Exemplar 8 - Professional Staff ePortfolio

Institution: Queensland University of Technology

e-Portfolio context: The QUT Professional Staff ePortfolio is a joint initiative between TILS and DAS, and as such supporting resources are developed in conjunction with the Organisational Development area.  It is an online tool that provides the capacity to document and present professional, educational and personal development using a specially designed structure and format. The structure of the tool assists staff to identify, reflect on and record the many diverse experiences that have contributed to their professional development and career. Participation in the QUT Professional Staff ePortfolio is entirely voluntary and can be used to enhance the process of Performance, Planning and Review for Professional Staff (PPR-PS).

Dates of provision: Since 2009

Reason for implementation: QUT is commited to staff development and provides a range of staff development opportunities. Professional Staff ePortfolio was designed to help staff members develop a deeper awareness of themselves and their abilities. Through reflecting on and recording experiences staff are encouraged to recognise and review the knowledge and skills that have developed as a result of those experiences. They will also be better able to identify any skill areas in need of improvement.

Purpose/s: Professional Staff ePortfolio is an ongoing exercise that continues throughout ones career. It expected that staff will benefit through reflecting on experiences to recognise the variety and depth of skills and abilities, and also to identify areas for improvement. The individual's ePortfolio becomes a very useful resource when applying for secondments, promotions or other employment opportunities. They can draw on the experiences documented in their ePortfolio when responding to selection criteria and interview questions.

Learning processes involved: Information capture, Information retrieval, Planning, Reflection, Feedback, Presentation

Practice: (Developing) During the pilot phase in 2008/9, professional staff from IHS attended face to face workshops to become familiar both with the online tool and also with the concept of reflective practice and its place in professional development and career planning. Continuation of support of staff using the tool is critical to the service. This is built into the support structures in eLearning Services for ePortfolio. There will be a further technical development for staff storage space of “artefacts”, which are examples of work, in the future.

Key staff involved: Strategic Initiatives team manager and staff

Links to example/s

QUT Professional Staff ePortfolio website