IREP Purpose, Goals and Objectives

Statement of Purpose

The Illinois Regional Eportfolio Partnership (IREP) is an informal partnership between community colleges and universities in the northern Illinois region. The purpose of this partnership is to foster inter-institutional collaboration in the development and improvement of electronic portfolios for purposes including:

• Documenting and assessing learning
• Demonstrating curricular and co-curricular competencies
• Reflecting on and synthesizing prior learning
• Developing professional identities
• Faculty development at our respective institutions

IREP Goal 01: Partnership and Collaboration in the Development of Universal Portoflio Components

The goal of the IREP group is to collaboratively investigate possibilities for using electronic portfolios to allow students to document learning and competencies in a portable format that might be used for transfer and/or placement across institutions.

IREP Goal 01/Objective 01

IREP Goal 01/Objective 02

IREP Goal 02: Develop an Empowering, Portable and “Futureproof” Portfolio Structure for Regional Portfolios

Definition of Terms

• Student Empowerment: Students will have ownership of the basic files and media that ultimately come together to form the portfolio. Students will understand how to organize, store, backup and transfer electronic data. This not only empowers students, but also eliminates the need for a regional agreement on a single portfolio development tool - a potential quagmire that is best avoided. By empowering students to manage their data, regional partners only need to agree on the basic conceptual (universal) components to be included for a regional portfolio collaboration and articulation.
• Portfolio Portability: Portfolios will be designed in manner that allows students to “pack and carry” their portfolios with them as they transfer between institutions and pursue their education and careers.
• FutureProofing: Based on principles found in contmeporary architectural planning and design, futureproofing refers to a method wherein future changes that may come into play are taken into consideration in the initial design of a product or process. In the case of regional portfolio development, future-proofing is accomplished by ensuring that students understand how to manage and maintain the data. This will allow students to adapt seamlessly to new developments in portfolio tools and applications.

IREP Goal 02/Objective 01

Collaborate wih IREP partners on the core conceptual elements of a regional electronic portfolio by:

• Creating, distributing, analyzing a survey to regional partners asking for input on the current status of portfolio use in the region and their perspective on ciritical elements to be included in regional portfolios.
• Objective Completion Indicator: Design, implement and analyze survey results by 12/30/2015.

IREP Goal 02/Objective 02

Collaborate on the development of student-owned, portable, futureproof portfolio elements and portfolio development practices that insure the portability of eportfolios between institutions by:

• Exploring existing regional and national eportfolio models and best practices andlink to these resources on the “Resources” link.
  • Objective Completion Indicator: Add models and best practices to the website 11/30/2015 – 05/01/2016.
• Gathering links to member institutions' current portfolio best practices.
  • Objective Completion Indicator: Add IREP Member Institutions Links to the "Regional Portfolio Uses" link by 02/01/2016.