Multiple purposes of ePortfolios in higher education: a case study of one department

This case study was designed to investigate how the multiple purposes of ePortfolios in support of learning, program assessment, and institutional accountability were expressed in one department. The research site was purposefully identified: the most mature constituency of the eDoc electronic portfolio system initiative at Iowa State University (ISU), the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN), integrated the practice of ePortfolios in its undergraduate curriculum to track student progress, assess the quality of its programs, and prepare for accreditation.;A qualitative interpretive approach was adopted for this research. Rich in content and depth, data were collected from a variety of sources, including semi-structured interviews with the students and faculty members (both instructors and administrators); student electronic portfolios; course, program and departmental documentation; observations; and participant feedback. Process tracing through lateral and vertical iteration was the analytical procedure employed in this study.;The major research outcomes of this study are as follows: (1) Multiple purposes of support for learning, program assessment, and institutional accountability created a tension in this department that was triggered by: (a) Perceptual differences for portfolio development in students and faculty. (b) Student and faculty differences in understanding portfolio purposes. (2) This tension was recognized and regulated through: (a) Entrepreneurial activities of those faculty members who were enthusiastic about ePortfolios. (b) Leveraging grass root movement and administrative support for portfolio development in the department.;The implications of this research emphasize the importance of embedded curriculum, active participation of all stakeholders, leverage of grassroots and administrative support and attention to irreconcilable differences of portfolio purposes for successful ePortfolio development