SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Dance BFA
Dance BFA
2 Goals 2 Objectives 3 Indicators 3 Criteria 2 Findings 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) |
| Finding |
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| Having established a more detailed process for the assessment, the faculty have required that 3 of the sophomores repeat the sophomore gate this fall. For each of these students, the issue of concern was non-compliance with scheduling meetings throughout the semester with their faculty mentor, which is explicitly required and detailed in the rubric students receive. An additional student was unable to present her gate project due to illness, and will be doing so this fall. The remaining 24 students passed to our satisfaction. |
| 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 2014, 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. Further, our goal is to be selected for prsentation at The Kennedy Center in the organization's national conference in May. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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Our curriculum has been distinguished by the thorough grounding in ballet and modern dance it provides, with opportunities for study of jazz, aerial dance, contact improvisation, and other dance genres offered as electives. While maintaining the importance of sustained training in ballet and modern, our students are making choices to study these electives as additional training. Diverse training does increase dancers marketability. Combining that reality with the significant enrollment growth in both ballet andmodern classes, the curriculum will be adjusted to allow more hours of technique in forms such as jazz and aerial dance to replace hours of ballet and/or modern. This will give students more choice in their training, while reducing the number of elective hours beyond 120 that are often accumulated, and will reduce the strain on ballet and modern class enrollment levels. Ultimately, the goal is that the students will increase their range as performers. |
| 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 dance faculty have attempted to use an evaluative rubric to assess the senior choreography. Since the format at which we see the work is a public performance, this idea has not been implemented--it's just the wrong venue for this sort of assessment. Because the presentation of work is the outcome of DANC 4377, Senior Studio, a grade of at least B assessed by the instructor is the appropriate criterion. |
| Finding |
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All studentsts presenting choreography in the spring 2013 Senior Studio concert were judged as presenting work that was good or better. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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Although DANC 4376, Choreography 3, has been in the course inventory for several years, dance was not able to offer it due to enrollment numbers and faculty availability. In spring 2013, the course was finally required of all students who had completed DANC 3376, as a prerequisite for DANC 4377. Effects of this additional course, if any, will not be observable until this class completes DANC 4377, which should occur for most of those students in the fall of 2014. At that time, it would be possible to review video of previous Senior Studio concerts for comparison, as well as to discuss with instructors whether the additional course was successful in preparing students more fully for the Senior Studio. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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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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| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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As noted, the plan to involve graduate students as mentors did not succeed in the past year. It is possible that the issue was also the insructor of the course, who is no longer part of our faculty. The works presented by the students were respectable, but did not demonstrate the depth of exploration, innovation, or committment to the rehearsal process that we would like our students to aim for.
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| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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The faculty will meet to review goals for choreography in each of the four levels required. To this point, there has been little discussion among the faculty, resulting in little known consensus of what or how we want the students to develop skill in creative process. We will particularly review the expectations, projects, and structure that will result in more creative exploration by the students by the time they are presenting their culminating undergraduate work in the Senior Studio production.
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