Abstract: Many electronic portfolios become shining but superficial collections instead of environments for nurturing insight. Instructors must balance instructional time between perfecting the technical expertise of the student and fully developing the critical expertise needed for the student to become a thoughtful scholar. In a deliberate move, I have developed a portfolio forum in a higher education venue to capitalize on the benefits of the reflective factor, and I have been amazed by the results. During the process, I uncovered some surprising discoveries while developing guidelines for expediting the electronic portfolio process, crafting a methodology for exploiting the reflective factor, and compiling essential portfolio forum principles. By utilizing the portfolio forum, each step in the reflection process is deliberately developed to create an orchestrated discussion arena for stimulating intellectual maturity, professionalism, and growth in all students and it can be adapted to any level of instruction.