute to your academic experience?