Welcome to the Mercy College School of Education ePortfolio Assessment System!

To learn more about this ePortfolio and the NCATE assessment process, please click on each tab in the left navigational bar. Materials have been provided on the following topics:

Table of Contents

• What is an ePortfolio?
• What is NCATE?
• SoE: Conceptual Framework
• Identify Your Program Track
• How to Submit Work
• Mercy College Academic Integrity Policy
• Professional Standards
• About the Assessments
• Need Help?

Please review the materials in each section. At the conclusion of each section, you will complete a short form that indicates you have reviewed the material (directions to do this are in the attachment below this box).  Your reading and review of the materials is a requirement that will be recorded in this ePortfolio Assessment System. Therefore, it's important that you complete that step for each section as indicated. 

Beneath the "Welcome Start Here" menu, there is a list of Key Program Assessments starting with the Content Specialty Test. Once you determine which assessments you are to complete (by identifying your program track), you will click on each course and follow the directions to submit your assignment that fulfills the requirements for NCATE Key Program Assessments.

Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

What is an ePortfolio?

An ePortfolio (also known as electronic portfolio or folio) is a "container that holds examples of student or teacher work (the 'artifacts') and reflections on that work that transforms the artifacts into 'evidence' of achievement" (Barrett, 2002, p. 2). Traditionally, portfolios were paper products but with today's technology tools, electronic repositories of artifacts are more accessible, efficient and offer greater opportunities to learners for documenting evidence of achievement using a variety of text, visual and audio tools.

ePortfolios also offer an alternate form of assessment of learning. Learners may create showcase ePortfolios to demonstrate competency in various academic areas. ePortfolios may also be constructed so that students can "deposit" assessments / assignments for evaluation by their peers and/or faculty for the purpose of student, program and school assessment activities. This type of ePortfolio is called a Directed Response Folio or DRF. You are currently in a DRF where you will be depositing assessments in selected courses for the purpose of Program-level assessment.

As a student in the Mercy College School of Education, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your learning with an ePortfolio. In this ePortfolio, you will be submitting the assignments that satisfy NCATE Key Program Assessments. This will help SoE assess programs.

You will also soon have an opportunity to build a showcase ePortfolio that demonstrates all of your competencies in your SoE program. This ePortfolio will replace the SoE comprehensive examination.You will get more instructions and training on creating that ePortfolio in the coming months. This ePortfolio will be a school-level portfolio where your achievement will be assessed based on standards established by the Mercy College School of Education.

There are two items of additional interest on this page for you.

1. Below is a video of Mercy College students and their impressions of the Taskstream ePortfolio tool as relevant to their academic work. We think you will enjoy hearing their perspective.

2. Then there is an article posted here by Dr. Helen Barrett, considered the "grandmother" of the ePortfolio movement in the U.S., and the world's foremost authority on electronic portfolios. She has been a speaker and workshop participant at Mercy College many times. Her article addresses the uses and benefits of ePortfolio for teacher candidates. It is attached below in a PDF file.

Student Testimonials

Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), a coalition of 30 national organizations of education professionals that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit programs preparing teachers and other professional personnel for P-12 schools.  NCATE is an organization that works toward creating a coherent system of quality assurance for producing effective teachers. 

Mercy College has embarked upon this NCATE accreditation process as an assurance that the School of Education’s programs have met national standards for teacher preparation.  The process also allows the School of Education to advance its own mission to be a state and national leader in teacher education. 

NCATE accredits a “professional education unit” (i.e. The School of Education) based on a Conceptual Framework which establishes a shared vision for preparing education professionals; the framework is aligned with professional, state, and institutional standards - which are evidenced in all NCATE standards. (The School of Education's Conceptual Framework is located in the tab following this on the left hand side of the ePortfolio.) Standards are important as all the NCATE Key Program Assessments are derived from these standards. You will see the standards named in each assignment in the courses that align with  NCATE Key Program Assessment.

The Six Unit Standards are:

• Standard 1. Candidate Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions
• Standard 2. Assessment System and Unit Evaluation
• Standard 3. Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
• Standard 4. Diversity
• Standard 5. Faculty Qualifications, Performance and Development
• Standard 6. Unit Governance and Resources

As articulated in the NCATE Standards, “the conceptual framework establishes the shared vision for a unit’s efforts in preparing educators to work in P-12 schools.” As stated previously, our Conceptual Framework is provided in the next tab.

The NCATE accreditation process involves an assessment of all of the competencies related to all of the standards listed above.  Additionally, the School of Education’s NCATE assessment system gathers data from a variety of teacher candidate responses to 6-8 “Key Assessments” that are embedded in the courses in their major program(s) of study.  Feedback data are provided on each of the Key Assessments and these data are utilized to help improve Mercy College’s teacher preparation programs.

Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

Identify Your Program Track

You are in the Directed Response Folio (DRF) for the Mercy College School of Education Program: Early Childhood and Childhood

Click on “Program Track List” to see a list of all the courses and tracks in your program.  NCATE Key Program Assessments are contained in the courses which have an asterisk next to them.  Use this list to help you keep track of the courses in your program which contain key assessments that you must complete.  Some of them will be found in other DRF’s.  For example, EDUC 507 is Literacy course, and will be found in the Literacy DRF.

Not all the courses in Early Childhood and Childhood have key assessments, but the ones that do are listed on the left hand side of this page. 

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Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

Here are the Mercy College policy statements on academic integrity, plagiarism and conduct from the Mercy College 2011-2012 Student Handbook (pp. 25-26)

Academic Integrity and Acceptable Academic Conduct

ACADEMIC CONDUCT, GENERALLY

All students at Mercy College are expected to exhibit courteous behavior in the classroom and to show respect for their fellow students and for their instructors and professors. Students whose behavior is severely disruptive, or poses a threat to the safety or well-being of other students in class, may be required to leave for the remainder of that class period or longer, with or without prior notice by a faculty member. A student’s exclusion from class may be repeated or extended as appropriate.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students are expected to submit their own work for all course assignments. Academic integrity is of particular importance in the Mercy learning environment. For all data, texts, or other information reported, quoted, or otherwise used in student work, the sources from which the data, texts, or other information were obtained (including, but not limited to, persons, books, and articles) must be cited. Without appropriate citation, the use of such data, texts, or other information is considered plagiarism and has serious consequences. These consequences include, but are not limited to, a failing grade for the assignment or course, as well as possible expulsion from the College.

All materials entered in public conferences and communication with College personnel should adhere to standards of civility. Any communication that embarrasses, harasses, or causes concern will be referred to the appropriate School Dean.

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM

Cheating and plagiarism are contrary to the purpose of any educational institution and will be dealt with severely.  An instructor who determines that a student has cheated on a test or assignment will at a minimum give a zero for that item and may give a failing grade for the course. Normally, the matter is handled between the instructor and the student, but the department chairperson and other school officials may be consulted by either party to ensure fairness.
 

Plagiarism, which is the appropriation of words or ideas of another without recognition of the source, is another form of cheating. An instructor who determines that a student has plagiarized will give a zero for the paper or project and may give a failing grade for the course.

Both cheating and plagiarism are grounds for dismissal from the College. 

Mercy College subscribes to SafeAssign, an online service that checks for plagiarism. Students who have been found guilty of plagiarism will be reported to the department chairperson and the School Dean.

Students acting in contravention to this Code of Academic Integrity and Acceptable Academic Conduct will be subject to discipline in accordance with the Academic Grievance Process described in this Handbook.

Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

All Mercy College students in the School of Education will be directed by their professors to participate in the NCATE assessment process and will be required to use this ePortfolio system to submit completed assignments. The ePortfolio provides candidates a location to upload NCATE Key Program Assessments, the designated class assignments, that will inform decision making regarding the quality of our teacher preparation programs.   

After identifying your program track and certifications in the tab called Identify Your Program Track (above), you will be able to click on the links along the left-hand side of the screen for each of the courses in your program of study that includes an NCATE Key Program Assessment.  All students must complete the NCATE Key Program Assessments that appear in different courses. These courses are marked with an asterisk in the "Pick Your Program Track" tab above. 

Keep in mind that these assessments are not additional assignments--they are already embedded in your course work. This ePortfolio assessment system is simply a place for us to collect them so we can conduct program and school assessment to inform curricular and policy decision making in the School of Education, and to provide evidence to NCATE of our program quality.

Read this section and complete the form at the bottom that tells your professor that you read it:

For help with the assessment

If you need help with a particular assessment, please contact the class professor. If you have questions about the overall ePortfolio assessment system and SOE ePortfolio Project, contact your department chair.  The names of the department chairs are listed in the catalog.

For help with technical issues with the ePortfolio

All technical issues with ePortfolio should be directed to our vendor, Taskstream. Their mentoring services help line is available to you by calling 1-800-311-5656. Their excellent service can be accessed Mon-Thurs. 8 am to 11 pm EST; Fri. 8 am - 7 pm; Sat. 12-5 pm; Sun. 6 to 11 pm.

For help with academic support for graduate students

Did you know that there is a program of academic support at Mercy College just for graduate students?  It's called Graduate PACT.  PACT stands for Personalized Achievement Contract.  It's not really an actual contract, but it is the College's commitment to provide you with a dynamic service that offers you professional development supports such as: advanced writing and research tutorials, career success support and professional skill development. There are also Learning Centers at Dobbs Ferry and Bronx campuses that provide graduate students dedicated space. You can get more information from the Graduate PACT office (914) 674-3050 or graduatepact@mercy.edu.