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Hi, I trust that this does not come under the heading of 'advertising or spamming' - however I would like to respond to your request.

I am the authorised re-seller of eFolio in the UK (see my blog at http://www.efoliointheuk.blogspot.com)

I am convinced that the ePortfolio system that you require should be free-standing of any institutional system (see http://issuu.com/efoliouk/docs/ten_prime_directives)  Although the 'Ten Prime Directives' document is written for mainstream education, the eFolio tool is highly appropriate for PhD students. I give a couple of examples here: http://paulgorski.efoliomn.com/  and  http://vanceholmes.efoliomn.com/metro_state/Home

I do not see the ePortfolio as belonging to the institution and laden with their assessment tools, but rather a personal 'learner-owned' document that is therefore truly portable and self-representational as the examples above indicate.

Although eFolio is not a 'free' product, (as we provide extensive educational support) the costs are significantly lower than other products (less than half) and eFolio is particularly designed for Lifelong or steadily maturing use.  I would be more than happy to supply free evaluation for up to one year, if a group of your students were interested.

Kind Regards,
Ray Tolley