The ultimate goal of the Honors College is to encourage all students to create and curate an ePortfolio of their journey at JMU. As a high impact practice, ePortfolios are a valuable learning process for all students to undertake.

For some Honors students, however, there is considerable value in pursuing a deep dive into ePortfolio pedagogy. These students find particular significance in framing the significance of their full archive of work, and understand the synthetic and reflective enterprise involved in fully developing their ePortfolio to be a critical stepping stone to achieve future professional goals. In such cases, students may opt to pursue a Senior Portfolio Project (SPP) rather than completing a traditional thesis project.

Students interested in the SPP option should note the following:

• Spring semester, junior year: You must complete an asynchronous module about ePortfolios before declaring intent to complete a SPP by March 15th. Your declaration must also include a framing essay (500 words) that points to an evidence-based and credible justification for your decision to pursue the ePortfolio option rather than a traditional thesis. Honors faculty will review all appeals, meet with students as necessary, and render decisions based on students’ academic progress in Honors and the merits of their framing essays. Students who receive permission to proceed with the SPP should enroll in HON 401 for the fall semester.
• Fall semester, senior year: Application for Senior Portfolio Projects are due in September (deadline TBD). Prior to submitting the application, students must identify a faculty mentor and 1-2 faculty readers to help guide them in their ePortfolio development. Also during the fall semester, students should take HON 401 and enroll in HON 402 for spring semester.
• Spring semester, senior year: Complete HON 402. The following deliverables will be due to the Honors College during the last month of the semester (deadline TBD):
  • 10-15 page paper synthesizing and analyzing the body of work that you have completed in the Honors College
  • A title for the synthetic work for purposes of recordkeeping and posterity.
  • Faculty mentor-approved ePortfolio with 10-15 artifacts which serve as evidence of the synthetic work. These may include, but are not limited to, seminar papers, research proposals, poster presentations, documentation of co-curricular work, etc.
  • 2-3 letters from faculty and staff documenting the projects that you have completed in service to the community or JMU.
  • All parts submitted electronically through a platform determined by the Honors College.
  • Presentation at the Honors College Symposium.