Final Exam/Portfolio

The Final Examination policy requires M.L.S. students to complete their studies by taking a final examination in the last semester of enrollment for the M.L.S. The Final Examination is a degree requirement toward the MLS degree; it is not a course.

To participate in the Final Examination, the student must be enrolled in at least one class as a current student and must file for graduation during the semester when the Final Examination takes place.

Only students who have filed for graduation for the semester by the TWU deadline will be allowed to participate in the Final Examination Portfolio. Portfolios from students who have not filed for graduation for that particular semester (i.e., to graduate at the end of that semester) will not be reviewed. Any portfolio that is not submitted by the deadline set by the Final Exam Committee will not be reviewed.

A student who does not pass the final exam may attempt the final examination a second time in a subsequent semester. The student must be enrolled in at least one class as a current student and must apply for graduation in that semester in order to submit a final examination portfolio. No student is allowed to attempt the final examination more than twice.

Elements of the Final Exam/Portfolio

The Final Exam for the MLS degree comprises submission of a professional portfolio, to be read by the faculty and approved by the Final Exam Committee. The portfolio must include:

1. A complete professional resume
2. Sample work products (3-5)
3. A written professional agenda
4. A plan for continuing professional development

The faculty believes that in preparing this portfolio of documents, individuals emerging from the status of student to that of librarian will be able to determine a focus for active careers in the information professions.

Such a process advances the School's goals of preparing students with the necessary competencies in order to balance theory and practice, emphasizing by word and act the significance of contributions to the information professions, and recognizing the need and importance of continuing education. Specifically, the portfolio should provide focus and emphasis on all three goals by highlighting what the student has accomplished so far and document such accomplishments, what contributions the student intends to make to the profession, and how the student plans to enable those contributions via continuing development.

The Final Exam Committee receives recommendations from faculty on the quality of the portfolios and determines whether the student passes or fails the Final Exam. Students who fail the final exam will do so because they produced portfolios that were incomplete, poorly packaged, poorly written, or lacked inter-document consistency or appropriate examples of work products. Failing students may submit a revised portfolio within two weeks for a second reading. A student must be enrolled in good standing during the semester in which she or he takes the final exam. The final exam is taken in the final semester of academic work.

Standards for each element of the Final Exam/Portfolio

Part I: Professional Resume

Prepare an expanded resume that would be suitable for a variety of professional purposes, including (but not limited to) such situations as an application for a position, inclusion in a grant proposal, or inclusion in an institutional accreditation report. An expanded resume must include a statement of career objective. It should detail professional credentials, education, and professional experience, and it must be truthful, current, and carefully produced.

Part II: Professional Work Products

Provide documents that represent concrete examples of your professional skills and abilities. For example, if you instituted a successful library program or designed a library webpage, provide evidence of such accomplishment as proof of your skill level. If you are moving from student to professional, use work products from courses in which you conducted research or projects that serve as examples of your work. You may submit products from either or both your work experience and/or your coursework.

Part III: Professional Agenda

Construct an essay describing your professional goals for the next five years and prepare a slate of contributions you intend to make to your profession and the community it serves. Each item on the agenda should include a discussion of the relevant professional issues, problems, and opportunities on which you intend to focus your work.

Part IV: Continuing Professional Development

Based on the professional goals you include in Part III, formulate a plan for your continuing professional development. Include specific activities and learning experiences you intend to pursue in the next five years to enhance your professional career. The contributions you emphasize in your professional agenda must be supported by realistic and achievable strategies in your professional development plan.

Appearance of the Final Exam/Portfolio

The Final Exam Portfolio must be of professional quality. This means all components of the portfolio must be consistent in style and formatting, free of typographical or grammatical errors, and professional in style and tone.

Submission of Final Exam/Portfolio

The portfolio will be submitted electronically. You will have two options: 1) submit each section of the portfolio through the assignment submission Blackboard tool or 2) submit a website link.

In order to do this, you need to follow these steps:

1. File for graduation
2. Watch Cassandra and Student Resources for information about submitting your portfolio. This information will be available early each semester.
3. Submit each part of your portfolio under the correct section. If you are submitting your
   portfolio as a website, include the URL on the cover sheet and submit it in the correct section. The bulk of the portfolio will be submitted as one long document with page breaks between sections. Work products will be submitted in a separate assignment section; more than one file can be submitted under the work products section. There will be more exact submission instructions when the ePortfolio Blackboard course is opened (no later than one week prior to the due date).
4. Make sure that the e-mail address that is listed for you is the correct e-mail address as all correspondence will be sent to this address.

Good luck!