Students will soon be able to create sophisticated online "e-portfolios" to showcase their UCLA experience.

Via MyUCLA, the popular campuswide portal, "e-portfolios" will enable students to organize and reflect upon their coursework, encourage more involvement in curricular programs, student groups and other activities deserving of documentation, and even help them find jobs. E-portfolios also hold the promise of helping faculty members understand individual students' strengths and weaknesses and track their progress, as well as evaluating their own effectiveness as teachers.

While various versions of e-portfolios are already in place at several colleges, UCLA is in the early stages of crafting an approach specific to this campus, with the goal of being up and running by this time next year. Leading the effort are Eric Splaver, director of Information Services for the College of Letters and Science, and Ruth Sabean, assistant provost of the College.

"There are no clear boundaries," said Splaver, clearly excited by the possibilities.

A few aspects are already obvious, he said. For instance, e-portfolios will very likely incorporate MyUCLA's online gradebook, inviting additional detail and including a tool allowing students to grant temporary access to people outside the system.

"A potential employer might be interested, for example, in seeing how a student did in physics," Splaver said. "Instead of just seeing the course name and grade, this could describe the individual coursework in detail. It will offer a richer sense of who the student is, and give the student the opportunity to showcase that richness within the structure of a site sanctioned by the university."

Ultimately, e-portfolios can enrich UCLA, Splaver said, by prompting students to be more actively involved in a wider variety of campus experiences.

"We are planting a seed here," said Sabean. "Seeing the direction in which it can flower will be very interesting."

Students, faculty, staff and others wishing to share ideas or feedback about e-portfolios are invited to e-mail Splaver at eric@college.ucla.edu; or Sabean at rsabean@ucla.edu.