Evaluation Standard I
Discipline or Content Knowledge
Graduate students presenting a graduate academic portfolio at USM:
Relate professional knowledge and/or core competencies embedded in their experiences to
concepts, theories, and research pertaining to the relevant discipline of the portfolio.
Analyze previous experience while demonstrating skills and knowledge of the discipline.
Trace and document experiential learning in a developmental, logical, and orderly way while
making systematic connections to disciplinary knowledge.
Include specific details as to how theories and concepts relate to and provide insight into their
experiences.
Academic Portfolio –Graduate Level
Evaluation Standard 2
Learning Competencies and Documentation
To demonstrate and document the achieved learning competencies at the graduate level, an academic portfolio:
Contains a personal narrative that provides an in-depth look into the student’s
autobiographical experiences and reveals how they relate to the academic discipline in which
the student wants graduate-level credit.
Provides a coherent and documented account of the acquired learning competencies (see
introduction), and a description of the context in which they were developed.
Accounts for the significance of the learning in terms of disciplinary knowledge and life goals.
Evaluation Standard 3
Critical Reflection
Provides a synthesizing account of the meaning and impact of a previous learning experience.
Articulates and critiques assumptions and/or theories of action.
Considers alternative perspectives.
Analyzes one’s own strengths and weaknesses in context of experiences.
Raises and explores continuing questions.
Accounts for the ways learning has changed outlook and behavior.
Connects learning to present experience and future goals.
Academic Portfolio – Graduate Level
Evaluation Standard 4
Writing Competencies
A student who demonstrates competency in writing in his/her graduate-level academic portfolio at USM would:
Address the portfolio topic and all aspects of its required content components fully, directly, and explicitly (as opposed to using inferences).
Address the portfolio to a target audience of the faculty evaluator, using appropriate formal
voice, varied sentence structure, appropriate syntax, and Standard English with careful attention to grammar and mechanics.
Organize and develop the competencies and learning outcomes specific to the course content of the portfolio, connecting to theories and patterns where appropriate
Provide appropriate warrant for claims and opinions by using explanations, logical
argumentation, supporting details, facts, and examples.
Ensure readability and access by coherently organizing complex content using thesis statements, headings, logical progression of ideas, logically-sequenced sections, clear references, and
sufficient transitions between ideas and sections.
Document each competency and learning outcome.
Cite internal and end references, annotations, and claims by using correct MLA, Chicago Style, or APA format and conventions.
Faculty Guidelines for the Graduate Academic Portfolio
Questions for the Faculty
1.How do you determine which student can successfully complete the portfolio
process?
The graduat e student who can successfully complete a graduate-level portfolio can critically and reflectively evaluate his/her learning experience on a graduate level and connect it to theories and concepts of the academic discipline(s) in which the student seeks credit.
2.What characteristics of learning are needed to determine if the portfolio is the
most appropriate method of assessment?
In order to use the offerings of PLA, the learning that is being assessed must involve
significant and rich prior learning experiences.  Learning that has been acquired in a
previous or ongoing independent study do not count as prior learning in the sense used here and must not be included in the academic portfolio.  In the portfolio construction
process, however, limited additional research and/or readings may accompany the
previously acquired knowledge presented in the academic portfolio.
3.Can an admitted or matriculated student create a graduate-level portfolio to
earn credit for work completed while enrolled in a USM degree program?
Yes.  PLA/USM allows students in many special situations to complete portfolios.
4.  What are the first steps a graduate student must take in order to start the
academic portfolio process?
Ideally, the student starts the process by meeting with the director of the Office for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) or the appropriate faculty.
The student brings material supportive and relative to his credit request:  résumé,
statement of intention, syllabi or transcripts from other institutions attended, and other documentation of the prior learning experience.
The student must complete a registration form, whether meeting with faculty or the
director.
The registration form is sent to and kept at PLA.
If the graduate student has not met already, s/he would meet with a member of the
faculty in the portfolio discipline who is engaged in the creative process with the student from the start of the portfolio.
5.  Who determines if a student can do a portfolio?  Does the student need
permission to create a portfolio?  If so, from whom?
submittingThe USM faculty determines who can participate in creating academic portfolios for
graduate credit.
6. Who establishes the expectations that the graduate student needs to
meet in order to have a successful portfolio (earn credit)?
The USM faculty determines the criteria and evaluates whether they are met in each
graduate-level portfolio, based on guidelines set up by the Office for Prior Learning
Assessment.
7.  May a student submit a portfolio for evaluation in a language other than English?
A graduate student may need to submit a portfolio in a language other than English in order
to meet a language course requirement for that academic portfolio.  However, all students for all portf
olios are required to demonstrate their proficiency in English. With this type of portfolio, proficiency is shown by submitting the Statement of Intent (at the beginning of the portfolio) and the Summary of Learning Outcomes (at the conclusion) in English rather than in the target language.
8. Do students need to meet a certain standard of English language proficiency
when submitting a portfolio in English?
Yes.  Please read the PLA Evaluation Standards, Writing Competency, for further guidance.
9. Who do I, as a faculty member, have to notify of my involvement in the portfolio
evaluation process?
You, as faculty, must receive acknowledgment from the chair of your department that you are working with a student to produce credit through the portfolio process in conjunction with the Office for Prior Learning Assessment.  The director of PLA will also contact the
department chair in most instances.
10. Who has the final say in my (as faculty) participation in the graduate-level
portfolio process?
You, as faculty, decide.
11. Can adjunct faculty evaluate portfolios?
Although PLA accepts evaluations from adjunct faculty, your department makes the final  decision.
12. Can I, as faculty, evaluate portfolios only in my discipline?
Yes.
13. Generally, how much time do I need to make available to assist the student in
the portfolio process?
If you are familiar with the student, you may need only one or two meetings to help the graduate student identify criteria for the academic portfolio. If you are meeting with the student for the first time, realize you may need additional time.
14. How much time does the student have to complete the portfolio process?
It varies with the content and extent of the portfolio.  Most portfolios are completed within a semester, however there are more complex portfolios that may take significantly longer.
15. How long do I have to evaluate a submitted portfolio?
A portfolio evaluation should take no longer than three to four weeks.
16. What standards do the academic portfolios need to meet?
Each portfolio evolves, as it is being written and reviewed, to finally meet the faculty-
developed Portfolio Evaluation Standards for Office for Prior Learning Assessment at USM.
17. Are the portfolios graded?
PLA portfolios are not graded, though each must meet the Portfolio Evaluation
Standards for Office for Prior Learning Assessment at USM, which means PLA
certifies that each academic portfolio at the graduate level has achieved at least a B.
18. Generally, how many credits can a student earn through the PLA academic
portfolio process?
◦  The portfolio content will determine the nu mber of credits given. Typically, most
students earn three to six credits through the academic portfolio.
◦ The Office for Prior Learning Assessment has no minimum or maximum number of
credits that can be earned through the portfolio process, however each academic
department may have its own limits.
19. Is there any compensation for my time?
USM faculty earns $75 per portfolio evaluation.
20. Is there a cost to the student as s/he earns academic portfolio credit? If
so, how much?
The student pays a registration fee of $75 for each academic portfolio (which goes
to the faculty who evaluates it), and $100 per credit for the final portfolio.

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