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Fine and Performing Arts Division Planning Summary
January 2014
I.
II.
Description of the Division
A.
The Fine and Performing Arts Division office is located in the A Building, Room 109. The departments in the division are housed throughout the Santa Ana College Campus, including the C Building (Art, Communication Studies, Communications and Media
Studies), the N building (Music), the P building (Theatre) with partial use of the A building (the Art Department’s photography and 3-D animation programs and general education lecture courses), D building (Communication Studies), I building
(Communication Studies) and the G building (Dance). The Fine and Performing Arts
Division is a partner in the Digital Media Center, where the TV/Video Department is located, as well as classrooms for the Art Department’s Digital Media program and the
Music Department’s Digital Music program.
B.
The Fine and Performing Arts division is comprised of seven departments: Art, Dance,
Music, Theatre, TV/Video Communications, Communications and Media Studies
(formerly Journalism) and Communication Studies (formerly Speech Communication).
C.
The Division has 21 full time tenured or tenure-track faculty and 37 adjunct faculty members. The staff include one management (Dean), 5 full time classified, 8 on-going part-time classified, and 11 short-term, part-time classified employees. Classified staff includes administrative secretaries and clerks, but also video technicians, costume technicians, lighting technicians, stage manager, technical and production coordinator, gallery coordinator, gallery technician, models, accompanists, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, sound designer and instructional assistants.
Mission and Vision
A.
1. The mission of Santa Ana College Division of Fine and Performing Arts aligns with the college mission to be a leader and partner in meeting the intellectual, cultural, technological, workforce and economic development needs of our diverse community.
The departments prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions for further enhancement of subject knowledge; for employment and careers in the performing arts and professional media, education or allied fields. The division fosters creativity, academic excellence and the practical application of learning in a dynamic, studentcentered environment. There is to be a particular focus in departments on the intersection of arts and technology.
2. The division is to provide transferring students across all disciplines with essential general education offerings in the humanities and cultural breadth and helps foster a deep awareness of how the creative and aesthetic aspects of the visual, performing and communication arts enrich our intellectual lives and our community.

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III.
B. The department missions and vision align with the Division and college mission and vision through the academic and career pathways provided for students and the production of fine arts events performed by students and professionals attended by SAC students, staff and the public.
1. The Division offers 15 AA Degrees and 18 Certificates of Achievement. AA-T’s in Art,
Art History, Communication studies, Communications and Media Studies, Music and
Theatre have been approved. The Division is developing the AA-T for film. Dance is waiting for the AA-T in Dance to be approved by the state. (Dance is being argued over as throughout the state it is housed under many different departments – in its own department, or as part of kinesiology, theatre or music departments.)
2 .In Fall 2013, there were over 1800 attendees to ticketed events presented in Phillips
Hall Theatre (Theatre, Dance and Music productions), over 2000 attending free events such as the Art Gallery shows at the SAC Art Gallery on campus and SAC Arts at the
Santora in downtown Santa Ana, and another 1000 students attending free events such as the 20 music recitals performed in C-104, the Music Department’s Piano Recital, the
Dance Department’s Studio Night and the SAC Film Festival Showcase ( a joint production by TV/Video Communications and Theatre Department).The TV/Video
Communications Department produces a news show for broadcast along with student projects posted on the web. Communications and Media Studies published the nationally recognized El Don Newspaper along which also is posted on the web and viewed monthly by thousands of patrons. In Spring 2014, the division launches a new production called “The Santora Series” which in partnership with the new owner of the Santora Building. It will feature theatre, music and dance events performed in the
Santora Building in downtown Santa Ana.
Objectives, Goals and Outcomes
A.
Divisions Goals, Objectives and Outcomes
1.
Student Achievement in the Division has continued to be clarified and refined through student learning outcomes and course objectives. In Fall 2012, 6,300 students took courses in the Division. The Course completion rate averages 71%, ranging from a high of 84% in TV Video Communications, 78% in Communication
Studies, 76% in Photography and Theatre, 68% in Communications and Media
Studies, 67% in Music, 65% in Art to 63% in Dance.
2.
TV/Video Communication, Communications and Media Studies, Dance and Music have launched students in to successful careers. Pathway Completion is now being strongly emphasized in the Division. In 2012-13, every department had graduates in their AA programs; ranging from 16 in Communication Studies, 6 in TV/Video
Communication, 5 in Art, 5 in Music, 2 in Dance, to I each in Communication and
Media Studies and Theatre Arts, Technical. The CTE programs are a vital and

P a g e | 3 growing component of the division. In 2012-13, the certificates awarded were 18 in
3-D Animation, 9 in TV/Video Communication, 5 in Art Digital Media and 2 in Dance.
3.
The curriculum has been updated with AA-T’s in Art, Art History, Communications and Media Studies, Communication Studies, Music and Theatre. (The AA-T in Dance is not available as it is still being debated at the state level because it is housed in so many different departments - by itself or in kinesiology, theatre or music departments). The goal of the division is to pass the courses necessary for the AA-T in Film in Spring 2014.
4.
Technology is a vital part of the Division programs. The goals of the division are to meet the need for properly mediated classrooms in the general education courses offered in our division, and, in the CTE area, the requirement for up-to-date equipment to support current trends in the workforce. A concern is the upcoming move away from software and in to Cloud based technology. The fees for cloud based programs are expected to rise substantially. As PC’s and laptops fade away, tablets will need to be purchased. Our theatre facility also needs updated technology to support the production of quality theatre, music and dance events.
5.
Resource Allocation is the most critical area for the Division. Past budget reductions have left the division underfunded in the areas of equipment and personnel. The facilities, both classrooms and performance spaces, are old, inefficient, and crowded. (See IV for details). On a positive note, the hiring of three new faculty this spring in the areas of Communication Studies, (Art) Digital Media Arts and Music will allow for a strengthening of programs in those departments.
6.
Professional development has been minimal, and mostly funded by faculty’s own resources. It is a division goal to develop a comprehensive professional development plan that strengthens management, staff and faculty for the good of the entire division.
B.
Aligning with the Strategic Plan, the Division strives to be a leader in its impact on the community, workforce development and innovation. The EL Don Newspaper, produced by the Communications and Media Studies Department, continues to win national awards. Another example of impacting the community is Professor Chris Cannon
(Theatre Department) using funds from the SAC Foundation to create a specific website for the theatre (both productions and academic programs). He is using social media to reach new audiences, alumni, current and prospective students. The Division will expand his model to other departments. The Division seeks to maintain the innovation of its CTE programs through greater attention to future trends and the acquisition of up-

P a g e | 4 to-date equipment. A goal for the Division is also to promote the concept of STEAM.
This is the intersection of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with the
Arts as most readily seen in the digital arts area.
IV.
Resources Needed o Staffing: 2 additional video technicians for TV/Video (19 hours each) o Staffing: Additional hours for accompanists in music and dance o Staffing: Classified manager (engineer) for TV/Video o Staffing: 2 additional theatre technicians (19 hours) o Staffing for productions: Additional LHE for costume, set, music designers o Staffing: Costume technicians for costume shop o Instruction: Expand TV instruction to 5 days; currently M-TH (prior to 2008, instruction was M- TH and Sat morning) – program impacted, high demand for use of labs on Sat o Instruction: Hire second full-time faculty in dance o Facilities: Use of additional classroom at DMC for TV/Video courses o Facilities: New Fine and Performing Arts Complex as contained in SAC Facilities Master
Plan o Facilities: Begin planning for proper space for Communication Studies and
Communications and Media Studies. They are currently housed in the C building (Art) but do not have designated space in the new F&PA Complex. o Facilities: Create a second dance studio from existing space o Facilities: Additional storage space for TV Equipment, currently in container at CEC o Facilities: Proper, on campus storage space for theatre and dance costumes (currently off-site and in container) o Facilities: Additional parking at DMC o Facilities: search for Storefront Art Gallery in downtown Santa Ana
V.
Characteristics and Trends
The Division has a strong General Education presence at Santa Ana College, and attendance at our productions is up by 60%. However, enrollment in the advanced courses is softening. The Fall 2013 FTES target was 752.60, and the actual was 679.03 FTES. (minus 73.57). Intersession 2014 was very successful, with a target FTES of 47 and an actual of 60.42 (plus 13.42). Enrollments for Spring 2014 again appear to be soft in the advance courses.
This reflects the biggest impact on the Division this academic year: the instigation of the repeatability restriction on the technical courses in art, dance and music. Besides lowering the enrollment in the advanced courses, the departments have to develop strategies to ensure their students are technically competent in their art for successful transfer.
An example is the dance department. The four typical colleges for transfer, CSU Long Beach, CSU
Fullerton, UC Irvine and Chapman University have dance programs that are in the top ten nationally. To overcome the obstacle of growing up in a poor community without childhood private dance training,
SAC students who have been successful as transfers have trained at Santa Ana College for an average of three to four years. The dance department is now researching other institutions for student transfer as

P a g e | 5 well as focusing on developing more CTE options. The Dean will be attending a conference with other regional Fine Arts Deans on January 31 st to address this problem.
The digital media arts area continues to grow, and holds promise for future CTE funds and additional programs. This year, the Division has aligned with the Business Division to support a stackable certificate in independent contractor skills. This allows artists, musicians, dancers, actors, who are traditionally hired as independent contractors, to have greater business acumen in marketing themselves and negotiating contracts. Examples include quinceñera photography and choreography.
CTE funding has been used for qualified programs. Working with advisory boards, faculty have upgraded equipment and software to industry standards. Technology carries with it a need for upgrades, repairs and replacement. An upcoming need is for TV/Video Communication to replace all cameras using outdated digital tape. The departments have a good reputation in their fields among industry professionals for producing well-prepared, knowledgeable and hardworking students.
The budget cuts reduced course offerings to a minimum. The increased budget has been used to fund general education courses in our division, but to complete the difficult skills necessary for success in our division we require advanced courses that will have smaller enrollment. Many of these areas are expensive, with equipment and classified support staff necessary. We have the knowledge to put back all the elements necessary for outstanding arts programs. The question is how this will fit in to the “new normal”. The division is committed to program quality and the resources that quality requires.
Four-year Planning

Push to realize construction of a new fine and performing arts complex that would house music, dance and theatre and include instructional classrooms, rehearsal spaces, studios and two performance spaces.
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Focus on successful programs and allocate resources that will build on past and current


 successes
Increase student degree and certificate completion and transfer rates
Maintain curricular relevance
Investigate the feasibility of developing partnerships with other local colleges to create an expanded and more diverse entertainment lighting curriculum; use the advisory board more

Expand contact and exchanges with four-year universities in the area and beyond

Expand performance opportunities for touring ensembles in dance, theatre and music
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Gradually restore course offerings as budget permits
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Restore classified staffing
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Develop funding for specific programs, scholarships and faculty development; explore grant and alternative funding opportunities

Create a cohesive fund raising strategy for the departments in the division with the SAC
Foundation
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Never lose sight of our standards of excellence

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