The
Top 10 reasons that make the PORTfolio Program different!
- PORTfolio
is open to ALL students and ANY
major at VWC.
- The
entire program replaces a minor in terms of credit hours – it takes only
19 credit hours to complete over your four years at VWC.
- The
classes and seminars are team-taught – so you get the benefit of
two faculty members for the same course!
- Community
Service is
incorporated into our curriculum during the semester with service learning
opportunities and also in a special Winter Session course.
(In
past years, we have been to Pascagoula, MS to clean up after hurricane
Katrina, staffed a homeless shelter, tutored at a Title I elementary school
and helped with the ecology of Chesapeake Bay).
- Experiential
Learning or
active learning - means that you learn by doing.
Dr. Hultgren, the PORTfolio Program director, always says that you
learn more when you do more. Every
PORTfolio course will include hands-on learning opportunities to help expand
your learning potential.
- Field
Trips
– every course
includes field trips that apply to what you are learning during that
semester. Taking a large group
of almost 50 students and faculty anywhere is always a challenge – but we
will have great adventures.
- Externships
– a three-week Winter Session course where you will shadow a
professional in the field of your choice.
This is a great place to test drive a potential career during your
sophomore year at college.
- Internships
– a full semester long experience in your junior or senior year in your
major field of study. If your
major program at VWC does not provide an internship within the curriculum,
then PORTfolio will facilitate an internship designed to meet your needs and
interests.
- Capstone
Experience – In The President’s Senior
Seminar you will meet with the College President each week during
spring semester of your senior year to discuss world events and plans after
graduation.
- The
Electronic PORTfolio
– a web site designed by you and for you! We begin the
electronic portfolio during the freshman year to become a place to organize
and store your work over the next four years.
You will learn web design skills and modify and add to your portfolio
throughout your journey through the program.
Eventually this will become a 3-D collection of your experiences,
coursework, and photos that you will use to market yourself to prospective
graduate schools or potential employers.
This is way beyond Facebook and MySpace...
Back to the main PORTfolio Page