Professional Development/Leadership Portfolio

All students will be required to complete a leadership portfolio in order to graduate from the College of Business. They will begin work on it as soon as they enter the college and students will be expected to meet established thresholds for completion as they progress through the business program.

Description

The leadership portfolio will be an electronic collection of specified work prepared by the student that highlights skills and accomplishments achieved while in the business program. Its primary purpose will be to establish that the student has completed a large number of leadership and professional develop activities to future employers. Students will make elements of the portfolio available to these employers during the interview process. As our Business Advisory Council pointed out, it is one thing to tell them about their leadership and professional development experience, but a whole different thing to be able to show them.

Responsibilities

The Student is responsible for:

  1. Uploading all materials into the portfolio
  2. Assuring that the materials are of such quality as to enhance the student’s employment prospects
  3. Updating and replacing materials in the portfolio as better examples become available
  4. Making progress on completing the portfolio as established by the portfolio timeline
  5. Meeting with their leadership coach to review portfolio content and progress

The College of Business Advising Center is responsible for:

  1. Making sure all entering students, including transfer students, are fully aware of the portfolio requirements
  2. Discussing progress on the portfolio with students who have not declared a concentrationor been assigned a leadership coach.

The Strategy First course instructors are responsible for:

  1. Instructing students in the specifics of how to up load documents into the leadership portfolio
  2. Motivating students to appreciate its purpose and value
  3. Assigning and grading those portfolio items included in their course syllabi
  4. Assigning a grade of incomplete to any students who fails to complete an assigned portfolio task

The Leadership Course Instructors are responsible for:

  1. Impressing on students that it is their responsibility to build a quality portfolio (especially leadership 1, BUSI 2200)
  2. Motivating students to constantly improve the content of their portfolio (especially leadership 2, BUSI 3200)
  3. Assigning and grading those portfolio items included in their course syllabi
  4. Assigning a grade of incomplete to any students who fails to complete an assigned portfolio task

The CoB Career Center is responsible for:

  1. Assisting with coordination of job shadowing
  2. Assisting with organizational site visit
  3. Assisting with coordination and documenting attendance at employer information events.
  4. Final review of student resume

The CoB Faculty are responsible for:

  1. Providing portfolio content opportunities in their courses
  2. Highlighting portfolio content opportunities in their syllabi
  3. Completing leadership assessment rubrics
  4. Completing presentation rubrics

The Leadership Coach is responsible for:

  1. Consulting with the declared concentration students on items in the portfolio that could be improved prior to graduation
  2. Providing information and addressing questions students may have in meeting the portfolio requirements
  3. Periodically reviewing the content of the student’s portfolio against the portfolio timeline.
  4. Approving content items that vary from the proscribed list (leadership coaches will be empowered to make substitutions they believe appropriate)

Leadership Portfolio Content Requirements

  1. Professional Reading List: Include 10 to 15 selections (seek ideas from faculty). Students are required to read 4 of the selections & respond with a critical analysis. One book must cover business ethics. (Strategy first, BUSI 2200, 3200, 4200)
  2. In Class Presentations: Two presentations critically evaluated by instructor for presentation quality using standardized rubric[1]
  3. Class Papers: Two papers evaluated by Instructor for style, organization, and grammar using a standardized rubric.
  4. Group Projects: Two group projects with evaluations provided by peers, one where the student was the team leader & one where student was a team member.
  5. Volunteer / Service Learning: Documentation of a minimum of 10 hours per academic year of enrollment in the CoB (Recommend coordination through the Office of Volunteer Services).
  6. Volunteer Leadership: Lead or initiate one volunteer activity & document with a completed leadership evaluation from a supervisor. (Recommend coordination through the Office of Volunteer Services).
  7. Leadership Speaker Series: Attendance at & written reflection on four presentations from the CoB Leadership Speaker Series (or other approved leadership related speaker). For on-line students, any leadership-type of presentation will substitute (BUSI 2200, 3200)
  8. Professional Organization Membership: Documentation of participation including activities participated in, organized, etc. in one professional organization. Verification by organization leadership
  9. Professional Dress Training: Attendance at one etiquette & one “professional dress” presentation (BUSI 3200)
  10. Business Correspondence: Preparation of resume, cover letter, & thank you letter appropriate for job-search activities. (ENGL 3880)
  11. Government Meeting: Attendance & summary of what occurred at a government meeting (i.e. SGA, city council, state government, etc.). (BUSI 2200)
  12. Leadership / Personality Assessment: Exercise that reveals leadership/personality style & traits. Written reflection that considers one’s own personality/management style & how that relates to others who may be different, based on taking the MBTI or equivalent assessment. (BUSI 2200)
  13. Organizational Site Visits: Site visits for two distinct organizational types (e.g. an entrepreneurial venture, an established profit-based organization, a non profit). Student write-up considers issues related to organizational structure, financial issues, strategies, etc.
  14. Job Exposure: Interview or shadow a person holding a position you might like to have in the future. Develop a career map or skills development plan for post-graduation to get you to that position. (BUSI 3200)
  15. Employer Informational Events: Students are to document attendance at four campus coordinated / employer sponsored information sessions.
  16. Personal Reflection Statement: A personal reflection of your leadership development across your years in the CoB focusing on specific events or experiences that have shaped your leadership and professional development views. (BUSI 4200)

Portfolio completion Timeline

This is a suggested track and will vary depending on the order of courses that a student takes. Students should make regular progress to maximize the benefits of the portfolio and look for opportunities to improve the quality of their portfolio where appropriate.

Port. # / Qty. / Item / Source
Freshman Year:
1 / #1 of 4 / Professional Reading / BUSI 1200
7 / #1 of 4 / Leadership Speaker Series / BUSI 1200
5 / 10 hrs. / Volunteer/Service Learning
16 / Begin working on Personal Reflection
Sophomore Year:
1 / #2 of 4 / Professional Reading / BUSI 2200
5 / 10 hrs. / Volunteer/Service Learning
7 / #2 of 4 / Leadership Speaker Series / BUSI 2200
8 / #1 of 1 / Professional Organization Membership
10 / #1 of 1 / Business Correspondence / ENGL 3880
11 / #1 of 1 / Government Meeting / BUSI 2200
12 / #1 of 1 / Leadership Personality Assessment / BUSI 2200
13 / #1 of 2 / Organizational Site Visits
16 / First Update of Personal Reflection
Junior Year:
1 / #3 of 4 / Professional Reading / BUSI 3200
2 / #1 of 2 / In Class Presentations / Core or Concentration
3 / #1 of 2 / Class Papers / Core or Concentration
4 / #1 of 2 / Group Project (follower) / Core or Concentration
5,6 / 10 hrs / Volunteer/Service Learning (Leader)
7 / #3 of 4 / Leadership Speaker Series / BUSI 3200
9 / #1 of 1 / Profession Dress & Etiquette Training / BUSI 3200
13 / #2 of 2 / Organizational Site Visits
14 / #1 of 1 / Job Exposure / BUSI 3200
15 / #1, #2 of 4 / Employer Informational Events
16 / Second Update of Personal Reflection
Senior Year:
1 / #4 of 4 / Professional Reading / BUSI 4200
2 / #2 of 2 / In Class Presentations / Core or Concentration
3 / #2 of 2 / Class Papers / Core or Concentration
4 / #2 of 2 / Group Project (Leader) / Core or Concentration
5 / 10 hrs / Volunteer/Service Learning
7 / #4 of 4 / Leadership Speaker Series / BUSI 4200
15 / #3, #4 of 4 / Employer Informational Events
16 / Complete Personal Reflection / BUSI 4200

Additional tables which identify courses where students can complete Presentation (#2), Paper (#3), and Project (#4) requirement will be created to help guide students and Leadership Coaches.

1

[1] Rubrics to be provided wherever appropriate to standardize evaluation