Senior portfolios are the current bane of my existence.
I graduate in December and all I can think about is the frustrating system. Some people hate the portfolio process because of what they deem to be pointless work. This is not the case for me. I hate the current system because I feel as though it does not allow me to honor the purpose and intent of the portfolio process.
The portfolio is intended to provide "a ‘thicker' description of the learning experiences of students and rounds out the data we acquire through standardized exams," according to Truman's Portfolio website. Until this semester, all I knew about the portfolio was this mythical entity had to be completed. Now that I know what it entails, I am left wondering why we were not better informed of this during our freshman years.
It is a simple task, really — we must prepare a portfolio comprised of the following: a cover letter, your most personally satisfying paper/experience, an interdisciplinary-thinking-based paper, a critical thinking and writing paper, a historical analysis paper and either a) creative work and reflection work (one submission) or b) scientific analysis and aesthetic analysis (two submissions). This represents five to six pieces from your Truman experience demonstrating the quality of your education.
Let us reflect back to high school for a moment. During senior year, what was the last thing you had on your mind? Probably school. Now imagine that your high school asked you to provide a sample of your education from each semester of high school. This new entity would emerge as the most hated project in school. No longer is Jack McPhlibb, the backup quarterback, your arch-nemesis. You are now forced to search frantically for something of note from when you were fourteen, or redoing assignments from four years ago. Either way the assignment is a burden, and it's doubtful that whatever you paste together would really encapsulate your high school experience. Now imagine instead that at the end of every semester during your high school, you were told to save one piece of work to demonstrate where you were at that time in your education. This would be quite manageable.
Similarly, I feel the flaw in the current portfolio system is not what the committee asks you to provide, but when and how. I have spoken with numerous seniors who had no idea they would have to provide a portfolio at all in their final semesters.
To me, the portfolio can serve one of two purposes: It exists either to allow students to reflect on their undergraduate experience and get closure, or it is a way to assess the quality of the education in both a quantitative and qualitative manner. When seniors don't know about the task until three months before graduation, the work submitted is more likely to represent the material easiest to find rather than the material that best fits the prompts and displays your best work.
I have a possible solution to ensure the portfolios collected will be a more accurate representation of the student's liberal arts education. In each Truman week class, give students the details of the portfolio, so they know what type of papers they need to submit throughout their academic careers. Without the foreknowledge of the prompts, I am struggling to find works that fit each category. If I had known, I could have created certain works purposefully to fit the needed specifications.
Thank you, Truman, for giving me a great education — I feel prepared to take on the next step of life with confidence and vigor. My one request is that you save my fellow students from the agony of your well-intentioned exit strategy. If you want us to live up to all those cute little phrases ("The Harvard of the Midwest," or "The Princeton of the Prairie" or as I like to call it, "The Cornell in Hell") please give us the opportunity to do the portfolios well. Let us know what you want from us up front.
Toby Hausner is a senior political science major from Kansas City, Mo.
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