SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Dance BFA
Dance BFA
2 Goals 2 Objectives 3 Indicators 3 Criteria 1 Finding 2 Actions
| GOAL: Dance Performance Proficiency |
| Objective |
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| Dance BFA Majors Will Demonstrate Proficiency in dance artistry, technique, and performance. |
| Indicator |
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At the conclusion of the sophomore year, each candidate for the BFA creates and presents to the dance faculty a 3-5 minute solo, which constitutes the Sophomore Gate. Dance faculty assess students on technique, performance, and choreography. Students must pass the Sophomore Gate to be retained in good standing in the dance program. The attached rubric details the elements of choreography and performance that are assessed in the presentation. This rubric was developed in April, 2010, to replace the solely qualitative assessment formerly used. Faculty used a combination of qualitative remarks and quantitative scores to assess each student. |
| Criterion |
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The expected Proficiency Standard for the Sophomore BFA program that 100% of BFA students completing their Sophomore year and submitting to the Sophomore Gate adjudication would demonstrate at least a "Satisfactory" compiled judge's score for proficiency in technique, performance, and choreography on the 3-level evaluation scale (outstanding, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory) |
| Indicator |
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Students representative of the SHSU Dance BFA program's students in good standing will be recognized by external adjudication as being outstanding performers. Each year, the SHSU dance program submits choreographic work to be adjudicated at the South-Central region of the American College Dance Festival. In this forum, both the merit of choreography and the performance of the dancers is evaluated with detailed oral feedback from three professionals in the dance community. Works considered to demonstrate exceptional quality are selected for the Gala concert. In even numbered years, between 2 and 4 works are selected to be presented at the Kennedy Center National Festival in Washington DC. |
| Criterion |
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| In 2012, the SHSU dance program's dancers will be judged to be excellent by a jury of the South-Central region of the American College Dance Festival |
| Finding |
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| Both the student and faculty works adjudicated at ACDF were acclaimed by the panel of three dance professionals. Assistant Professor Jonathan Charles Smith's ballet was selected for the Gala, and was the alternate selection for the national festival at The Kennedy Center. |
Actions for Objective:
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The current methods of assessment of dance technique and artistry will be ongoing with dance faculty. |
| GOAL: Dance Choreography Proficiency |
| Objective |
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| Dance BFA students will demonstrate proficiency in choreography by the culmination of the BFA sequence of choreography courses. The demonstrated choreographic proficiency will include a grasp of choreographic form, movement invention, and the ability to direct student dancers who are cast in a choreographic piece. |
| Indicator |
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BFA candidates will undergo Senior Studio evaluation. For their Senior Studio performance evaluation, students produce and present a public concert, in which each candidate will create an original choreographic work. Students are evaluated by faculty panel on effectiveness of choreographic concept utilizing a standardized rubric. Students' evaluations include assessments of their grasp of choreographic form, movement invention, and their ability to direct students cast in the work Since this is the first year the dance faculty has assessed the Senior Studio beyond the instructor of record assigning a letter grade for the course, we have used the Sophomore Gate Adjudication Rubric as a starting point. |
| Criterion |
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| The expectation of the BFA program is that all of its senior BFA candidates will demonstrate more than adequate choreographic proficiency. However, because the 2010 Faculty review and evaluation of the Senior Studio was being standardized for the first time and because the evaluation was employing a rubric which had never been tried for this purpose, only a passing vs. failing level of proficiency could be gauged; hence the 2010 criterion was that 100% of senior BFA candidates would "pass" the evaluation. |
Actions for Objective:
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Dance faculty noted a need for more guidance of the student choreographers during the development of these extended choreographic works and are, thus, considering whether we need to assign a faculty mentor to each choreographer, following the model that has proven successful with the Sophomore Gate. Faculty teaching loads and schedules may make this not possible for each of the candidates, however. Our first plan, therefore, will be to assign MFA students as mentors this year. |
| Closing the Loop |
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BFA candidates are developing appropriate skills in technique and performance. Expansion of levels within the sequences of ballet and modern technique in the last two years has had a very positive effect on this development. Students' creative development, however, is still in need of more mentorship. Faculty will meet after the Senior Studio concert in December 2012 to evaluate the effect, if any, of having graduate student mentorship of senior BFA candidates in the choreographic process.
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