Lifelong Education Administration and Policy

Adult Education

Graduate Handbook

Portfolio and Final Oral Examination for

Master of Education in Adult Education and HROD (M.Ed.)

Purpose: The Final Examination consists of the creation of a Portfolio followed by an oral presentation. The portfolio offers the opportunity for students to integrate and synthesize what they have learned in the program, as well as to demonstrate mastery within the program.

Committee: Student's Advisor and two other faculty members. These two committee members can come from any department in the university. The student selects these committee members in consultation with their Advisor.

Scheduling the Examination: The student is responsible for scheduling the date, time, and location for a one-hour oral examination focusing on their portfolios. The portfolio must be reviewed by the Advisor before being distributed to the committee. The portfolio should be given to the committee members at least one week prior to the scheduled meeting. The exam should be completed at least 1-2 weeks before finals week begins. Please consult the deadline dates published on the Graduate School or when working with your Advisor to select a date for the oral examination.

Components of the Portfolio:

Title page: Include your name as well as the date, time, and location of the examination.
Program of study: Include a copy of the official Program of Study form submitted to the Graduate School in preparation for Graduation.
Resume: Enclose an updated version of your resume.
Written statement: Write an autobiographical statement that addresses the following:
- Background (including past educational and work experience)
- Goals and objectives you had for the program, and a brief assessment of how those were fulfilled (At the discretion of your Advisor, this could include a copy of your original letter of intent)
- Future career goals

Abstracts: Four to five abstracts (2-4 pages each) that identify and describe key learnings you have gained from your experience in the program. The goal should be integrating what you have learned during your program, identifying four to five key learnings, and clearly explicating the components of your program (content, projects, assignments, or other activities) that helped you to gain that insight and that demonstrate some mastery in that area. You are encouraged to bring a single copy of things you refer to in your abstracts for possible review during your oral examination.
Applied Project: A one to two page executive summary of your Applied Project. One copy of the applied project is to be brought to the oral examination.
Statement of Your Adult Education or HROD Philosophy: A statement describing your core beliefs around topics that are central to your current and future Adult Education or HROD work.