Guidelines for Finishing Div I

Before you leave for the spring you will be expected to present to your advisor a portfolio of the work you did during the first year. This portfolio will include your Division I retrospective essay, representative samples of your work that illustrate your intellectual and artistic development and show the progress you've made in each of the four cumulative skills. The portfolio must also include documentation of your CEL-1.

You will also need to complete an online procedure: log into TheHub, go to Division I completion. Select your Division I courses from your schedule. In addition to course evaluations, you will be able to see your CEL-1 reflection as well as faculty comments on your progress in the cumulative skills, which you can refer to as you compose your retrospective essay. Post your retrospective essay and remember to fill out the Division II Intent Form on TheHub.

Your advisor will then write your overall Division I evaluation, consulting your course evaluations and guided by material you present in your portfolio.

Putting together the portfolio

First, find a 3-ring binder, probably a 2" deep size. Get a set of section dividers for it. The clear binder you received at the beginning of the year is perfect for this.

Put dividers in it with the following labels:

1. Table of Contents
2. Division I retrospective essay (2-3 pp. recommended length). More about the retrospective below.
3. Copies of all evaluations and grades you have received so far.
4. A list of courses you have completed (indicate which courses satisfy the 4 distributions).
5. Documentation of your CEL-1.
6. One section for each of the cumulative skills
   • Independent Work
   • Multiple Cultural Perspectives
   • Quantitative Reasoning
   • Writing and Research

Into each of those four sections, put examples of your work that demonstrate your progress in each of those skills: papers you wrote (with faculty comments), self evaluations, and any other material that will demonstrate that you have made progress in each of these skills.

After you have completed everything except the retrospective, sit down and read through your entire portfolio (as your advisor will do). Consider the following guidelines (also available on TheHub under Division I Completion) as you draft your retrospective essay:

The Division I retrospective essay provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your experiences and accomplishments during the first semesters of college. This is your chance to tell the story of your first year at Hampshire.

The essay should be a discussion of how you began the year--what you expected your academic interests would be, and how you imagined participating in the campus community--and what you learned along the way. You should discuss the challenges you faced and the steps you have taken to meet them, as well as the 'high points' of the year: what interested you, what new ideas or topics surprised you, and what you enjoyed the most.

The essay should also contain a discussion of your CEL-1 activity/activities, as well as your progress on each of the cumulative skills. The essay's main goal is to provide a clear picture of your progress as a student and member of the community during your first year at Hampshire.

Meeting with your advisor

The final step in Division I completion is a meeting with your advisor during which you discuss your Division I portfolio and your plans for Division II. Progress Review Week is a period that has been set aside for such meetings. Your advisor will be able to write your Division I evaluation later in June, after spring course evaluations are posted on TheHub.