Nicholas Skelton 
A creative montage of a side profile silhouette of a man wearing glasses and colorful artistic accents inside of his mind and body.
It’s a fairly simple answer to the question, “Who owns your eportfolio if you are a student?” Common logic says the student does. However, if the student started the process of an eportfolio while they were in a class where they were asked to created one, or in my case, a masters program, does that mean the student owns the rights to it or does the school? When creating something for a class, you have ownership because of your thoughts and hard work put in. But it’s not that simple. Schools and universities (even companies) are putting their personal stamp on student/employee work for their own position and notoriety. Do you really own your work if you’re a student or employee? Most would say yes, some would say no.
My brother graduated from a fairly well known and respected film school a few years ago. When trying to put a “reel” together he ran into a problem. He was in school to learn how to “make movies” or films and learn the behind the scenes in and outs. He wrote, directed, shot, edited, ADR and what have you on his films. However, according to the school, he did not own the films. It seems that his legal right on intellect only took it as far as the film in the camera. The school owned and provided the film. Therefore, anything on the film became property of the school. It was pretty sad because at that time not everyone had access to media like they do today and there was a lot of art “lost” to the school. Because the school owned the rights, he wasn’t to put any of his films up for festivals, screening or anything that could help boost his image or at least have a “reel” to show studios or film makers. This is just one example of what a school or institution can do to hinder their student growth in society after school. Why would any school want to limit their students’ potential of getting employment after graduation? To me it is absurd to even think of holding a student back or telling them they cannot own what they create.
Luckily it seems times are changing with the rise or technology and the internet. Colleges, high school and universities are encouraging students start an eportfolio or CV to help them, not only during their time as a student but also after graduation. Schools are moving to sites like Google or even their own servers allowing students to have their own personal webpage(s) so they can track all their schoolwork and get ready for the future. It is a place where a student can have “A room of one’s own.” With this help from the schools, students can finally have their ownership to their work/art/intellect at their own finger tips. It would be great if high schools or even middle schools were to incorporate websites for their students. Yes, I’m sure there will be the “nay sayers” and those who find the worse in why students shouldn’t have webpages. But think of what the possibilities could be if we allowed the students to have and create. Let them spread their accomplishments, goals and dreams across for the world to see.
Rikard, A. (2018, December 27). Do I Own My Domain If You Grade It? – EdSurge News. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-08-10-do-i-own-my-domain-if-you-grade-it
Watters, A. (2019, June 25). The Web We Need To Give Students. Retrieved from https://medium.com/bright/the-web-we-need-to-give-students-311d97713713
