Case Study Assignments Purpose

I've designed the primary writing assignments for the Case Studies for COMM majors to include in their ePortfolios. In addition, the Case Study assignments meet the department's commitment to provide students with more opportunities to work on developing their writing skills.

Case Studies and ePortfolio
You probably associate portfolio with the job search process. Such portfolios include examples of job applicants' work they can show to prospective employers. The electronic portfolio COMM majors create in their program of study resembles this type of professional portfolio, except the portfolios are about what students have produced as a communication scholar.

For communication studies majors, you start your ePortfolio in COMM 101C, Introduction to Communication Studies (recently retitled Junior Seminar: Theorizing Communication), and add to it as you progress through your coursework. If you're a COMM major, you should be adding to your ePortfolio in every COMM class you take. So you'll want to keep a digital copy of the two case study analyses you'll develop for this class. You might also want to keep copies of your discussion entries (not required). In COMM 199C, Senior Seminar, you'll complete your ePortfolio, reflecting on how you've developed as a communication scholar and charting your future professional course.

For students who aren't communication studies majors, compiling an ePortfolio on your own provides a useful way to prepare yourself for future academic and professional work. Including your best work in your ePortfolio gives you an excellent foundation for completing graduate school and job applications. An ePortfolio also allows you to reflect on what you've learned and how you've applied that knowledge as you progress through your program of study.