SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Art BA (Photography)
Art BA (Photography)
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Proficiency In Digital Photographic Techniques |
| Objective |
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| Students will demonstrate proficiency in the creation, manipulation, and printing of digital images. |
| Indicator |
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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 |
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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. The graduating seniors in the Spring 2012 were such a small sample group (6) that faculty will increase the sample size by evaluating students in an upper level course in addition to those graduating. |
| Finding |
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The evaluation of student photography portfolios was conducted using works in an exhibition of works by students in ARTS 3376, Photographic Narratives in the LSC gallery in May 2012. Each of the students worked with a community organization and created a photo essay to document and promote the activity of the organization. The exhibition included works from each student. Each student also published a book of photographs that accompanied the exhibition. All of the students scored 80 or higher on each of the criteria. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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Currently ARTS 3376 is an elective course in the Photo BFA curriculum. It satisfies the need for students to create documentary work as well as a cohesive body of work that communicates an idea. This curriculum committee will develop a plan for making this a required course in the BFA curriculum. The BA degree has been elimiinated and students will be directed to the BFA program in Photography. |
| GOAL: Knowledge Of The History Of Photography |
| Objective |
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| 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 |
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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 |
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| 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. Last year we were unable to assess this due to the data being unavailable. |
| Finding |
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| 100% of the students evaluated were scored 80% or above on each aspect of the evaluation. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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The professor who taught History of Photograpy in 2010-11 retired and the course is being taught by a new faculty member who has revised the course with an emphasis on concepts, synthesis, and the historical precedents of contemporary art. The course will continue to be taught with these emphases. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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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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| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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A larger sample of students was evaluated in the spring of 2013 by evaluating an exhibition of work by students in ARTS 3376 "Photographic Narratives". |
| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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This Degree (BA Photography) is no longer being offered to incoming students. Only a few if any students remain in this program. The BFA degree in Photography is the degree that students are currently taking. The BFA requires more photography courses than the BA. Any remaining BA student would be taking courses offered throught the BFA.
The evaluation of work in ARTS 3376 "Photographic Narratives" shows satisfactory results in the evaluation of students abilities in crucial areas. The course, currently an elective, will become a required course in the BFA curriculum. Areas that Photography faculty indicate need improvement and should be assessed in the next cycle are: • proficiency in darkroom printing techniques • proficiency in advanced image editing techniques using photoshop • continued emphasis on experimentation and development of content. |