Student Portfolio
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies
Department of Academic and
Human Development
Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA
Student:
_________________________
Graduation Year:
_________________________
Graduation Semester: _________________________
Academic Advisor:
_________________________
B.A. Liberal Studies Portfolio Guide
The Student Portfolio is a record of each student’s academic goals, objectives, accomplishments, and
future plans. The portfolio is designed to serve as a resource for students, advisors, professors,
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internship supervisors, and prospective employers, among others. As a measure of the Liberal Studies
program’s effectiveness, a sample of the portfolios submitted are reviewed by the faculty at the
completion of the student’s senior year. A well-done portfolio demonstrates a student’s skills, knowledge,
abilities, attributes, and values across a variety of tasks and objectives. The portfolio contents are based
on the goals and outcomes of the general education program and the Liberal Studies program, and
Mansfield University's Academic and Human Development faculty. Each content or competency area
should contain the best sample or demonstration of a student’s ability in that area.
The sections and content areas of the portfolio are:

Foreword to the Portfolio: Concise one paragraph summary including the student’s name,
degree, areas of academic concentration, what brought them to Mansfield University, how they
have grown and changed as a result of their Mansfield experience, and their plans after
graduation from Mansfield. This paragraph should merely be a summary; students will provide
detailed information in the other sections of the portfolio.

Goal Statements & Career Planning:
a. Your Personal Strategic Plan, including a statement of your values, vision, mission, and
strategies:
i. Values: A list of the ideals by which you will guide your life. (For example:
honesty, hard-work, loyalty, healthy.)
ii. Vision: The vision statement is intended to succinctly indicate the type of
individual that you wish to be and the type of life you wish to have in the
future. (For example, “I aspire to have a satisfying and productive career in
management, and a happy home and family.”)
iii. Mission: The mission statement is intended to provide a brief description of
your purpose and contribution to society. (For example: My mission is to create
an environment in which the individuals I manage have opportunities to grow
and develop professionally, and to use their skills and talents in unique ways.)
iv. Strategies: The strategies are the actions you will take to help you achieve are
vision and mission. (For example, one strategy to achieve the above vision and
mission might be to attend ongoing management and leadership trainings and
workshops.)
b. A neatly typed Reflection Paper
c. A copy of your Mansfield University Academic Record.
d. A typed and properly formatted professional Resume.
e. A Career Research Project in which you have explored a possible career, including its
duties and responsibilities, the types of organizations in which the career is found, the
type of education and ongoing training required to acquire and advance in the career,
the job outlook for this career in the next 5-10 years, and the salary structure for the
career.
f. A Professional Cover Letter appropriate for sending to a prospective employer or
graduate program.
g. A copy of your Strengths Inventory, such as Strong Interest Inventory
(SII),StrengthsQuest, FOCUS, or any similar survey available through Mansfield
University.

Applied Experience: (as part of your resume) Include a summary of a significant internship (LS
4495), service learning, or volunteer experience and how you applied specific principles and
concepts from your Mansfield University classes to the experience.
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
University/Community Contributions (as part of your resume): Include a summary of your
contributions to the university and larger community. Examples could include your
participation in organizations, clubs, teams, social service projects, volunteer activities,
committees, and other service to your community and Mansfield University. Highlight your
leadership roles and any offices that you held in such activities. Write a detailed summary, in
reverse chronological order, that expands on the information in your résumé.

Additional Academic Accomplishments (as part of your resume): Include up to four other
significant academic accomplishments that demonstrate the full range of your skills and abilities.
Examples could include creative writing samples, artistic projects, theater reviews, video or audio
materials that you created, PowerPoint presentations, K-12 lesson plans and classroom
management documents, study abroad experiences, field trips and other experiential learning
activities.

Awards and Honors (as part of your resume): Include up to four other significant awards,
honors, and certificates that you received for demonstrating knowledge or skills in a particular
area, outstanding scholarship, honor roll, Dean’s list, honor societies, attendance, extra-curricular
activities, athletic accomplishments, and social contributions.
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Components of the Capstone Project/Reflection Paper & Resume
Table of Contents
1.
Goal Statements and Career Planning
a. Personal Strategic Plan
b. Reflection Paper
Your reflection paper should be 5-7 pages in length. Your paper must reflect your original
thoughts on the general education courses that you successfully completed and how these
courses have contributed to a better or different understanding of the world. Put differently
you should answer the following questions as you complete this paper. Your paper should
reflect a thoughtful and thorough review of your perspective on your education. Use the
questions provided below to guide you, but feel free to answer your own questions and
share your thoughts above and beyond the prompts given.
Note: You will want to refer to the General Education Distribution Requirements and your
transcript to complete this task.
FOUNDATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE:
First Year Seminar: What did the first-year seminar course mean to you? Did you develop
an interest in a certain field of study because of this course? Did the instructor or other
students in the course help you to transition into college? Thinking back on your freshman
year what advice might you offer freshman or do differently? What did you not learn that
you might have expected to learn in the course?
Written Communication and Oral Communication: How will you demonstrate to a
potential employer that you are a college educated individual through your ability to
communicate?
APPROACHES TO KNOWLEDGE:
Humanities: What courses did you take to fulfill this requirement and what do you now
know as a result of successfully completing the course. Give concrete examples. You might
write something like this “I am now better able to make a solid and professional argument
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for why I have the beliefs that I and have a better appreciation for the opinions of others.
My philosophy class help me to think critically about my position on abortion”
Natural and Physical Science and Social and & Behavioral Sciences: How does natural
science differ from social sciences?
How did study each of these areas, did your approach to learning differ in a significant way?
If not described how they were approach, if so, described how they were different.
Global Perspectives:
Which track did you chose to complete and why. Talk about how or if these courses allow
you think more globally and what does thinking more globally mean to you? Again, give an
example.
Themes
What thoughts do you have as a result of completing a COURSE A, Course B, and Course C
that you did not have been taking the class?
How does your minor connect to the general education courses?
Finally, if you have completed the Strong Interest Inventory, FOCUS 2, Meyers-Briggs or
StrengthsFinder, discussed the results as they apply to your overall university experience and
as a potential graduate student or employee.
c. Senior-Year Goal Statement
d. Academic Record
e. Resume : Be certain to include such information as:
 Applied Experience
 University/Community Contributions
 Additional Academic Accomplishments
 Awards and Honors
f. Career Research Project (if you completed this in another department_
g. Professional Cover Letter
h. Strengths Inventory Reflection Statement(optional* but highly recommended if you have
completed Strengths)
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B.A. Liberal Studies – Senior Year Goal Statement
Use this sheet in your senior year at Mansfield University to record your professional and personal goals.
Begin with your goals for employment and/or graduate school following Mansfield University, and then
work backwards chronologically. Indicate your goals for each year, including the present term. Be as
specific as possible.
1. Date:
________________________________________________
2. Student’s Name:
________________________________________________
3. Advisor’s Name:
________________________________________________
4. Minor(s):
________________________________________________
5. Year in which you plan to graduate: ________________________________
6. Semester in which you plan to graduate: ___May
___August
___December
7. Your preferred employment setting:
(e.g. federal or state agency, county or local agency, large company, small business, community or nonprofit organization,
hospital or public health, K-12 education, college or university)
8. Goals for your senior year and before graduating from Mansfield University
 Goal 1:
 Goal 2:
 Goal 3:
 Goal 4:
9. Goals for 1-2 years after graduation from Mansfield
 Goal 1:
 Goal 2:
10. Goals for 3-5 years after graduation from Mansfield University
 Goal 1:
 Goal 2:
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B.A. Liberal Studies Portfolio Evaluation Sheet
Department of Academic and Human Development
Student’s Name:_________________________________________________
Reviewer’s Name:
_________________________________________________
Date of Review: _________________________________________________
Basic Standards
Present (Yes)
Absent (No)
All class papers signed off on cover
All assignments in portfolio have been revised (if needed)
All work professionally typed
Portfolio cover and side label present & readable
OVERALL BASIC STANDARDS
Presentation & Appearance
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Comments
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Comments
Table of Contents is clear and
legible
Section dividers are clearly
placed & accessible
Overall organization & display
of contents
OVERALL PRESENTATION &
APPEARANCE
Technical
Presentation
Section 1: Forward to the
Portfolio (clearly stated,
complete)
Section 2a: Personal Strategic
Plan (clearly stated, complete)
Section 2b: Senior Year Goal
Statement (clearly stated,
complete)
Section 2c: Academic Record
(neatly displayed)
Section 2d: Resume
(professionally formatted)
Section 2e: Career Research
Project
Section 2f: Professional Cover
Letter (clearly stated,
professionally formatted)
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Section 2g: Strengths Inventory
(neatly displayed)
Section 3: Writing Skills
(appropriate work, neatly
displayed, corrected, signed off)
Section 4: Critical Thinking
Skills (appropriate work, neatly
displayed, corrected, signed off)
Section 5: Research Skills
(appropriate work, neatly
displayed, corrected, signed off)
Section 6: Applied Experience
(appropriate work, neatly
displayed, corrected, signed off)
Section 7: University/
Community Contributions
(appropriate materials, clearly
presented)
Section 8: Additional Academic
Accomplishments (appropriate
materials, clearly presented)
Section 9: Awards & Honors
(appropriate materials, clearly
presented)
OVERALL TECHNICAL
PRESENTATION
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B.A. Liberal Studies Written Assignment Evaluation Sheet
Department of Academic and Human Development
Student’s Name:_________________________________________________
Reviewer’s Name:
_________________________________________________
Date of Review: _________________________________________________
Area Evaluated
Ratings
BASIC FORMAT
Yes
No
Comments
Paper conforms to guidelines 5-7 Pages
Double spacing throughout
One-inch margins all around
Page numbers in upper right corner
Appropriate 12 point font size throughout
Title page with correct identifying information
Format Consistent with APA Style/MLA (____ pts.)
TECHNICAL EFFECTIVENESS
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
NA
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
NA
Logical flow and organization of paper
Use of section headings and subheadings
Sentence structure and grammar
Paragraph structure built around thesis sentence
Spelling and punctuation
Citation of references in the text
Documentation of quotations
Overall Technical Effectiveness (____ pts.)
SCHOLARSHIP
Content of paper addresses the assignment
Conclusions and opinions backed by evidence
Suitable coverage of the available literature
Depth of analysis of topic area
Other:
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Overall Scholarship (____ pts.)
Additional Comments:
__ Paper is suitable for portfolio
__ Paper is not suitable
__ Paper is suitable with revisions
__ Other recommendation:
Overall Score or Grade__________
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