FACULTY EXPECTATIONS IN    SPANISH   

RE. PORTFOLIO ESSAYS

• The general philosophy of above-named discipline regarding Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning essays may be summarized as follows:

Regarding Hispanic culture or literature (language skills are not assessed by portfolio):

•  What level of insight into Hispanic culture or literature can the student express, based on personal or professional experiences.  

•  Knowledge of the history of Hispanic cultures, geo-politics and economy, issues in bilingual communities and social "impact" of Hispanics in the USA or in other nations.

•  Valid credit-earning experience needs to be combined with knowledge of the history of the Hispanic world and its ancient cultures, and the remnants of them that we see in modern-day practices, both subtle and explicit.  

•  How does what one knows of the Hispanic world, from life experience, relate to the geographical, sociological, political, cultural history of Hispanic peoples?

• Describe the nature of any dialogue expected between faculty in above-name discipline and students preparing portfolio essays in the discipline.

It is highly advisable for a student to contact the professor by e-mail or phone before beginning the portfolio to narrow the focus of his or her "defense."   The academic content of the portfolio needs to be tailored to the particular life experience of the student, and the whole project needs to be presented in a readable, organized manner.

• Describe the nature of any specific requirements the above-name discipline will have regarding contents of the portfolio materials i.e., documentation, essay, bibliography were applicable, etc.

Bibliography requirements include (but are not limited to):

Books, articles in print (academic and from news or magazines), artworks, films, all of which are in some way pertinent to the history of Hispanic culture and or literature.   These resources are to support the theses and concepts described by the student; they "back up" assumptions or observations that comprise their knowledge of the Hispanic world.

World Wide Web resources are acceptable, but are not to exceed 30% of items on the bibliography.   Also, how the student judges the validity of each WWW resource will be taken into consideration at the time of evaluation.

• Describe issues regarding the general turnaround time for review of portfolio materials in the above-named discipline.

Turnaround time, if during the Fall, Winter or Spring Terms, will generally not exceed three weeks from the time the portfolio was submitted and reached the desk of the professor.

• Provide any additional information that will help portfolio students in developing materials for faculty review in the above-named discipline.

If the portfolio is not to be written in Spanish, advance approval will be required from the professor.   Portfolio credits awarded in the area of Spanish will be written in Spanish, except in special circumstances.

Barbara Schulz, Assistant Professor of Spanish   June 2007                         

Faculty Submitting Information