Dispensing with time-consuming paper systems, e-Portfolios are revolutionising the way colleges and training providers assess their students.

UK further education colleges could cut assessment costs by at least £500m, while also slashing the time it takes for students to complete vocational courses by two-thirds, a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) pilot study has found.

The key to these changes is simple: across the board implementation of computer based verification and assessment systems known as e-portfolios. These provide a password-controlled environment in which candidates store evidence that is thereafter accessible to tutors, assessors, employers and awarding bodies any time, anywhere.

Usually conducted via a website, students can submit evidence by typing in text or uploading digital pictures, sound and video that the internal verifier can then view to make assessment decisions. The benefits of e-portfolios are clear: recording evidence on computer rather than on paper helps assessors avoid duplication of tasks, while letting verifiers see what stage people are at and what they are doing – at the touch of a button.

Verifiers and assessors avoid workload build up and, once uploaded, none of the evidence can be lost. Learners can access an online ‘store room’ of their records, giving them a greater understanding of their progress, which is useful for career planning and CV building. E-portfolios remain live for an indefinite period, allowing learners – and employers – to view work at a later date.

Saving time

City & Guilds is already well aware of the system’s advantages, having undertaken a survey of 95 colleges and training providers already using e-portfolios prior to the LSC pilot. This revealed that, while cutting costs was seen as a significant benefit, the reduction in time taken by candidates to complete their National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) was the system’s number one plus point. ‘Learners can view their progress at any time and in any location,’ says Mike Dawe, Senior Online Assessment Manager at City & Guilds. ‘Although the emphasisis on candidates progressing at their own pace, we find that receiving feedback more quickly encourages a proactive approach.

Not having to carry around hard copy portfolios is another huge bonus. Overall, those already using these systems could not be happier.’ Despite the positive feedback, the use of e-portfolios is still very much in its infancy and is far from uniform.

 According to the City & Guilds survey, only 16 per cent of centres currently use them and many of those have been doing so for a year or less. On average, each centre has 571 learners registered, but ones that have been using the system for longer tend to have more learners. Individual centres also use them differently, with about a third using them for all their qualifications and a further third for less than half. While those surveyed rated their e-portfolio’s technical performance as good, some issues were raised.

 The main problem is overcoming the fear of technical glitches and losing work. In addition, resistance to change was noted in a third of centres, although having an internal champion is an effective counter to this.

For others, there is the challenge of providing sufficient access to computers. ‘We wanted to move from an assessor-led system to a candidate-led one using an e-portfolio,’ says Andrea Tucker of Phoenix Training. ‘Despite our best efforts, it did not work out as we had hoped. Not enough of our care students had daily access to the internet, so they struggled to upload evidence as they generated it.’ There are success stories, however. One centre decided, after initial deployment of Quickstep’s e-portfolio system, that all new apprentices would be placed on it. Following their inductions, apprentices began building their e-portfolios and within days were having their work signed off.

Just a year later the centre was awarded with a double A-graded report and Direct Claim Status. City & Guilds endorses a number of e-portfolios and is working with external verifiers and centres to make their use as straightforward as possible.

‘With so many on the market, we hope our endorsement of those providers who have been through our quality assurance process offers guidance and reassurance to centres,’ says Dawe.