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Using Learning ePortfolios to Reconceive
the 21st Century Transcript
Thomas Black & Helen L. Chen, Ph.D.
Stanford University
AACRAO, April 10, 2013
POLL: At your institution…
A. All or most programs/students are using
ePortfolios
B. Some programs/students are using
ePortfolios
C. We do not currently use ePortfolios
D. What’s an ePortfolio?
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Today’s Topics
Understanding ePortfolios
A changing educational landscape
Implications of ePortfolios for transcripts, the
academic record, and their stakeholders
How the transcript and academic record might
evolve AND why they need to
Understanding ePortfolios
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© 2006 • Board of Trustees • Leland Stanford Junior University
ePortfolios Defined
Portfolio: A purposeful selection of artifacts together with reflections that represent some aspect of the owner’s learning
ePortfolio Purposes: (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005)
Evaluation within a course
Finding a job
Educational Planning
Documenting knowledge, skills, abilities, and
learning
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A Changing Educational Landscape
The Problem
Students’ intellectual experience of higher education is
fragmented due to:
• Lack of curricular coherence
• Increasing demands of an information-rich environment
• Growing importance of out-of-class learning
experiences
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Implications of ePortfolios for the Transcript & Academic Record
AACRAO’s Academic Record and Transcript Guide
Academic Transcript: extract of the student's
record which reflects his or her academic
performance at the institution.
Academic Record: reflects the unabridged
academic history of the student at the
institution; a chronological listing of the
student's total quantitative and qualitative
learning experiences and achievements
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Studying abroad gives you the
chance not only to see and travel
in a foreign country, but to
actually learn about how the
people there have values that are
different to those that your
country holds.
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/lilachgez/
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Stakeholders for the Transcript and
Academic Record
Students and alumni
Faculty and administrators, institutional research
2 year and 4 year institutions, e.g., transfer,
graduate and professional schools
Employers and internship providers
Faculty, staff, and programs within the institution,
e.g., study abroad, advising, on campus jobs
Organizations outside the institution, e.g.,
scholarships, fellowship committees
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Credit Hour Degree Learning?
Amy Latinen, Cracking the Credit Hour, September 2012, New American
Foundation and Education Sector
22 Association of American Colleges & Universities, http://www.aacu.org/leap/
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ePortfolios and/or degrees?
“…degrees are a proxy for skill attainment, but they
are far from a perfect one, as seen in the amount of
retraining that employers do as well as the current
unemployment figures. Real outcomes and real
mastery – as often shown in work portfolios for
example – are more important.”
-- Charles Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic
Development (2011, Change Magazine)
Delivering & contextualizing the transcript within an ePortfolio
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Confirm request has been sent
Transcript processing
Shows “Processing”
until we get the pdf
from Stanford server.
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Transcript has been added
Automatically switches
to pdf when when
complete.
User controls who sees their data
Privacy settings: User
has total control of who
sees their transcript.
Setting privacy and
clicking “Done” publishes
portfolio.
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Unofficial
Transcript
Official
Transcript
Co-
Curricular
Transcript
ePortfolio
Target
Audience
Internal audiences External
audiences
Internal &
External
audiences
Internal/ External
audiences
Includes Student’s academic
work to date
Student’s
academic work
to date,
courses, units,
and grades.
Out of class
experiences
Multimedia artifacts
& reflections
representing
student’s view of
his/her education
Created
by
Registrar’s Office Registrar’s
Office with
official seal or
digitally signed
Student
Affairs’
offices
Student
Uses Academic standing,
university business,
degree clearance,
advising
Admissions,
employment, other off-
campus purposes
Personal growth &
development;
showcase for
employment
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America’s Call for Higher Education Redesign, 2/5/2013
Quality Collaboratives
“Quality is key…[I]t’s not
enough to make sure
that many more
Americans earn
degrees or credentials:
those degrees must
have demonstrable
value.”
-- Jamie Merisotis, president,
Lumina Foundation (2012)
http://www.aacu.org/qc/index.cfm
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Questions for Consideration
What purposes and needs are the academic record
intended to address and for whom?
How should the academic record evolve to meet:
the changing needs of its stakeholders; and
new trends in higher education?
How do we ensure that the “integrity of the
institution’s records and degrees” have value to its
stakeholders and demonstrate quality?
Thank you!
Thomas Black, Registrar
Helen L. Chen, Ph.D.,
Director of ePortfolio Initiatives
Office of the Registrar
Stanford University