Engagement Portfolio

Community Portfolio (Third Requirement)

The third requirement for the Graduate Certification in Community Engagement is the written portfolio and presentation. Preparing an engagement portfolio is an opportunity for students to:

• Reflect on your experience with the scholarship and practice of community engagement
• Describe and honor the context in which community engagement takes place
• Document your community-engaged scholarship methodically, including processes, outcomes, and evidence related to their collaboration with community partners
• Solicit critical feedback from community partners and faculty mentors on their perspectives about the collaboration
• Gather new and supporting materials to present for peer review
• Generate new insights through reflective writing
• Practice talking about your community-engaged scholarship or practice
• Practice talking about yourself as an engaged scholar or practitioner

The engagement portfolio is composed of two parts: written portfolio and portfolio presentation.

For the written portfolio, students must:

• Demonstrate mastery of core engagement competencies
• Document their mentored community engagement experience
• Include their community partners' and mentor's perspectives on their collaboration experience and skills
• Support their reflections with additional materials and evidence as appendices
• Focus on breadth and comprehensiveness, addressing 15 of the 20 competencies

For the portfolio presentation, students must:

• Tell their personal engagement story
• Support their reflections with documentation about their experiences
• Share their lessons learned and ideas about future community engagement
• Focus on depth, by discussing two competencies that were particularly meaningful to them

Portfolio presentations take place on an ad-hoc basis throughout the year, when it’s convenient for the graduate student—Fall, Spring, or Summer. Presentations will be made via zoom to accommodate participation by community partners and peers. The program coordinator works with students to schedule portfolio presentations when University Outreach and Engagement faculty and staff are available. Written portfolios are due one week before the presentation date.

Purpose of Written Portfolio and Presentation

Your written portfolio and presentation is the third and final requirement for the MSU Graduate Certification in Community Engagement. Preparing and presenting your portfolio are opportunities to

• Describe and honor the context in which community engagement takes place
• Reflect on your experience with the scholarship and practice of community engagement
• Document processes, outcomes, and evidence related to community engagement methodically
• Solicit critical feedback from community partners and mentors
• Prepare and present your community-engaged scholarship for peer review
• Generate new insights through critical and reflective writing
• Practice writing and speaking about your community-engaged scholarship or practice
• Practice talking about yourself as an engaged scholar or practitioner

As the culminating experience in the MSU Graduate Certification in Community Engagement, the written portfolio and presentation are equivalent to the final exam for the program. Together, they are your opportunity to synthesize and document what you have learned from the readings, seminar/workshops, mentored community engagement experience, and through reflection on your experiences with your community partners and mentor.

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Distinctions Between the
Written Portfolio and the Presentation

In the written portfolio, you demonstrate your understanding of 15 of the program’s 20 core competencies, with the goal of being as comprehensive and thorough as possible.

In contrast, for your portfolio presentation, you summarize your experiences and reflections, with an in-depth focus on two core competencies of your choice.

 

Written Portfolio Guidelines

 

Portfolio Presentation Guidelines

Portfolio Cover Page