The ePortfolio Initiative for Career Success (EPICS) is the new ePortfolio program at UNCP. Developed and managed by the Office of Online Learning, this program has established partnerships with other departments on campus such as the School of Business, the Career Center, the Teaching and Learning Center, and others. As this program grows, we envision it to include more departments and faculty members as part of it. 

UNCP was one of the institutions selected as part of the AAC&U ePortfolio Institute to develop an ePortfolio program. 

Interested in learning more about ways to get involved with the EPICS? Please send us an email to epics@uncp.edu. 

As part of EPICS, students will have access to an ePortfolio account that they can start using to add artifacts from curricular or co-curricular activities. This collection of artifacts will take place during their whole college experience, which will also be part of a learning reflection process. When starting thinking about internship opportunities or their careers, students will have an opportunity to revamp their learning ePortfolios already created into career ePortfolios for job applications and interviews. All members of EPICS will have the opportunity to mentor other students or get mentored when needed. 

Faculty members are encouraged to redesign some aspects of their courses to adopt ePortfolios, so they become part of this career readiness journey for students.

For the EPICS at UNCP, Portfolium was selected as the tool to use for the program.

The main goal of EPICS is to make authentic and meaningful connections between curricular and co-curricular learning and career readiness. 

For Students

By creating an ePortfolio, students will have an opportunity to document and showcase their learning journeys. The goal of EPICS is to use this documentation and showcasing to prepare students for successful careers, using the knowledge, skills, and abilities they gained at UNCP. As part of EPICS, students will engage in peer-mentoring, networking, community opportunities, as well as belonging to a global community of ePortfolio users. 

For Faculty

By integrating an ePortfolio in their courses or programs, faculty members will be able to take their instruction to the next level, by teaching and assessing 21st century skills. In addition, they will contribute to their student’s career readiness, by asking them to complete assessments that can endorse them for knowledge, skills, and abilities. 

The 6A ePortfolio Model, developed by Dr. Miko Nino and Dr. Scott Hicks, will be used to implement EPICS at UNCP. By following this model, students will go from valuing ePortfolios to using them for career readiness. 

The article “The 6A ePortfolio Model: Professionalizing Learning in Higher Education” (Nino & Hicks, 2021) was published in the International Journal of ePortfolio (IJeP) in the Fall 2021.

EPICS will offer a variety of activities to engage student and faculty participation.

 

For Students:

• ePortfolio Showcase and Networking Opportunities
• Challenges
• Users’ Community 
• Mentoring and peer-mentoring opportunities 
• Training 
• Consultations 

 

For Faculty:

• Community of Practice 
• ePortfolio Implementation Mini-grants
• Training 
• Consultations