Doctoral Portfolio Option
A doctoral student in special education has the option of developing a portfolio instead of taking the qualifying examination. Once a student has organized his or her doctoral advisory committee, the committee, the committee members will guide the process of developing the portfolio (See Attachment 5A). The portfolio must include:
- a curriculum vita;
- a 3-5 page professional overview of research, service and teaching experience and agenda;
-statements of research agenda;
- a research agenda;
- an annotated bibliography for a literature review for the student's dissertation topic;
- a paper presentation for a state, regional, or national conference;
- a grant proposal;
- a research article that has been submitted to a refereed journal and written since the student's acceptance into the doctoral program;
- a list of activities in professional organizations;
- a statement of teaching goals;
- three course syllabi;
- a statement of service goals;
- a generic letter of application, for employment after completion of the program;
- a summative statement describing areas of personal strengths and areas of specific expertise.
The generic letter of application will describe the student's personal philosophy of education, identify the student's professional growth gained during the portfolio development process, describe the rational for selecting the products for the portfolio, and state the knowledge gained from developing each of the products. In addition, other products (e.g., videotapes, papers) which document the meeting of competencies in the outcome areas of teacher education and program development also need to be selected and included as part of the portfolio.
The portfolio will be assessed annually by members of the student's doctoral advisory committee using a portfolio evaluation form (see Attachment 5A). The student is responsible for scheduling this annual meeting. The portfolio will be presented orally to the doctoral advisory committee. Written documentation concerning the doctoral committee's evaluation of the portfolio will be submitted to the student and will be placed in the student's portfolio. If a student appears to be falling below expectations, then other special education faculty members will assist in the portfolio assessment process. Four weeks prior to the defense, the portfolio will be sent to the doctoral committee; two weeks prior to the defense the portfolio will be given to the doctoral Chair, who will then meet with the student for discussion regarding areas of concern. The final oral examination and portfolio presentation will occur after the student has substantially completed his or her coursework. If successful, the student will be admitted to candidacy.