For consistent assessment and accurate reporting, use the approved Canvas Commons templates and preserve their FA rubric and grading settings.
Two approaches to FA ePortfolio assessment are acceptable:
- Direct assessment (individual work only): The student adds their work to an ePortfolio, submits its Website URL in Canvas, and is assessed on their achievement of the FA.
- Assessment based on ePortfolio reflection (individual or group work): The student writes an individual ePortfolio reflection about previously completed work. The reflection may link to or include excerpts, images, or other documentation from the work and must focus specifically on the student's achievement of the FA.
Every FA assessment must be completed in Canvas with the provided FA rubric. Do not change a rubric's name, criteria, ratings, or any configured point values.
Import Templates and Resources
To get started, import the relevant FA Resources module from Canvas Commons to your course site.
- WSE Foundational Ability 1.1: Writing–Instructor Resources
- WSE Foundational Ability 1.2: Oral Communication–Instructor Resources
- WSE Foundational Ability 5: Ethical Reflection–Instructor Resources
- WSE Foundational Ability 6: Conceiving of and Realizing Projects–Instructor Resources
If you are assessing FA3 or FA4 through an ePortfolio submitted during CAL, please contact cmtshelp@jhu.edu.
The module contains assignment templates, links to support resources, and a student instruction page.
Each assignment template includes:
- the objectives of the FA being assessed
- default settings to require a website URL as the submission content
- technical instructions for students to publish, share, and submit the ePortfolio content
- the appropriate rubric and rubric settings
- a default value of 100 points
Choosing the Correct Template
Use the template that matches the evidence being assessed. Please note:
- For FA1.2, choose with materials when visual or other supporting materials are part of the oral communication assessment. Choose without materials when they are not.
- For FA6, use the Milestone assignment if the students are submitting a major draft or partial assignment and the Final assignment for the version that will be scored and sent to SIS for the student's record.
The FA6 Milestone rubric is point-free and includes Advanced, Proficient, Nascent, and Not Yet Assessed for each criterion. The instructor records the overall assignment grade after completing the rubric. FA6 Final uses a scored rubric that calculates the overall grade automatically and is sent to SIS.
Import only the template or templates needed for your course. Do not combine, remove, or rename rubric criteria.
Decide Whether the Work Will Also Count Toward the Course Grade
The imported FA assignment records achievement of a graduation requirement. Its specialized scoring and grading scheme are not designed to calculate a conventional course grade, so the assignment must remain excluded from the course final-grade calculation.
Create a separate course-grade assignment only if you also want the ePortfolio work to contribute to the student's course grade. You may either:
- create a separate submission assignment so the student submits the work again in the format you choose; or
- create a No Submission assignment and manually enter a course grade based on the work submitted for the FA assessment.
Use your normal course point value, grading display, and course-objective rubric, if applicable, in the separate course-grade assignment. Do not attach or modify the FA rubric for that purpose.
If the work will not contribute to the course grade, no separate assignment is necessary.
Create the Assignment
- Open the imported assignment template that matches the FA evidence being assessed.
- Retain a clear reference to the FA in the assignment title. You may add course-specific wording if needed.
- Add course-specific assignment instructions.
- Do not edit the FA objectives included in the template.
- If needed, tell students to share their ePortfolio with a co-instructor or teaching assistant in addition to the instructor.
- Do not change the assignment point total, grade display, Foundational Abilities grading scheme, final-grade exclusion, submission type, or number of allowed attempts.
- If needed, move the assignment to the appropriate assignment group. Because the FA assignment is excluded from the final grade, its assignment group does not change the course-grade calculation.
- Add due and availability dates, then select Save.
- Move the assignment from the unpublished Instructor Resources module to a published, student-facing module.
- Publish the assignment when it is ready for students.
Get Help
Pedagogical Design Support
Contact the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI) for guidance and support in developing your FA ePortfolio assignments. Email ctei@jhu.edu.
Technical Support
Contact the Center for Media and Technology Solutions (CMTS) for individual assistance in using Canvas, Digication, or other educational technology. Email cmtshelp@jhu.edu or submit a request.
Technical Guides