What is the issue we are trying to address? We are trying to enhance our mentoring system and wanted to find a way to allow the faculty to become more involved in our students' intellectual development. The electronic portfolio will allow all faculty members in the department to examine and comment on the work of all students. Department Snapshot

How do we know that this is an issue? We know this is an issue because most faculty do not know the work of most students in the program. Students, therefore, do not fully benefit from the expertise of most faculty, and this prevents them from developing as fully as they could.

What is the change or innovation that is intended to address this issue? The electronic portfolio will make the work of all students available to all faculty members, and we hope that it helps students track their development as writers and researchers.

Why did we select that approach? The English Department has been developing <emma> for the past few years and has used it in various parts of the undergraduate program. For instance, we have gone to a final exam in First-year Writing based on an <emma> portfolio of three essays, exemplary peer commenting, and reflection on the writing process. Some professors have used portfolios in other undergraduate classes. Extending this program to the graduate level, therefore, made sense; the fact that the technology was available for such use enhanced the idea.

What is the intended effect of the innovation? We hope that the innovation will encourage students to develop into better researchers and writers and become more comfortable with technology. We anticipate that the system will encourage more faculty-student interaction. Finally, we expect that each doctoral student's work becomes better known to the faculty as a whole.

What data or evidence will demonstrate the effect of our innovation? We expect to find two kinds of data to support this innovation. First, we sense the electronic portfolio will enhance the intellectual life of the department, and, second, we hope that students will find the portfolio a useful way to track their growth as writers and researchers. Currently, we ask students to fill out an evaluation questionnaire on the program right before they graduate, and we will include a question on the perceived effectiveness of the portfolio.