Communications Portfolio: Skills for Purposeful Communication

Writing Portfolio: Applied Communications Competency

Employers and graduate schools alike point to effective communication skills as an essential qualification that they seek from college graduates. CPCS takes this demand seriously and places a strong emphasis on the development and demonstration of effective oral and written communication skills as a central part of our curriculum. The development of writing, speaking and presentation skills are interwoven into most of the competencies students work on at CPCS. Using an approach called Writing Across the Curriculum students are given multiple opportunities to focus on the development of these different skills and to apply them in different contexts.

In order for the College to specifically evaluate students in these areas, students are required to compile a portfolio of products that represents their best writing and other presentations. The student is required to submit at least one academic paper, but may draw from a variety of other genres, including: grant proposals, curriculum plans, legal briefs, policy papers, and oral presentations to complete the portfolio requirements.

Computer Portfolio: Applied Technology Portfolio Competency

The ability to make effective use of today's technology is an essential requirement for most careers and for success in any academic program. Increasingly, strong computer skills have become a critical requirement for effective and purposeful communication within organizations and between organizations and constituencies. Employers and graduate students expect college graduates to have the skills they need to make effective use of technology for communication, research and presentation. Therefore, CPCS requires all students to develop and demonstrate basic proficiency in a range of applied technology skills. As with the writing portfolio, the College provides students with a Computing Across the Curriculum approach to developing and demonstrating the required skills. Applied technology skills are embedded into other competencies in the curriculum, giving students with opportunities to learn, practice and apply the required skills as they progress through the curriculum. Workshops are designed to provide students with the essential tools they need to successfully complete the technology related components of other competencies.