What is a Portfolio?
A portfolio is a collection of your work that demonstrates your progress throughout the Communicative Disorders Program. Find a large, 3-ring binder and begin to collect samples of your work in each CD course and practicum. As you complete courses and clinical practicum, you will be developing knowledge and skills based on the “Big Nine” disorder areas in speech-language pathology, as defined in the ASHA Standards (effective January, 2005). The material that you include in your portfolio is meant to showcase your “best” work for the purpose of formative evaluation and feedback with your faculty adviser. Further, as you complete the master’s degree in speech-language pathology, your portfolio will provide a collection of your work to present to clinical supervisors, future internship sites, Clinical Fellow employers, and other settings where you may work as an SLP. Selection of the products that best show your competency as a future SLP will require some decision-making on your part, as brevity of your work in one portfolio will be most useful.

How should I organize my portfolio and what should I include in my Portfolio?
You may organize your portfolio in any way that is logical and clear for you to review with faculty, supervisors, and future employers. You may decide to organize your portfolio based on the “Big Nine” disorder areas or by course titles. The first item will be a table of contents to provide a key for how your portfolio is organized. It may easier to first organize your portfolio by course number and later by disorder areas. Your portfolio will be approved/not approved based on the following guidelines:

I. ORGANIZATION & PRESENTATION
(Index, intro, summary/synopsis of contents, resume, tabs, binder)

II. ACADEMIC MATERIALS
(Course syllabi, CBEST/Praxis/RICA results, exams, essays, term papers,
projects, university transcripts, letters of recommendation, comps passed
letter, other information that addresses/emphasizes the BIG NINE)

III. CLINICAL PRACTICA MATERIALS
(Clinic syllabi, diagnostic and therapy reports, lesson plans, SOAP notes,
signed clock hours, letters of experience, other information that addresses the BIG NINE)

IV. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & ACTIVITIES
(NSSLHA, conferences, seminars, workshops attended)

V. VOLUNTEER & WORK RELATED EXPERIENCES
(Letters, descriptions)

VI. AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
(Letters, notification)

Remember: Do not include everything from every course. Your portfolio should be a “showcase” of you and your best work. You will no doubt “weed-out” items as you complete the CD Program.

Who should contribute to my portfolio?
You will have several sources of feedback (formative evaluation) to document and include in your portfolio. Examples of who should contribute to the portfolio include the following:
· Self-evaluations
· Faculty advisors
· Student teaching supervisors
· Internship supervisors

When is the portfolio due?
Your portfolio is due in the semester of your scheduled graduation (note: Portfolios are due in spring semester for those students graduating in summer semester). A cover sheet (available on the CD program website) accompanies your portfolio. Portfolios are reviewed by CD program faculty and returned to the student as "approved" or "not approved." Portfolios that are not approved must be resubmitted.