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Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Art BA (Photography)

2 Goals    2 Objectives    2 Indicators    2 Criteria    2 Findings    2 Actions


GOAL: Proficiency In Digital Photographic Techniques

Objective  
Demonstrate Digital Imaging Skills
Students will demonstrate proficiency in the creation, manipulation, and printing of digital images.

Indicator  
Senior Exhibition  
Seniors in the BA Photography program will take ARTS 4913 and mount an exhibition of a body of their photographic work.

The work in the exhibition will:

• demonstrate technical proficiency with the use of digital cameras.
• demonstrate the ability to manipulate and/or adjust images with digital imaging software.
• demonstrate proficiency in digital printing techniques.
• demonstrate the student's ability to express and communicate ideas and concepts through the medium of photography.
 
Criterion  
70% Of Students Will Score 80% Or Higher  
The exhibitions will be evaluated by 2 members of the Photo faculty. The faculty will use a rubric that uses a scale of 0-100% to evaluate the abilities and proficiencies. It is expected that at least 70% of the students evaluated will score 80% or higher in each aspect of the evaluation, particularly in the area of techniques used to produce archival ink jet prints from digital media, a weakness identified in 2010-2011.
Finding  
Students Are Proficient  
In evaluation of work in the Graduating Senior Exhibition, 84% of the students demonstrated proficiency in all of the photographic techniques. One student did not demonstrate proficiency in any of the techniques. The data suggests that the problem was likely with this particular student rather than with the curriculum. The other 5 students who graduated in the fall exhibited large scale, archival ink jet prints that demonstrated proficiency using digital cameras and imaging software. The same student who was not proficient in these techniques did not demonstrate the ability to express concepts and ideas through the work. The others demonstrated this.
Actions for Objective:

Action  
Continue To Evaluate And Increase Sample Size  
The graduating seniors in the Spring 2012 were a small sample group (6). Faculty will increase the sample size by evaluating students in an upper level course in addition to those graduating.



GOAL: Knowledge Of The History Of Photography

Objective  
Historical And Contemporary Knowledge
Students in the BA Photography program will have an understanding of the History of Photography. They will be familiar with contemporary theories, trends and practices in photography and be able to contextualize ideas in the continuum of this history and understand the relation of their own work to photography that has preceded it.

Indicator  
Historical Analysis Essay  
Students in ARTS 3381, The History of Photography, will write a two page evaluation of two photographs of their choice. One photograph will be from the 19th century and the second will be a work created after 1975. The evaluation will discuss the formal attributes of the photograph, the style, the social or political influences, the technology use, and the subject matter.

The essays will:
• provide a clear introduction and draw conclusions supported by visual and contextual evidence.
• move from specific examples to general statements.
• describe the works accurately and clearly.
• use vocabulary introduced in classroom lectures and photography history textbooks.
• convey a clear and convincing image of their perspective.
• use external information about the cultural context and photographic techniques gathered from readings and presentations.
• present an understanding of the works in a way that is convincing and supported by detailed evidence.
• sum up major ideas and draw convincing conclusions grounded in visual evidence and contextual information. 
Criterion  
70% Will Score 80% Or Higher  
The essays will be evaluated by 2 members of the Photo faculty. The faculty will use a rubric that uses a scale of 0-100% to evaluate the abilities and proficiencies. It is expected that at least 70% of the students evaluated will score 80% or higher in each aspect of the evaluation, especially in the area of assimilating information and creating an original idea or statement about the works, a weakness that emerged in 2010-2011. 
Finding  
Data Unavailable  
This data is unavailable. The faculty member who taught this course did not submit it for evaluation and is no longer teaching at SHSU.
Actions for Objective:

Action  
Continue To Evaluate  
Data will be gathered from this course in 2012-13 for evaluation.




Closing the Loop

Students graduating from the Photography program in the Art Department produced work that demonstrated proficiency in techniques, the ability to produce a cohesive body of work, and the ability to express concepts through their work. While the data was not available to evaluate specific historical knowledge, the evaluation of the work in the exhibition also indicated an awareness of contemporary art in over 80% of the students. Nevertheless, we realize that a sample of six graduating seniors will have reliability/validity issues, so we will combine graduating seniors with anoher class of senior-level students.


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