• Student Affairs is a Partner in the Penn State ePortfolio Project
• Pharmacy CQI Efforts Commended by Faculty Senate Joint Committee
• Student Affairs Technology Innovations Featured at Quality Expo
• Student Affairs Penn State Pulse Survey Cited in "Newswire"

Student Affairs is a Partner in the Penn State ePortfolio Project

Students capitalizing on a new online portfolio service launched this fall will leave Penn State with more than just a transcript and a resume.

The service at www.portfolio.psu.edu guides undergraduates through the process of collecting, selecting, and reflecting on evidence of their academic and co-curricular activities. Students can use free 50-megabyte personal Web space accounts to "publish" that evidence in an e-Portfolio, allowing them to demonstrate who they are, what they think, and what they've learned to faculty, potential employers, and graduate schools.

"Employers can learn more from an online portfolio than from a resume and a 45 minute interview," says Glenn Johnson, project manager and an instructional designer with the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' e-Education Institute. The Web site includes examples of portfolios developed by students from several academic programs. One student's e-Portfolio landed him an internship after his paper application got lost in the mail.

With support from Information Technology Services and the Division of Student Affairs, Johnson is working to have the service introduced in First-Year seminars throughout the University. In Spring 2003, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences will use the Web site in EM SC 300, a new one-credit course on professional e-Portfolio development. Alumni, matched with students through the Lion Link program, will evaluate the portfolios.

To learn more, go to http://www.ems.psu.edu/news/eportfolio.html

Pharmacy CQI Efforts Commended by
Faculty Senate Joint Committee

Many thanks to George Franz for this note:

"At their last meeting, the Joint Committee on Insurance and Benefits agreed that it would be appropriate to send a note of appreciation to you and your staff for the outstanding improvement in the processing of prescriptions at the University Health Services Pharmacy. Therefore, as Chair of that committee, I am writing on their behalf.

Several members of the committee use the services of the pharmacy, and they are very pleased by how quickly and efficiently their prescription needs are being met.

Thank you for your conscientious commitment to customer service."

Student Affairs Penn State Pulse Survey
Cited In June 4, 2002 Penn State 'Newswire'

A recent Penn State Pulse survey, "Post First Year Learning Outcomes" was used as the basis for the "Did You Know" bulletin in the June 4 Penn State newswire. The survey polled 1,384 students who were completing their first year in college for feedback about social norms, how well they were doing developing personal skills, and their experiences with their First Year Seminars. The survey received a 57% response rate of those who were polled. Surveys are conducted using a random sample of students who are called by a group of trained student surveyors. These Penn State Pulse student surveyors operate from Student Affairs offices employing a customized computer software program which records responses directly onto diskettes. The successful participation rate (the number of those contacted who agree to answer the survey questions) ranges from 65% to 75%. The demographics of those who respond to the surveys (gender, age, college of enrollment, on or off campus residence, and graduate or semester status) suggest that the sample results are representative of the University Park student body.