Portfolium Boosts Online Presence

A leading academic e-portfolio network used by San Diego State University students is now available to Aztec alumni.

Portfolium, which was co-founded by SDSU alum Royce Rowan, is a leading e-portfolio network for showcasing academic work, projects and skills to potential employers.

SDSU Student Affairs introduced Portfolium to students in early September and the California State University system intends to make Portfolium available through all of its institutions free of charge to students and alumni. The intent is to make it easier for college students and recent college graduates to visually display their academic experiences and accomplishments when seeking jobs or graduate school admittance.

James Tarbox, SDSU’s executive director of Career Services, said Portfolium will benefit SDSU alumni by adding another resource to connect professionally to SDSU students, other alumni and other professionals. He said the network also offers a useful resource to build and feature their portfolios online.

“My hope is that alumni will experiment with this resource and look at integrating it into their online presence, allowing them to stay informed about SDSU, their professions and trends in our economy via their connections,” Tarbox said. “When integrated with resources like LinkedIn, Portfolium can strengthen career readiness.”

From the mind of an Aztec

Rowan graduated from SDSU in 2009 with a degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and serves as the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Portfolium.

"Every day students are producing evidence of their abilities in all sorts of ways across all fields of study," he said. "We believe the best endorsement for a skill is an actual work sample, proving the skill."

"I’m very excited for SDSU to be officially partnered with Portfolium," Rowan said. "It’s incredibly rewarding to know that we’re providing a valuable resource to all Aztecs — past and present. It was a real thrill to receive messages from old classmates and professors saying that they just received their Portfolium invitation and were so excited to check it out."

User-friendly experience

Portfolium users can upload photos from academic, extracurricular and work experiences into a portfolio which can be organized to share proof of their skills and projects from inside and outside of the classroom as well as across all fields of study. By doing so, they create a formal documentation of the leadership roles, student organization memberships, certificates, community service, honors and awards completed during their college experience.

These co-curricular transcripts provide a competitive edge by creating an authenticated university document confirming out-of-class experiences and learning.  Additionally, by uploading these activities and honors, student affairs officials can analyze student engagement activities and follow student trends in career fields and corporate hiring.

SDSU sophomore Shivani Kaneria, a nursing major, is an early adopter of Portfolium, having checked it out when she received the email advising students it was available.

"Once I got on they gave me the option to connect to my other social media sites, which I absolutely loved because all of the information that I have already invested and put in and spent the time putting up on other sites is readily available to be transferred into Portfolium,” she said. “So far my experience has been great."

Kaneria said she is “really impressed” with Portfolium’s potential for beefing up her online exposure.  She encourages other students and alumni to check it out.

"If you have 10 minutes, get on and do it,” she advised. “It can't hurt you.”

Among other initiatives, Tarbox said Career Services is looking to integrate Portfolium into the Aztec Mentor Program as a way to create alumni and community connections to campus and feature their support of future Aztecs. He said his office will work closely with the Office of Alumni Engagement to inform alumni about Portfolium which may be used to enhance joint programming in areas such as the Aztec Mentor Program and Aztecs Hiring Aztecs planning.

For questions about Portfolium, contact Tarbox via e-mail.