Orientation
Your freshman year begins with an orientation where you will become acquainted with other PORTfolio students and discover connections to the human and natural ecology of the Chesapeake Bay.PORT 121: Self and Circumstance (3 credits)
A time for self-exploration and discovery. Close work with faculty mentors and other PORTfolio students, readings, off-campus explorations, and the development of an innovative electronic portfolio assist students in clarifying their own reasons for coming to Virginia Wesleyan, their own purposes while they are here, and the unique resources that they bring to the learning process. Multiple Intelligence theory is explored as well as personality traits as students unravel 'the self'. The course then shifts in focus to examine individual circumstances and the surroundings where each student was raised. Each student is asked how their rural, urban or suburban setting shaped who you are today. Students document their findings through their Electronic Portfolio (web page), journals and an autobiographical paper and indivudual and group oral presentations. This course is taken in the fall of the freshman year.
INST 120: PORTfolio First Year Seminar (1 credit)
This unique version of the First Year Seminar course will introduce students directly to the concept of inquiry guided learning as well as the PORTfolio Program at Virginia Wesleyan College. Students from the PORTfolio Program will be grouped into FYS sections with other members of the PORTfolio Program and given access to upper level PORTfolio students as Peer Advisors. This course is taken in the fall of the freshman year.
PORT 122: Liberal Arts Seminar (3 credits)
This course will introduce students directly to the concept of liberal learning, its history and traditions, and engage them in defining what it means to be a liberally educated person. Whereas previous course work and off-campus experiences have helped students discover resources of self and community and have enabled them to become more aware of what skills and education they will need to be successful in the future, this seminar will help students discover the unique resources that are here at Virginia Wesleyan. A highlight of the seminar will be faculty presentations that will bring examples of engaged liberal learning to the classroom. Work on the electronic portfolio will continue while this course is taken in the spring of the freshman year.
PORT 124: Learning Through Service in Hampton Roads (3 credits)
Students will expand on their connections to the Chesapeake Bay environment and the international port of Hampton Roads and begin to use these unique resources to enrich their education in a specially designed service learning course during Winter Session. This course will introduce students to some of the civic and social issues impacting the Hampton Roads community. The goal is to foster an attitude of local engagement through research, participatory learning and reflection. The service project will change from year to year to reflect current needs and issues in Hampton Roads.