DATE:
April 24, 2000
TO:
Julie Furst-Bowe
FROM:
John Murphy, Dean
College of Arts and Sciences
SUBJECT:
Response to Program Review of B.F.A. in Art
I concur with the consultant’s report regarding the B.F.A. in Art. The program is a quality program with
talented faculty and the students seem to be very satisfied. I also concur with the listed “opportunities for
program enrichment.” Equipment replacement cycles are a continuing concern. Advising and course
access continue to be areas of concern. The department and the dean’s office are working in concert to
address these issues.
The consultants made several recommendations to the dean. The first was to investigate the feasibility of
separating the program direction of the B.F.A. and the Art Education programs. The relationship between
these two programs, both in emphasis and course requirements, requires very close coordination of the
two programs. Many of the requirements and courses overlap to a significant degree in both programs.
Students in the programs may be best served by having a single point of coordination, which is achieved
through a single program director. The department is planning a retreat for next fall to assess its
programs and develop a strategic plan for its future. This topic should be included in those discussions.
The consultants asked that the dean and department chair develop a plan for renewal of computer
equipment and software. These issues continue to be an ongoing concern for most areas within the
university. Lab mod, university reserves, the Chancellor’s and Provost’s Office and CAS resources have
all been used to provide for staffing and equipment needs. With the dean’s encouragement, the
department has begun to investigate independent funding sources to help fund these demands. The dean
and chair will continue to meet regarding these needs.
It was also suggested that advisement issues be addressed in the coming year. The program director and
department have indicated their intentions to address the advising concerns raised by the review. The Art
and Design Advisory Committee will be called upon to assess the current process and make
recommendations to enhance this process.
A further suggestion was made that the chair, program director and dean work with the Admissions
Office to manage enrollment. This has been, and will continue to be, a priority. The college and
department have worked closely with the Admissions Office to manage enrollments. The department has
been asked to examine course sequencing and scheduling so that it can best match program demands with
existing resources. Class sizes need to be addressed in terms of their appropriateness of size by using
both departmental and university standards. The needs of the students and the university will be balanced
against the ability of the department to adequately support program concentrations at appropriate levels.
Recommendation for the Department Chair:
2. Develop a plan for the renewal of computer lab equipment and software.
Response:
Lab modernization projects are currently the primary method used to address upgrading and
replacement of computer hardware and software for labs that support the programmatic needs. The
department is presently completing a project in AA 125 that provides for current hardware and
software. A proposal for MH 176 was submitted three years ago in anticipation of upgrading that
facility and has yet to be funded. It is essential that the MH 176 proposal be funded if the department
is to keep pace with and compatible with other hardware, software and labs on campus. Additional
planning between the department and the college can provide strategies that can take advantage of
available resources and opportunities for support. A focused review will take place between the
department and college during Fall 2000 to explore and plan for updating and replacing key
equipment and identifying the best strategies for software replacement.
3. Identify advisement issues and develop a plan to address the concerns where possible. Creative
solutions by other programs include group advisement, four-year program plan sheets, etc.
In Fall 2000, the Department of Art and Design Advisory Committee will be called upon to review
available information and further survey advisors and students about the present advising process.
The committee will make recommendations for improvements and efficiencies that will enhance the
advising process with those improvements being tested during Spring 2001. Also, the Department
Advisory Committee will be called to develop an ongoing evaluation process for advising that
identifies strengths and weaknesses.
Recommendation for Department Chair and Program Director:
4. Continue to work with the Admissions Office to manage enrollment. Department chair and dean’s
office will need to collaborate to reduce class sizes where appropriate and increase student access to
courses and course sequences that enhance student movement through the program.
Response:
The department chair and dean will continue to work with the program director to manage enrollment
targets that reflect the best program size relative to support levels. A focused review of class sizes
will take place in Fall 2000 to ensure class sizes are appropriate and manageable. Also, strategies will
be identified to enhance student access to courses and identify ways to enhance student movement
through the program.
Recommendation for Department Chair:
5. Study student and advisor concerns regarding the advisement process. Develop and implement a
plan to improve advisement.
Response:
See response to Question #3.
Recommendation for Department Chair and Program Director:
6. Identify areas of course overlap and/or redundancy and work with department and faculty to reduce
or eliminate overlap or unnecessary redundancy.
Response:
As designed, all courses in the curriculum are there to meet the objectives of the program. By virtue
of natural progression and developmental needs related to sound pedagogy, content of certain courses
is meant to mesh, overlap and to some degree, therefore, be repeated. However, over time there can
be “curricular drift” which results in unnecessary redundancy. This tendency can be exacerbated by
new faculty and/or adjunct faculty teaching courses that are part of an intricate core. To prevent this,
two possible solutions will be implemented. One, already in progress, is to have the faculty review,
evaluate and revise coursework. Another is to have senior faculty, chair and program director work
more closely with new incoming instructional staff to ensure that the particular objectives of each
course that they will teach is clearly presented and understood – along with an explanation of how all
coursework in the curriculum interrelates.
Recommendations for Program Director:
7. Seek accreditation for concentrations where appropriate and most useful for students and graduates.
Response:
As described in the Program Review Report, the faculty strongly believes in external evaluation and
validation. We will continue to maintain our current accreditation and will monitor whether any
additional accreditation is warranted.
8. Continue to develop the assessment in the major process.
Response:
The current assessment plan is working well however, the current report is overdue. All the data has
been collected but is just now being evaluated, and should yield conclusions with a report by early
summer. The assessment process will be maintained and, hopefully, kept on schedule in the future.
9. Develop a recruitment plan that targets students interested in underutilized concentrations and target
minorities where possible.
Response:
Strategies that will be employed include:
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A closer working relationship with the admission counselors will be kept to ensure that the underenrolled concentrations are optimally promoted. The Art Program Office will work to improve
printed materials and web identity.
Area faculty, along with the program director, will visit local and regional high schools and
Center Campuses to promote the program.
The Program Office will work closely with the Admissions Office and Multicultural Student
Services to ensure that all the university’s efforts to diversify are maximized. Special visits to
promote Art and Art Education will be conducted at high schools identified as having large
minority populations.
10. In conjunction with the program committee, develop an admission screening tool to be used with
enrollment management.
Response:
Possible screening strategies are already being discussed among the faculty, with an ad hoc
committee being formed by the program director to facilitate further discussion. All findings at the
department level will be forwarded to the Program Advisory Committee for their consideration. In
that committee, an admission policy will be drafted and forwarded to the CIC, EAC and AAAT for
formal adoption by the university. It is hoped that a new admission policy will be in place by the time
students are admitted for Fall 2002.
11. Investigate the need to actively continue all program concentrations.
Response:
Currently, all concentrations are seen as being healthy in terms of their enrollment, service to students
and society. As has been done in the past, the viability of all the program’s concentrations will
continue to be regularly monitored to ensure that they are serving students.
12. Work with Placement Services to develop a plan to improve the use and services provided by that
office.
Response:
The program director has recently begun to discuss ways in which Art students might better benefit
from Placement Services. Those discussions will continue. With the recent addition of services and
options, such as electronic resumes and portfolios, improvements to that end have already been
realized.