MAKING CONNECTIONS: AN EPORTFOLIO MINI-GRANT AND SEMINAR PROGRAM (Deadline for applications: November 20, 2008): This FIPSE-funded project is designed to help colleges in the NYC metropolitan area move forward with the use of ePortfolio to enhance learning and support new approaches to assessment, accreditation, and transfer.

Making Connections builds upon the growing interest in ePortfolio in higher education across the country and around the world. LaGuardia Community College (CUNY), a recognized leader in the field, will convene a year-long seminar program for participating schools, creating opportunities for dialogue and shared learning. A year-long seminar will begin in February 2009 and include monthly meetings and a summer institute. Participating colleges will receive a $5,000 mini-grant plus stipends for participating faculty and staff.

Each year of Making Connections prioritizes a thematic/disciplinary focus. Our first cohort began meeting in January 2008, focusing on ePortfolio in Teacher Education programs and General Education. For our second cohort, we welcome applications from colleges who want to focus on ePortfolio in programs in Fine Arts, and Allied Health & Sciences, and we will continue to welcome applications focused on General Education. The application materials (and the website http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/ctl/mc/cohort2.htm) provide additional details.

AAC&U’s 2009 Annual Meeting, Ready or Not: Global Challenges, College Learning, and America’s Promise, will be held in Seattle, Washington, January 21-24, 2009

Save the date! The ePortfolio West Coast Summit will take place February 24-25, 2009.

Plan to attend AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal meeting in Baltimore, Maryland on February 26-28, 2009. The meeting, General Education, Assessment, and the Learning Students Need, will explore how well general education programs match up with expectations for student accomplishment. It will help campuses align general education vision and action, including action to assess and strengthen students’ cumulative learning. The four conference tracks are organized around one or more “big questions” related to philosophical and practical challenges facing campuses today and an expectation of evidence—the ability to show “what’s working” and why. For more information and to register, visit the meeting Web page.