Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Dance MFA
1 Goal 2 Objectives 3 Indicators 3 Criteria 3 Findings 2 Actions
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GOAL: Develop Skills And Knowledge Base In Dance
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Objective
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Develop Choreographic Skill
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Students will demonstrate substantial growth and proficiency in choreography, employing effective tools of composition to create well-crafted original statements in movement. The ability of students to create extended works of choreography is an important indicator of the Dance MFA Program's success in producing graduates who have developed appropriate creative capacities and are prepared for future professional endeavors.
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Indicator
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Evaluation Of Required Choreographic Work
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Required Choreographic Work is evaluated on common standards of choreographic effectiveness: 1. successful communication of an idea; 2. effective use of innovative movement vocabulary; 3. Structure; 4. Transitions; 5. Space, time and energy; 6. Technology; 7. Collaboration with other artists; 8. Alternative performance spaces. 9. Successful matching of performers to the needs of the piece; 10. Well-rehearsed cast.
These choreographic evaluations take place within the three required MFA choreography courses in (DNC 5676,5378, and 5380). Although evaluations are conducted by course instructors, above mentioned aesthetic and technical criteria which are pertinent to the particular choreographic work are applied by each instructor. Instructors judge student work as Not Meeting Standards/ Meeting Standards. Gradations of judgment and subtleties of critical impressions within those two categories are communicated to the student in extensive qualitative, face-to-face feedback.
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| Criterion |
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90% Of Students Will Be Judged Satisfactory In Proficiency
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90% Students will be judged to have satisfactory proficiency in choreography based upon the instructor's evaluation on the pertinent common standards specified in the indicator. An area identified as needing improvement was more preparation in the development of extended creative work.
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| Finding |
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Thesis Concerts In 2012-2013 Were Well Realized
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The five candidates for the MFA presented exceptional thesis concerts this year. The works were across the board very well conceived, developed, and of professional caliber. The work presented in the non-thesis concerts were not uniformly excellent, but demonstrated substantial growth in the students' abilities as choreographers and directors.
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Indicator
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Presentation & Evaluation Of Thesis Concert
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As the culmination of the MFA thesis project, students present a public performance of an extended original choreographic work which is evaluated by the Thesis Committee on common standards of choreographic effectiveness: 1. successful communication of an idea; 2. effective use of innovative movement vocabulary; 3. Structure; 4. Transitions; 5. Space, time and energy; 6. Technology; 7. Collaboration with other artists; 8. Alternative performance spaces. 9. Successful matching of performers to the needs of the piece; 10. Well-rehearsed cast. Extensive feedback is given during scheduled showings of the work in process, and in review of the concert following its presentation.
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All MFA Thesis Students Meet Choreographic Production Standards
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100% of MFA Thesis performers will be assessed by Thesis Committee to meet standards for choreographic effectiveness. (In addition, Students who meet the standard for acceptable choreographic production will receive a passing score for that portion of DNC 699, Thesis II.)
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| Finding |
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Thesis Presentations Were Uniformly Excellent
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The five candidates for the MFA presented exceptional thesis concerts this year. The works were across the board very well conceived, developed, and of professional caliber. The work presented in the non-thesis concerts were not uniformly excellent, but demonstrated substantial growth in the students' abilities as choreographers and directors.
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Actions for Objective:
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Implement Third Course In Choreography
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A third course in the graduate choreography sequence was passed through the curriculum review process and will be offered in the fall of 2013. Students will now have an additional semester of projects to work on, receiving faculty and peer feedback, prior to embarking on their extended choreograhic projects for thesis. Students beginning thesis this year will not have had this benefit, unless they choose to do so, as we will encourage; effects of the extended sequence of choreography should be more apparent in the work produced by students presenting thesis work in the 2014-2015 academic year.
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GOAL: Develop Skills And Knowledge Base In Dance
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Objective
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Breadth Of Knowledge In The Field
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MFA graduates should have a solid understanding of dance technique, choreography, production, and history, and should be able to write or speak from that base of information.
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Indicator
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Written Comprehensive Exam
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Students will be given a choice of topics provided by graduate faculty, relevant to all aspects of study that the student has experienced in the program. A passing grade on the Dance MFA Program's written comprehensive examination will serve as an indicator that a Dance MFA candidate has acquired a breadth of knowledge in the field of dance. Additionally, the student's ability to write critically and at a standard acceptable to the profession will be demonstrated.
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As demonstration that the Dance graduate program is successful in preparing students for the written comprehensive examination, at least 90% of students will pass the exam at the first sitting or upon retaking it. We observed last year that students were not as comfortable expressing themselves orally as they are with dance. Thus, we believe this exercise is beneficial to develop and extend oral expression.
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| Finding |
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Written Exams Were Not Administered
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Multiple faculty discussions led us to realize that most of us did not participate to any significant degree in the written comprehensive beyond submitting questions, and we wanted to be more involved in a concise forum. We identified a need for students to be able to verbalize in a professional and informed manner. We also identified the written component of the thesis as an existing form for students to develop their writing skills. Considering all these factors, we informed the students that the comps would be oral instead of written. All the faculty were present for each oral exam.
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Actions for Objective:
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Continue With Oral Comprehensive Exams
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The faculty were very pleased with this interactive process. Students had been given a list of general questions that would form the basis of our questions, so they were able to prepare. The oral form allowed us to press the students to expand on their responses, to think on their feet, and demonstrate composure, as they will need to in professional discourse. We will continue with the oral, rather than written, comprehensive exam.
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Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement"
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As the number of MFA students in our program increases, we must look for ways to efficiently mentor the students. Increasing coursework opportunities through an additional choreography class will provide a formal opportunity for development of choreographic skills prior to the thesis project. It will also reduce the number of independent choreographic projects faculty undertake, and give the MFA students more practice in peer criticism and feedback--oral skills that have been identified as requiring development. Similarly, the oral defense will give our students a major opportunity to demonstrate facility in communicating through speech. Through these means, students will develop a broader range of the skills they will need to become effective professionals in dance.
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Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement"
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The third choreography course will be implemented this fall, so the effects of the addition of that course have not yet been tested. We are already seeing, however, an improvement in efficiency for faculty paired with greater opprotunities for the students, in the implementation of two other courses, Dance and Integrated Technologies, and Professional Aspects of Dance. There were fewer independent studies in this academic year than in previous years, which allowed faculty more time to guide students in thesis. The oral comps were very successful.
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Plan for Continuous Improvement
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In the past three years, we have added three courses to the graduate curriculum. A fourth course, pedagogy, is being developed and will be submitted for review this year.
Two faculty are no longer part of the department, as one passed away and the other retired. As we consider applicants for these two positions, ability to contribute to the graduate program, through teaching and serving in the thesis process, will be a primary consideration.
As we increase courses at the graduate level, we must consider course loads of the faculty,who also teach the majority of the BFA curriculum. Without additional faculty, we must consider how we can use the graduate students to teach some of the undergraduate courses, and consider how we can prepare them to do so effectively.
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