The administration, staff and friends of the former e-Portfolio office gathered in Jordan Park on the afternoon of Aug. 30 for a “Closure Potluck Celebration” to honor all the e-Portfolio program had accomplished.
E-Portfolio closed at the end of summer semester 2025.
“It’s a heart loss; it’s not a financial loss,” said Emily Thompson, former director of e-Portfolio.
Thompson believed that under her direction the office explored and expanded how an e-Portfolio could document and enhance students’ academic success.
“We didn’t always have the answers – we were exploring,” Thompson said. The open-ended investigation within e-Portfolio labs was one of the things she loved about her job.
Twenty-plus people attended the picnic to recognize e-Portfolio’s work, gathering together while they noshed on hot dogs and burgers, cazuelas, salads, antojitos and homemade cupcakes.
“What I liked about e-Portfolio was making an inclusive space for students,” said Alfredo Martinez, an e-Portfolio specialist and recent graduate in computer science. “I loved seeing [students] grow and learn.”
The idea of e-Portfolio being different types of “space,” came up repeatedly.
“e-Portfoliio was a really safe space,” said Xitlali Velazquez, a graduate in psychology who worked in the labs. “I knew I was welcome. And I helped people who cared.”
Chris Apple, a humanities major, is one of the students who appreciated e-Portfolio’s “inclusive space.”
“I’ve come back to school in my 50s,” said Apple, who previously worked for a local LGBTQ newspaper 20 years ago. “It’s been challenging; all the technology – everything has changed.”
Apple found the support she needed in the Taylorsville Redwood campus e-Portfolio lab.
“It was one of the few places I could come and not feel different,” she said. “I came every day to do homework, socialize, and work on e-Portfolio. It was like a family there.”
Lab staff helped Apple with understanding course requirements, class schedules and dealing with academic life online, as well as e-Portfolio. She was “shocked” at the closure of the program and labs.
“I didn’t see this coming,” Apple said.
E-Portfolio had four labs at the Taylorsville, South City, Jordan and Herriman campuses. The program had dozens of peer specialists to help students. The webpage also had video instructions to help students do specific tasks on the platform.
Despite the program’s end, SLCC administrators encourage students to continue the use of an e-Portfolio.
“[e-Portfolios] are a great way to document one’s learning, accomplishments, and reflections,” David Hubert, the associate provost of learning advancement, wrote in an email to The Globe after the closure.
The administration collapsed e-Portfolio into the Engaged Learning office. Engaged Learning staff at the Taylorsville Redwood campus include peer leaders Abdelaziz Awad Djibrine and Patton Kirkpatrick, and coordinator Ethan Hoggan.
“I think it’s going to change how we accomplish goals and how students find the help they need,” said Apple. “Who knows what will replace e-Portfolio? It’s walking into the unknown. I want answers.”
While questions about the closing of the program hung over the picnic, people wanted to talk about what they had loved.
“I am here to celebrate the inclusive space. People were invited in,” said Kari Rivera, a criminal justice major who had worked in the labs. “It’s a space I will feel in my heart.”
