Department Guidelines for Awarding Portfolio Credit
Based on experiences reading portfolios, some colleges and departments have passed on suggestions for, and in some cases identified the limits on awarding course-equivalent credit.
- College of Business and Economics
- Child Development and Family Studies
- Communications Studies
- College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
- Computer Science
- English Department
- Physical Education : General Program
- Political Science Department
- Public Relations
- School of Social Work
- Textiles, Clothing, and Fashion Merchandising
- Theatre Department
Students are urged to read through all of the statements below.
College of Business and Economics -- all academic departments
Students must prepare a separate portfolio for each academic area in B&E for which credit is requested. The five academic areas and the courses for which credit is available are listed below:
Accounting
ACCT 201 Principles of Accounting 3 cr.
ACCT 202 Principles of Accounting 3 cr.
Economics
ECON 201 Principles of Economics 3 cr.
ECON 202 Principles of Economics 3 cr.
ECON 225 Elementary Business and Economic Statistics 3 cr.
Business Administration
BUSA 310 Survey of Business Law 3 cr.
BUSA 320 Survey of Management 3 cr.
BUSA 330 Survey of Marketing 3 cr.
BUSA 340 Survey of Finance 3 cr.
BUSA 491 Professional Field Experience 1-18 cr.
Management
MANG 310 Management of Small Business 3 cr.
MANG 440 Practicum in Small Business 3 cr.
Students may receive up to 15 credit hours for the lower division courses ACCT 201, ACCT 202, ECON 201, ECON 202, and ECON 225. Students may also receive up to 18 credit hours for upper division courses.
Students should be aware that credit is not given simply by presenting a resume or job description; a narrative discussion detailing the knowledge gained from one's employment experience is required. Students are encouraged to inspect course syllabi and textbooks to identify content of the courses for which credit is sought. Students may request course syllabi from Cindy Perkins at cynthia.perkins@mail.wvu.edu .
In many cases, RBA students should use BUSA 491 to request credit for advanced knowledge gained from professional experience. RBA students can request credit for basic knowledge of each area through the BUSA survey courses, unless such courses are already on the students' transcripts. While up to 18 hours of professional field experience (BUSA 491) may be granted, such cases are rare and would be awarded only for experiences with multiple assignments with high-level responsibilities. Total upper division B&E awards normally will not exceed 18 credit hours.
Child Development and Family Studies Program
CDFS credit is not given in this program for having experienced family life or for raising children. Students are not to write a porfolio for CDFS 491 Professional Field Experience. CDFS 491 is an internship class that is conducted under strict supervision of an assigned instructor. RBA students are asked to write their portfolio for CDFS 495 Directed Study. The portfolio can request as much as 6 hours for CDFS 495.Communication Studies Department
In order to receive College Equivalent Credit for any course in Communication Studies, students must submit evidence of cognitive knowledge about the field of Communications Studies--i.e. the theory and research about human communication. Note: Students seeking credit for public speaking activities should submit their portfolios to the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology (e.g., for SPA 80/270 "Speech Improvement" or possibly SPA 280/460).College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
The following statement comes from the College of Engineering concerning most engineering courses:Engineering classes are highly theoretical, and rely on sophisticated mathematics to analyze and design devices, such as second order differential equations, phasor representation, and symmetrical components. Students must show that they are able to perform these engineering analyses.
Students with extensive experience working in coal mines may qualify for Engineering of Mines, EM 205/ MINE 305 "Coal Mining." (This is a course for non-majors.) Portfolios should include: 1) descriptions of any formal training or experiential learning activities including the number of hours spent on each; 2) discussion of the actual knowledge gained from such training or experiential learning.
Those seeking credit for other EM courses must show that they have knowledge equivalent to the pre-requisites listed. Portfolios should be organized in such a way as to coincide, at least approximately, with the outline of the course or courses for which credit is requested.
Computer Science
The department of Computer Science will not award credit for CS 491 Porfessional Field Experience. Instead the department asks students pursuing portfolio credit to pick particular classes offered by the department.
English Department
In order to receive College Equivalent Credit for English 101 or 102, "Composition and Rhetoric," students must submit a portfolio of non-fiction writings, including several expository essays and evidence of continuing writing activity. For Engl 1/101 the Department may require that at least one impromptu essay be written under the supervision of a proctor. For Engl 2/102 , the Department expects a research paper or the equivalent based on argumentative models.English 304: Business and Professional Writing
English 304, Business and Professional Writing, is designed to introduce students to the forms of writing and the writing situations that are common in the professional world, including routine correspondence, job application materials, and reports and proposals. A primary focus of the course is the ways in which audience and purpose shape every writing situation.
To apply for College Equivalent Credit for English304, students must submit a portfolio which both argues for and demonstrates the student's experience in and understanding of business and professional writing. Specifically, the portfolio should include:
- A personal statement which explains the professional writing experiences of the student, explicitly asks for credit, and explicitly supports this request. The writer should explain how the sampled documents demonstrate his or her understanding of how audience and purpose shape writing situations.
- An updated resume.
- A collection of professional writing done on the job, encompassing at least three primary genres (letters, memos, reports, proposals, etc.) for a total of at least 20 pages of finished writing. At least one document included should be longer than 5 pages.
English 305: Scientific and Technical Writing
English 305, Scientific and Technical Writing, is designed to introduce students to strategies for translating between discipline-specific knowledge and interested outsiders. These outsiders might be the public, they might be managers in different parts of the company, or they might be granting agencies or contractors. The common genres of scientific and technical writing include grant proposals, research reports, recommendation reports, process or object descriptions, instructions, or persuasive analyses.
To apply for College Equivalent Credit for English 305, students must submit a portfolio which both argues for and demonstrates the student's experience in and understanding of scientific and technical writing. Specifically, the portfolio should include:
- A personal statement which explains the technical writing experiences of the student, explicitly asks for credit, and explicitly supports this request. The writer should explain how the sampled documents demonstrate his or her understanding of how audience and purpose shape writing situations.
- An updated resume.
- A collection of technical writing done on the job, encompassing at least two primary genres (reports, proposals, instructions, grant applications, etc.) for a total of at least 20 pages of finished writing. At least one document included should be longer than 5 pages.
Physical Education : General Program
In order to receive credit for General P.E. (activity) courses, students must request credit for courses presently offered in the curriculum. Credit may require passing both a written test and a skills test.Political Science Department
The Political Science Department has passed on the following concerning Political Science (Pols) 491, "Field Experience" :"Irrespective of what tasks a student may perform on a political campaign, we do not award credit. The department adopted a policy which specifically excludes consideration of credit for political campaign work and/or services. Because we do not offer credit for campaign work to our own majors, the Internship Committee believes that consideration of credit for campaign work through RBA would be inappropriate."
Public Relations
The Public Relations department in the Perley Isaac School of Journalism will not consider portfolios for PR 491. Instead students are asked to petition other classes offered in PR especially PR 324 and PR 422
School of Social Work
Because of rulings by the Council on Social Work Education, which accredits WVU's Social Work program, the School of Social Work is strictly forbidden to award credit for life experience under their "core courses": S Therefore, the only Social Work courses av ailable for College Equivalent Credit through portfolio are SOWK 321 "Field Experience ", SOWK 495 "Independent Study ", and SOWK 493 "Special Topics ".Experiential learning and/or specialized training for which College Equivalent Credit is being sought must relate to social welfare/human services work and concerns. Determinations of credit awards through portfolio for human service-related work are based on formulas used in the undergraduate Social Work program for awarding credit to students when they engage in practicum activities.