Advising

All students will have at least one one-hour advising session every two weeks. During the first week of the semester students will meet their advisors, establish their advising schedule for the semester, and begin to develop their learning plan. Once students have developed their learning plan, their advisor will work with them on a bi-weekly basis to discuss their learning progress and make the necessary contacts and arrangements for projects and other study opportunities. However, it is still up to the student to take the initiative and follow through with what he/she plans to do. (For more details, please refer to the Program Handbook).

Academic Assessment

All courses are taught in English with the exception of language courses. Global College is a writing intensive program. Learning is documented and assessed through a variety of assignments, including field notes, short reflection papers based on readings and/or events, and longer research essays. Global College does not give grades, rather assessment is provided by a student’s faculty advisor throughout the year.

A. Electronic Learning Portfolio

The Global College electronic learning portfolio (ELP) is a central, cumulative, creative document that contains a chronological mapping of the growing intellectual sophistication of the student over the four years of the program. The ELP is a searchable repository of a student’s work, including not only written text but images, sound files, video, presentations and hyperlinks that enable fast and flexible cross-referencing between sections of the portfolio. Interviews, poetry, accounts of challenges as well as successes, fiction, and other imaginative and creative elements are encouraged. Not only is the ELP an effective means of managing and documenting individual learning, it is a social networking tool that puts students in “conversation” with experts, tutors and peers. As students from all centers share the fruits of their unique learning experiences with one another and reflect on the resulting conversations, they strengthen the broader Global College learning community, while acquiring sophisticated technological and communication skills that will be required of them in a wireless, transnational economy. These digital portfolios stay with students not only through their tenure with Global College, but also as they move into their careers or on to graduate school.

During the fall semester of the Foundation Year, students will focus on their writing skills and prepare a traditional portfolio. During the spring semester, students studying at the Costa Rica Center will be trained to create their own digital learning portfolios and will immediately begin depositing their work into this electronic file. The technology is fairly simple, and once grasped it becomes an invaluable tool in storing academic information as students prepare to move around the globe.

B. Criteria for Assessment

The Electronic Portfolio is broken down into 7 semester portfolios, which students complete successively as they progress through Global College. At the culmination of each semester students will be evaluated for the work that they have invested into that particular semester’s portfolio. Portfolio assessment is carried out through weekly entries and a final portfolio evaluation. Content, format and the level of analysis are taken into account by the academic advisors. All students are expected to write a semester learning plan, which they will present to their advisor at the beginning of the semester. Advisors will help the students refine their learning plans so that clear goals are set which are both demanding and realistic. Students are required to attend advising sessions (at least one every other week), to bring portfolio entries to show evidence of progress, to undergo a midterm assessment of their portfolio work, and to present a final Portfolio at the end of the semester. Each semester portfolio will be added to the student’s cumulative Electronic Learning Portfolio.

Documentation of advising sessions, the semester portfolio (which includes a self-evaluation), and the feedback from the Spanish team and the seminar coordinators are used by faculty advisors when they evaluate the students at the end of the semester. The semester evaluation becomes part of the student’s official transcript. It will list the coursework and credits earned, and it will be accompanied by a narrative description of the student’s work.

Letter grades will be given to visiting students, if needed. Visiting students are advised to talk with their advisor or the registrar at their home universities before they begin their studies with Global College in order to determine the home institution’s requirements with regard to credits. After students arrive at the center, they will construct their learning plan in consultation with their faculty advisor. If students communicate early enough with the Academic Coordinator at the center, it should facilitate satisfaction with their home institution and the center advisor.

C. Portfolio Deadlines

The Deadline for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 Semester Portfolios at the Costa Rica Center will be December 3, 2007 and May 6, 2008 respectively. Specific guidelines regarding portfolio requirements will be given to students at the beginning of their semester in Costa Rica.