Students and alumni of the California State University’s 23 campuses will now have access to a state-of-the-art online network for professional development.

The CSU system entered a three-year agreement with Portfolium, a cloud-based network that provides alumni and students the opportunity to display their skills and accomplishments in online portfolios. The partnership will give CSU’s 460,000 students and three million alumni access to the unique social networking site, which allows them to connect with employers, alumni and current students.

The partnership with Portfolium highlights the CSU’s commitment to high-impact practices that support student success and expand opportunity. The tool enhances student success by focusing on outcomes including career readiness, skills planning, assessment and reflection, and employer engagement.

“The CSU is excited about its partnership with Portfolium, which represents another tool to help our students be successful while attending the university, as well as help them find jobs after they graduate,” said Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Loren Blanchard. “We also see this as another way to increase the opportunities for networking among our alumni.”

Students and alumni have access to the Portfolium network for their CSU campus. Through this network, they can create a digital portfolio of their academic and professional accomplishments including projects, presentations and papers. The interface highlights talents and achievements that aren’t easily captured in a traditional resume, and their work is showcased in a collaborative environment that connects them directly to companies, recruiters, internships and jobs.

“I couldn’t be more proud to partner with the world’s top university system, not only because of CSU’s sheer size or history of academic excellence, but because of the system’s commitment to working with us to map the new college-to-career journey for millions of new graduates over the years to come,” said Portfolium CEO Adam Markowitz.

The partnership is rooted in successful launches at CSU San Marcos, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and CSU Northridge. An incredible 70 percent of San Marcos students began building their portfolios within just three days of the campus-wide rollout. Due to the positive buzz, over 80,000 CSU students have already joined and started their portfolios organically outside of Cal Poly, Northridge and San Marcos.

About the California State University

The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 47,000 faculty and staff and more than 460,000 students. Half of the CSU’s students transfer from California Community Colleges.