Portland State University Summer Site Visit - April 2000

Web Site Status as of April 19 The current URL for the site is www.oirp.pdx.edu/portfolio In selecting and preparing materials for inclusion in the Portfolio, we have tried to address our four "threads" and the questions we posed on our cover and audience pages. The four threads are access and diversity, assessment, urbanness, and technology. For this visit, we focused on developing the "Community Pathways" theme and the "Writing" chapter. We also have added content to "Teaching and Learning" and "Institutional Effectiveness." In some cases, narratives that will introduce examples and Web links are missing; we are in the process of developing those and could use the site visit team's insight on how best to do that. In other cases, we have not provided any content at all, but are in the process of collecting materials for inclusion. A few key pieces are missing at this time: 1) data that can be used to illuminate themes and chapters; 2) mapping of theme content against the audience pages and, thus, development of those pages; 3) a map or guide to the site; 4) a cover page that will provide a context for subsequent pages. You will note that in some cases, the Portfolio acts as a "clearing house" for links to examples from the PSU home page, and in others contains authentic examples of student or faculty work. During Spring Term, we plan to have two graduate classes review the site and provide their feedback. We also plan to convene our community and senior faculty advisors in the next few months to get their feedback on our work to date. Sadly, we have not been able to do much recording or "journaling" of our experiences, as you suggested during your last visit. We hope to take time out to do this in the near future. We have had the opportunity to write about and present our work in several forums during the past year, and have gained much from these experiences. Request to Site Visit Team During your visit, we ask that you try to explore with the individuals we have scheduled to meet with you two specific things: 1) how we should manage the public quality of communicating our work through the Portfolio 2) how we can institutionalize the Portfolio and make it a part of PSU's ongoing activities. We can discuss our plans for the project in detail through our conversations over the next day or so. Kathi Ketcheson Project Director