English 202C(p): Technical Writing Credit By Portfolio

English 202C(p) is an alternative means for participants in the Engineering Co-op & Internship Program to receive full academic credit for the required English 202C (Technical Writing) course by submitting a portfolio of technical writing samples created over the course of three registered internship experiences (ENGR 195 or 595), three rotations of a registered co-op experience (ENGR 295, 395, and 495), or some combination of three registered co-op and internship experiences. Please note that "registered" refers to work experiences pursued for academic credit.

Students who wish to pursue this option will submit their completed portfolio for review and grading by an English instructor. Students who submit a portfolio that demonstrates adequate mastery of technical writing skills will receive credit for English 202C, but no grade. The credits will be designated on the transcript as Credit awarded by portfolio assessment (similar to transfer credit notation).

Why Choose This Option?
Eligibility
Registration Procedure & Cost
Portfolio Requirements & Submission Procedure
Portfolio Submission Deadlines


Why Choose This Option?

Since you will register for English 202C(p) during your third internship experience or co-op rotation, you will have ample time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of this option. Technical communication skills through writing and presentations are very important to your success as a professional. If you have any concerns about your ability to communicate effectively in a technical writing situation, consider scheduling a resident education section of English 202C.

Advantages

  • You will have the opportunity to work with, and be tutored by, professional engineers in a real-world setting.
  • You will be interested in your assignments because they are based on work that you are actually doing in your internships or co-op.
  • You will learn to collaborate with your peers—a skill that will be useful to you in the working world.
  • You will save time toward your degree by receiving credit for work you are already doing (or, in some cases, work you have already done).
 

Disadvantages

  • You may have difficulty adapting your co-op duties to the requirements of the course.
  • You may not have time to work on your own research or writing assignments.
  • You may not be exposed to the more global principles of rhetoric and technical writing.
  • Other than your internship or co-op peers, you may not have anyone available to review, comment on, or help improve your writing assignments.
  • You will not receive a letter grade for your portfolio.

Eligibility

  • You must be a student in the College of Engineering or an engineering student in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
  • You must have completed three for-credit internship experiences, a three-rotation for-credit co-op experience, or any combination of three for-credit co-op or internship experiences.
  • You must have at least 5th-semester standing—with few exceptions—in the semester during which you submit your portfolio.


Registration Procedure & Cost

The cost for the English 202C(p) option is $390.

You should start to work on the requirements for English 202C(p) portfolio during your first two work assignments. By the end of your second week of work during your third assignment, submit your Intent to Register Form and a Brief Proposal to the Engineering Career Resources & Employer Relations office. Note that you will need to include a copy of your proposal in the portfolio that you ultimately submit.

Many employers have strict policies that regulate the dissemination of company information. Because this information is often vital to their success, most employers will require you to sign a disclosure agreement that asks you not to divulge any sensitive information to outside sources. The employer may ask your instructor to sign this agreement. If your employer would like your English instructor to sign and return a disclosure agreement prior to your submission of the portfolio, please send your employer's disclosure agreement along with your proposal and include a return address indicating where the signed agreement should be sent.


Portfolio Requirements & Submission Procedure

Your English 202C(p) portfolio must be assembled neatly in a binder or duo tang, 3-hole punched, with each assignment paginated and with divider sheets inserted between each assignment/submission.

You must include the following materials in your portfolio:

  • Cover page, with your co-op or internship supervisor's signature on the disclosure portion (print this sample to use as the first page of your portfolio)
  • Disclosure agreement(s), if necessary
  • Credit By Portfolio Assessment Application, with the student section completed
  • Table of contents for the portfolio
  • Mandatory Assignments
    • Copy of Brief Proposal that was previously submitted with your registration form
    • Job Application Package
    • Two ENGR 195/595 Internship End-of-Semester Reports or your ENGR 295 and ENGR 395 Co-op End-of-Semester Reports
  • Two assignments chosen from the list of Elective Assignments
  • Personal check for $390, made out to "Penn State"; please write your nine-digit Penn State student ID number on the check

Submit your completed portfolio to Engineering Career Resources & Employer Relations at the address in the footer below. Engineering Career Resources staff will send the portfolio to the English department, where it will be graded by an instructor.

If the portfolio is deemed acceptable, the English department will complete the academic department section of your Credit By Portfolio Assessment Application, deposit the fee, and submit the form to the Admissions office, where the credit will be added to your transcript. If minor changes need to be made, you will be asked to make modifications and then resubmit the portfolio. If the portfolio is deemed entirely unacceptable (i.e., major changes need to be made), no re-write will be allowed and you will forfeit the fee.

You will receive credit notification (i.e., approval of your portfolio) via e-mail prior to the start of the following semester to allow for schedule modification, if necessary.

You can collect your portfolio in the Engineering Career Resources & Employer Relations office during the second week of the semester in which you return to campus.


Portfolio Submission Deadlines

You may submit your portfolio anytime during your third work assignment, prior to the deadlines shown below. You are not obliged to turn in your portfolio early, but remember that the earlier you submit the portfolio, the earlier you will learn whether or not you passed and, therefore, whether or not you will need to register for the regular English 202C class.

The portfolio submission deadlines* are:

  • Spring Semester: April 30
  • Summer Semester: July 30
  • Fall Semester: November 1

*If a due date in a given semester falls on a weekend, the portfolio will be due by 5:00 p.m. the Monday immediately following the weekend.

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