Adult Degree Program

James Madison University


Guidelines for Portfolio Preparation

Only Students Enrolled in the Adult Degree Program may submit portfolios. Please refer to About BIS. The Portfolio is a document you submit to the University for assessment of your prior college-level learning. Your Portfolio provides the primary documentation on which your learning is evaluated for credit. You should prepare the portfolio carefully, making sure it is complete, well-organized and well-written. The Portfolio should be organized in the following order.

1.  Cover Page
2.  Signature Form
3.  Table of Contents
4.  Autobiography
5.  Learning Component
    a. credit summary
    b. executive summary
    c. narrative
    d. competency list
6.  Appendix
    a. documentation
    b. other information

Focus your autobiography on your post-high school adult years. Do not feel constrained, however, by this definition if significant events in your life re-date high school graduation. Very personal information should be included only if it is directly relevant to your educational and professional pursuits. Develop your autobiography in chronological order. Relate events in enough detail to give a general understanding of how they impacted on your life, but save the specific details for the narrative section of your portfolio. The concluding paragraph in your autobiography should indicate how your life experiences have led you to the Bachelor of General Studies program and your choice of a course of study. Also you should relate your life experiences to the development of your portfolio. Included such topics as changes in your values, the foundation of your knowledge, your skill development, the influence of individuals and/or groups on your life, areas of strength and weakness and other topics of interest to you.

Learning Component

This is the section of the Portfolio in which you document the prior college level learning for which you are requesting credit. A Learning Component is a cluster of knowledge, skills and /or abilities that are related to one another and can be grouped as a single entity for assessment (i.e. business management, writing, public speaking, American History, etc.). Each Learning Component should be separated in the portfolio by a divider. A separate credit statement (sample is provided for your use) should be located at the beginning of each Learning Component. The narrative is a concrete, relatively detailed, but not necessarily long, account of your experiences. The narrative should be organized in a logical sequence. A list of competencies learned should be included. Documentation should be referenced in the narrative and included in the Appendix.
NOTE: Portfolios are to be submitted for evaluation early in the program of study. This policy enables students to be certain of credits earned in order to adapt their program if needed. Graduation applications will not be processed until portfolio assessment is completed.

 

E-mail: adult-degree-program@jmu.edu
BIS Program Director, Dr. Charles W. Curry
Prior Learning Assessment
Adult Degree Program Home Page
BIS Handbook

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Adult Degree Program, JMU