The Personal Development Portfolio Program

Consistent with its mission statement, Bridgewater College provides a social and academic environment where students can develop as whole persons. The distinctive Personal Development Portfolio (PDP) Program is the coordinating vehicle by which this development is fostered at the college. In developing the whole person, Bridgewater College seeks to cultivate the following four dimensions of personal development:

Citizenship and Community Responsibility

At Bridgewater, students become more aware, involved, and effective citizens of the communities -- campus, local, national, global -- to which they belong. Responsible citizenship at Bridgewater implies the ability and willingness to provide leadership and other forms of service to the community.

Intellectual Growth and Discovery

In addition to meeting the minimum academic standards specified in the catalog, Bridgewater students develop the skills and perspectives to be passionate lifelong learners who can integrate their varied academic period experiences in a meaningful way.

Emotional Maturation and Physical Health

Bridgewater students understand the importance of emotional and physical well-being, and possess the skills to pursue wellness during their college years and throughout the rest of their lives.

Ethical and Spiritual Growth

The curricular and co-curricular experiences at Bridgewater require students to examine and act upon fundamental ethical choices, and to define, refine, and pursue their personal spiritual paths. The unifying concept of the four dimensions is responsibility: responsibility to the communities to which we belong; to our intellectual, emotional, and physical well being; and to our principles and values.

It is the responsibility of each student, in consultation with academic advisors and other faculty and staff, to pursue and demonstrate development in each dimension during each year of residence. This development may occur through a wide variety of activities both in and out of the classroom, and is monitored every semester by the advisor.

During the freshman year, students are enrolled in PDP 150: Personal Development and the Liberal Arts, a 3-credit academic course which provides an introduction both to the Personal Development Portfolio Program as well as to important concepts and skills students will need as they pursue a liberal arts education. During the sophomore and junior years, students plan and document their development in the four dimensions, integrating all of their experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. Sophomores and juniors receive a grade, given by their academic advisor, of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. During the senior year, a team of faculty members evaluate the senior portfolio and assign a grade based on a standard set of criteria and a standard scoring rubric. A passing grade on the senior portfolio is a requirement for graduation.

There are four major components of the senior portfolio:

1. The reflective essay integrates the four dimensions of personal development, including reflection on required service learning, and extensively integrates all the student's experiences, both curricular and co-curricular.

2. The résumé must meet specific criteria and must be accompanied by a cover letter or graduate school application essay.

3. Service learning documentation provides a record of service learning throughout the four years.

4. Supporting materials, such as academic projects, essays, creative work, evaluations, and other documents provide outside documentation of experiences discussed within the reflective essay.

The PDP program is guided by three central themes:

1. Preparation - The program prepares the student for the non-academic as well as the academic aspects of college life through PDP 150, Personal Development and the Liberal Arts. This stimulating course is the basic foundational experience of the liberal arts curriculum and the PDP program, and is a required course for all entering freshman.

2. Reflection - Critical reflection enhances the meaning of an experience, and therefore augments the personal growth that can ensure from that experience. Several elements of the program - PDP 150, annual essay, the interaction with the advisor, the creation of the final portfolio itself -- are intended to foster a greater consciousness of the personal development which takes place during the college years.

3. Integration - Throughout the four years, the program is the setting by which the student integrates the college experience. In the reflective essay, the student is asked to consider the linkages among the various elements of the curriculum and the co-curriculum.