Portfolios
A portfolio is an organized document in which you:
- Describe your learning from life and work experience relative to Open Learning academic outcomes.
- Provide evidence to support your learning claims.
There are competency-based and course-based portfolios. Competency-based portfolios are used to petition for elective credits towards program completion. Course-based portfolios are used to petition for credit for specific courses.
Samples of portfolios
Competency-based
At the heart of the Open Learning competency-based portfolio assessment process is the evaluation of eight competencies that are reflective of TRU's graduate attributes.
Your competency-based portfolio describes your broader life-based prior learning (versus that of a course-based portfolio, which draws upon your learning relevant to a specific course) according to eight competencies.
A competency-based portfolio includes the following components:
- Cover Letter
- Table of Contents
- Autobiographical Resume
- Categorization of Learning (categorization of broad subjects of learning)
- Discussion of learning (demonstration of the eight critical competencies)
- Evidence (supporting documentation)
- Evidence description and listing
Upon recommendation to create a competency-based portfolio, students are given guidance and detailed information to assist in portfolio creation.
Course-based
Course-based portfolio creation is a process that allows students to earn credit for specific courses through the demonstration of their learning derived from various kinds of non-formal and/or experiential learning acquired. Typically, there are no official transcripts to validate this type of learning; therefore, students have the option to present their learning through writing, research, and evidence that potentially allows for assessment and ultimately, credits.
A course-based portfolio includes the following components:
- Cover letter
- Table of contents (optional)
- Written responses to the course learning outcomes
- Reference list
- Appendix (as applicable)
Upon recommendation to create course-based portfolios, students are given guidance and detailed information to assist in portfolio creation. Students create one portfolio per course challenge and work on the portfolios one course at a time.
