New Goal-Setting and Assessment Tool Allows Institutions to Measure Student Learning Outcomes

June 30, 2008 - PRLog -- Hoboken, New Jersey—In response to increasing interest for a more transparent and effective accountability mechanism to measure student learning outcomes, the Enrollment & Retention Services Division of EducationDynamics today announced the launch of UPortfolio. A web-based program, UPortfolio utilizes a social network that allows colleges and universities to assess student development and skill-competency over time, as well as measure institution-specific benchmarks.

A product of EducationDynamics, higher education’s leading marketing company focused on helping institutions find, enroll and retain students, UPortfolio serves as a venue for students to share information with professors, peers, potential employers and family. “The program encourages students to set academic, career and personal goals while providing a forum in which they can manage their goals, identify and communicate with students who have similar aspirations, and showcase their achievements,” says Peter Tomassi, senior vice president of product development for the Enrollment & Retention Services Division of EducationDynamics.

UPortfolio is customized by students to reflect their individual goals and aspirations, and provides administrators measurable outcomes in the following areas:

•   Goal Setting−Students and institutions can set micro- and macro-level goals, as well as define realistic deadlines. To ensure persistence, UPortfolio enables students to connect with peers who have similar objectives, and allows students and professors to post inspirational comments and advice.
•   Project Sharing−Students have the ability to upload files, such as coursework, extra-curricular projects and resumes of all files types (text, audio, video, graphics, photos and animations) to share in a protected venue. Students can also write reflections about each file to demonstrate what they learned in the completion process, providing administrators a unique way to assess critical and creative thinking skills.
•   Work Showcasing−Students can showcase their accomplishments in an online portfolio. The program allows students to send invitations to professors, peers and prospective employers urging them to visit their latest works. This module provides administrators valuable insight on how students are using emerging technologies.

“Student work can be reviewed in the aggregate, over a semester or beyond, and administrators can even track work in a single course. Resulting outcomes can be applied to strengthening teaching strategies and integrating new learning tools,” continues Tomassi. “Tracking student learning outcomes is becoming an increasingly crucial activity for university administrators as a result of its inherent ties to student engagement and retention.”

UPortfolio integrates seamlessly with existing enrollment and retention programs, including EducationDynamics’ EYOp (Enrollment Yield Optimization), FYRe (First-Year Retention), SenTrans (Senior Transition) and UPeers programs. For more information about UPortfolio or other enrollment and retention products and services provided by EducationDynamics, contact Tracy Howe at 201.377.3318.

About EducationDynamics
EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is the leading marketing and information services company dedicated to helping higher education institutions find, enroll and retain students. Its content-rich and highly visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com, elearners.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com, and its more than 50 special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the premier provider of qualified prospective students for colleges and universities. In addition, the company offers a full suite of web-delivered services proven to drive enrollment growth and reduce student attrition. For more information, visit http://www.educationdynamics.com.