ACA 122 College Success- Portfolio Assignment

 Step 1 of 4: Choose Your Format

On Campus and Online Portfolio Resources

o   For help with spelling, grammar, and general writing skills, you can take drafts of your portfolio to the CAE (Center for Academic Excellence). http://www.durhamtech.edu/cae

o   The ACA LibGuide contains links to dozens of useful websites.  http://durhamtech.libguides.com/ACA122

o   Durham Tech’s Transfer Center in Phillips 3-126 and online has many valuable resources, including links to college and university websites, and university catalogs and bilateral agreements.  http://www.durhamtech.edu/transfer/index.htm

STEP 2 of 4: Portfolio Assignment Elements

1. Reflection about your academic and career choices.

Written: ½ page   Presentation: 1 slide/ 1 minute   Website: 1 webpage

Now that you've completed several reflections and research assignments (HW3, HW4, HW5), take a moment to look back at your original Personal Narrative from the start of the course.

How are you feeling now about the program and career path you chose back then? Have your plans changed-or become clearer?

You might reflect on:

·        Whether you're still planning to pursue the same program, or if you're considering a different one based on what you've learned about Durham Tech credentials

·        Any surprises from your Academic Timeline-like unexpected courses or credit requirements-and whether that raised new questions

·        What you discovered during your career research in the Occupational Outlook Handbook or Ferguson's Career Guide

·        Any new career ideas that caught your interest and how you plan to explore them

This is your chance to show how your thinking has evolved and what steps you want to take next.

2. Profile or College/University Profile summarizing research about either a company you hope to one day work for, or a university you hope to one day transfer to.

Written: ½ page   Presentation: 1 slide/ 1 minute   Website: 1 webpage

Do some research to find out more about either a company/organization where you hope to become employed, or, about a college/university that you hope to transfer to after you leave Durham Tech.  Regardless of whether you choose to do a Company Profile, or a University Profile, your completed document should be at least half of a page, typed and double-spaced.  Depending on which option you choose, consider addressing some of the following bullet points in your narrative:

If choosing the Company Profile option:

·        General overview of the company or organization – what kind of business is it, and what services do they provide?

·        Who do they serve?  What are the primary audiences that benefit from the work that they do?  (for example, does their work benefit… Other businesses? Patients? Students? Community members? Research organizations?)

·        Do they have a mission statement, or a statement of core values?  If so, what is it?  Does it resonate with your own core values?

·        How large is the company/organization?  Are there different branches, or locations?  If so, which branch or location are you most interested in being a part of?

·        What is the work environment/workplace setting for this particular company or organization?  

If choosing the College/University Profile option:

·        General overview of the college/university – is there a unique history or do they have a particular focus or specialization?

·        Admissions criteria – What does a prospective transfer student to this institution need to have? (Average GPA of admitted students? Certain courses?  Certain experiences?) 

·        What is/are the admissions deadline(s)?

·        How big is the student body/how many students attend there? How large are classes, on average?

·        How big is the campus, and where it is located?

·        What is the average cost of tuition?

·        Are there special scholarships or programs for transfer students? 

·        What challenges might a transfer student face at that institution?

3. Two Separate SMART Goals

Written: 2 paragraphs   Presentation: 2 slides/1-2 minutes   Website: 2 paragraphs/1 webpage

This element of the Portfolio builds on our work in class around SMART Goals, Grit, and Mindset.

·        Your SMART Academic Goal Statement:  Write a SMART goal that explains your academic goals, including the credential you’re currently working toward at Durham Tech and any future degrees or certifications you plan to earn—even after you leave. Include when you hope to complete each step, the strategies you'll use to stay on track, and any obstacles you might face along the way. Make sure your goal is clear and follows the SMART format: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

·        Your SMART Professional Goal Statement:  Write a SMASRT goal that specifically addresses your professional goals, including any potential employers, future advancements, or career changes, as well as the tentative timeline for when you intend to have achieved the goal(s).  Include the specific plan (strategies) that you will use to execute your career goals, as well as your timeline for making it happen.  Also address any potential obstacles or distractions that you may encounter along the way, and how you might push through them. Be sure that your finished goal statement is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

4. “Problem-Solution Paper” Update

Written: 1 paragraph   Presentation:1 slide/1 minute   Website: 1 webpage

As a continuation of HW3 (Problem-Solution Paper), this update should should address the following:

·        Which of your three possible “solutions” you tried

·        An update as to how well your chosen ‘solution’ is working

·        How you will either adapt the solution to work better in the future, OR, which different solution you will try, as you continue to fix your “problem” in the future.

5. Reflection on your overall experience in ACA 122.

Written: 1 paragraph   Presentation:1 slide/1 minute   Website: 1 webpage

This final reflection should be written as a narrative, not simply a bulleted list.  Use the questions on the following page to guide your reflection.  You do not have to address all of the questions in your reflection, but focus on the questions that you can most meaningfully address.  A good rule to consider as you draft your reflection is “What, So What, Now What?”  First, what did you learn; secondly why is it important, and third, what does it mean for you now that you know it – what will you do with that knowledge?

Questions to consider for the Reflection element of the Portfolio:

• How has your approach to college and being a student changed during this class?  In what ways have your attitudes about learning, studying, time management, wellness, and/or finances changed?
• What has been your one biggest, most significant “take-away” from ACA 122 this semester?  Why was that one thing so particularly meaningful for you, and how did you (or will you) apply it in your life?
• What did you learn about yourself in ACA 122?
• Did taking this class confirm any decisions you had previously made about your academic or career goals?  In what ways?
• Did taking this class change any decisions you had previously made about your academic or career goals?  In what ways?
• Which campus resource that you learned about this semester has been the most valuable for you?
• Which campus resource that you learned about this semester do you plan to utilize in the future?
• What would you do differently if you had a fresh start to the semester, knowing now what you perhaps did not know when the semester first began?  How will you apply that knowledge to make next semester different?

STEP 3 of 4: Self-Service Requirements

1. Your completed Academic Timeline from Self-Service, updated as needed based on your instructor’s comments from grading.   
If you completed the Academic Timeline assignment, you have already done this Portfolio element!  However, depending on your instructor’s feedback on your graded Academic Timeline, you may need to modify some aspects of your Timeline.  Make any necessary modifications before submitting your Portfolio.  If you never completed the Academic Timeline assignment, refer to the condensed steps below to complete this element:

·        Part 1:  Review the “Plan of Study” or “Course Selection Guide” for your program, and for each course listed, decide which future semester you will plan to complete it.

·        Part 2:  Add each required course from your “Plan of Study” to a future semester in your “Timeline” in Self-Service.

·        Part 3:  Be sure that your Timeline accurately reflects ALL remaining courses that you need to complete your program at Durham Tech.

If you have not updated your Academic Timeline incorporating any feedback from your graded assignment, you may not receive full credit for this component in your Portfolio!

2. Enter only your SMART long-term academic and SMART long-term professional goals in the “Notes” section of Self-Service.

Log into Self-Service, go to Student Planning à Plan & Schedule à Advising, and enter your academic and professional SMART goals under “Compose a Note.”  When you are done, click “Save Note”. 

NOTE: It is best to type your goals into Self-Service rather than copying the text into Self-Service. 
Self-Service does not accept special characters copied from Word, like apostrophes.  For example, if you type “I plan to get my Associate’s degree”, the apostrophe in “Associate’s” will cause an error, so it would need to be retyped within Self-Service.  The error may look like the screenshot to the right:

Step 4 of 4: Check the Rubric for Completion

Be sure that your Portfolio is neat and organized!

All entries should be typed and double-spaced.  No components should be hand-written! 
Be sure also that you have included a Cover Page/Slide.  Your Cover Page can be designed however you wish, and you may include images or other additions, but it must at least include the following components:

·        your name and the date

·        the instructor’s name

·        the course name (ACA 122)

·        the assignment name (Portfolio) 

Be sure that you have referenced and followed the Formatting Guidelines listed on Page 1 of this assignment packet!