STUDIO ART DISCIPLINE ASSESSMENT REPORT 2008 – 9:

Learning Objectives for Majors:

1. Students will be introduced to the technical skills necessary to activities in the visual arts; this includes materials, techniques, the safe use of tools, and the safe disposal of waste.

2. Students will be introduced to the concepts necessary to activities in the visual arts; this includes the formal elements of art, as well as learning to think independently, understanding the historical and contemporary development of art and their place in it, the relationship of art to self, culture, and society, and to question and examine everything with a critical eye.

3. Students will be introduced to verbal / communication skills necessary to activities in the visual arts; this includes the ability to talk clearly and thoughtfully about their own art as well as the art of others.

4. Students will be introduced to the major traditions of art and the place of visual arts in our culture.

Direct Measures:

Assessment Questions: Four questions within the Portfolio Review form specifically address assessment of the discipline within the 4 learning objectives for the major listed above (see attached Review form). Data were gathered twice last year – fall semester during Senior Portfolio Review and again in the spring during the Second Year Portfolio Review. Faculty members were asked to assess the discipline’s success in the four areas as demonstrated by the student’s work being reviewed. Studio Art and Art History faculty were asked to what extent the student, and / or artwork, demonstrates the fulfillment of each objective. Data were reported and reviewed by the discipline for action during the spring assessment meeting (see attached Assessment Averages).

Second Year and Senior Portfolio Reviews: Student artwork was evaluated by the Studio Art and Art History faculty first during the spring semester for second year students, and then again in the fall semester for graduating seniors. Students presented their artwork and a written artist statement to the faculty committee -- discussing the process for creating the work, their formal and aesthetic considerations as well as conceptual interests.

Following the review session, participating faculty each completed a form rating the student’s performance on a scale from 1 to 10 in the following areas:

A. Formal Concerns:

· Student demonstrates an understanding of the elements of art and the principles of design.

· Student’s drawings represent a level of skill appropriate to the student’s experience.

B. Technical Concerns:

· Student can identify / describe the materials and technical processes involved in creating their work.

· Student is completing the quantity of work expected for their level of experience.

· Student is completing work at the quality expected for their level of technical experience.

· Student demonstrates an understanding of the importance of presentation & craftsmanship. This should include at least 3 pieces of their choice (representing more than one media), completed to a level of finish and refinement expected for the student’s level of experience.

C. Conceptual & Communication Skills:

· Student is able to discuss the conceptual basis of their work and communicate the ideas that they are exploring.

· Student demonstrates an understanding of how their work relates to a broader context and is able to articulate the relationship, referring to cultural, art historical and / or personal influences.

· Evaluate student’s written statement. Artist’s statement describes the formal, technical and conceptual foundations of the student’s work.

These measures assessed the learning objectives 1 – 4 listed above. This document is attached.

Examples of Changes Based on Assessment:

On May 14, 2009, the Studio Art discipline met to discuss the outcomes of the year’s measures. All Studio Art faculty were in attendance. The resulting changes are described below:

Senior Thesis Project I & II: Plans for these courses were finalized under the direction of Prof. Eble in consultation with the discipline. Offered for the first time during the 2009-10 academic year, this sequence will combine preparations for both the Senior Portfolio Review process and the Senior Exhibition as well as incorporate a variety of professional skills needed to pursue art related careers after graduation. Topics such as the documentation and presentation of artwork, self-promotion skills, portfolio creation, documentation, framing, interviewing, grant writing, graduate school applications will be covered.

Second Year Portfolio Review: With the review process now occurring in most cases one full year earlier, the discipline has found that the second year students need greater assistance in their preparations. For the most part they are not meeting with their major media advisors for guidance as instructed. The following changes have been proposed:

• Students should be assigned a faculty mentor, ideally one that is not on their review committee, to help them through the process.
• 2D courses should require that one piece be matted each semester so that students gain valuable practice preparing their work for presentation.
• All courses should require that students submit at least 1 piece to the juried student exhibition each spring. The exhibition is a great learning opportunity that many students do not take advantage of early enough in their academic career. Once they have gone through the process it is much less intimidating and are more likely to do so in the future.
• A reference binder of exemplary Artist Statements from previous students should be compiled. Current students can review the structure and content of successful statements.

VSNM Printmaking: The discipline reviewed sample prints from the ’08 and ’09 courses (one print from each student edition is retained for the print archive) discussing the general strengths and weaknesses of the work. It was generally agreed that the course offers a good overview of printmaking processes and that it has the appropriate formal and technical depth to make it a meaningful art experience for non-major students. There was a consensus that the objectives of the course are in line with the objectives for the major.

The following adjustments were proposed:

• The expectation of conceptual depth and student research related to their chosen subject matter should be emphasized to a greater extent. This would further mirror the objectives of the Studio Art major and clarify the significance of research within the discipline of art making. Many students work within the recommended parameters using imagery and ideas that connect with their primary academic interests as a way to promote depth within their ideas. However, some students resist the structure and as a result their work is much more scattered.
• Appropriation of imagery and understanding of copyright issues needs to be covered in greater depth. Non-majors appear to be more likely to use appropriated imagery and are largely unaware of the issues related to incorporating other people’s work.

• Approach to color within the screen printing and monotype processes could be simplified to force depth in color work. The complete freedom to determine their own color palettes in the final two projects seems to overwhelm the capabilities of many students. Restricting the color options to monochromatic or complimentary color schemes would require them to deal with value and intensity yielding more thoughtful results.
• There are safety concerns inherent to working with students who have little or no studio experience. While Studio Art majors enter Beginning Printmaking having completed at least two projects utilizing an etching press, students in the non-major course lack that experience. The use of individual skill testing would help assure that the students know how to set appropriate press pressure and understand the related safety concerns to avoid injury both to themselves and the equipment.
• A discussion and rating form based on the course and discipline objectives should be created to aid in the assessment of courses being assessed. The discipline can then review and retain these ratings.

Scheduling: In order to accommodate greater diversity within the discipline’s major media offerings, and to avoid conflicting schedules within these varied options, the discipline has agreed to proceed with Monday – Friday scheduling. Prof. Larson has constructed a 5-year rotation schedule that will begin the 2010-1 academic year.

2009-11 Catalog changes:

No catalog changes were made at this time.