Polaris: An Undergraduate Online Portfolio System that Encourages Personal Reflection and Career Planning*

Abstract

Portfolios and other assessments of student achievement are proving to be important topics of concern in engineering education. While portfolios have a long history in other disciplines, their use in engineering is fairly new. This paper provides a case study on the development and implementation of electronic portfolios in engineering education through our Polaris system built specifically for undergraduate engineering students. The end goal of Polaris is to provide students with a presentation of their academic accomplishments in a variety of multimedia formats on a professional looking website. While there are many web-development tools for creating a portfolio, the distinguishing characteristic of Polaris is that it specifically engages engineering students in developmental exercises to help them understand their budding professional skills. This case study provides background history and reveals issues that are germane to creating a developmentally appropriate resource to enhance engineering students’ scholastic experiences.