Music
Assessment Report  1999
 

1. Jury exams. Each student is heard in performance each semester by the area performance study faculty. Comments are given in various categories.

REPORT: The original jury assessment sheets from every semester of applied lessons are to have been reviewed and placed in each music major's file which is maintained in the Music Department Office and is available to the student's advisor and Department Chair.

2. Upper-Divisional Exam. Students in the BM performance and BS education degree programs must pass this test before they are allowed to study at the 300 level. The student must play an appropriate battery of technical exercises and perform two contrasting pieces from the repertory. A faculty jury provides comments for the student and votes pass or fail for each category. Students are allowed to retake any portion of this exam in the event of failure.
   
   REPORT: The original test forms and commentaries are placed in each music rnajor's file which is maintained in the Music Department Office and is available to the student, the student's advisor and Department Chair. When the exam has been successfully completed, the student may register for study at the 300 level.
    
3. Informal Student Recitals and Master Classes.      
   Informal student recitals and master classes are scheduled at least seven times in the semester. Performance study students are expected to perform at least one of these opportunities in the course of the semester.
   
   REPORT: Recitals and Master Classes have been scheduled as planned. Verbal comments have been and are given by appropriate faculty members as well as by the students' peers. No formal record is maintained. Students and their applied instructors find the comments useful in understanding their achievements and shortcomings as applied to their ongoing studies.
    
4. Final Student Recital Hearing. Students in the BM performance and BS education degree programs are required to give a public performance as a part of their degree program. One month prior to the scheduled recital, the student is given a student recital hearing at which s/he performs for a faculty jury who decide whether or not the performance is ready for public hearing.
   
   REPORT: A simple record of a successful hearing is maintained in the students' files and the recital may then be scheduled. A formal record of unsuccessful hearings is not filed but suggested areas for improvement are made informally for the student's benefit and further preparation.
    
5. Final Formal Student Recital. The Recital is the culmination of the student's performance study. Depending on the major program, requirements are for 20-30 or 40-50 minutes of music which should present a variety of styles and historic time frames appropriate to the performance medium.
   
   REPORT: The recital, when it occurs in the second half of a semester may substitute for a jury. Presently, the applied teacher simply records comments and a grade. When offered in lieu of a jury, an applied faculty jury will complete a slightly modified jury form for each student's file.
    
6. Keyboard competency All students in the BM and BS programs must pass a piano proficiency exam before graduation, or in the case of the education students, before their practice teaching assignment.
   
   REPORT: A simple record of successful completion of the piano proficiency test is placed in student's file which is maintained in the Music Department Office and is available to the student, the student's advisor and Department Chair.
    
7. Upper level writing requirement. Specific requirements are listed in the assessment document as originally accepted.
   
   REPORT: Each of the four documents is reviewed by the student's advisor and is further reviewed by the Department Chair of designated faculty member prior to the signing of graduation papers. The papers are generated from within the core curriculum and have been graded by the course instructor prior to the second review. Copies are maintained in the Music Department Office and are available to the student, the student's advisor and Department Chair or review committee. Completion is required prior to the signing of the student's graduation papers by the Departmental Chairperson.
    
8. Capstone experience. The requirement is specific to the degree program and is most often taken as a formal class (MUS 291 or MUS 390) which has its own review process. The grade level is an A or B, or listed as Not Acceptable.
   
   REPORT: When taken as a formal class the final grade is the report. The paper is entered into the student's file. When the report is not taken as a formal class but is part of the recital requirements as outlined in the BM performance requirements, the student's applied teacher and a selected committee of faculty assist the student when necessary in order to complete an acceptable paper. Upon completion, the student meets with the committee in order to make an informal presentation summarizing the paper. A formal record is included when the paper has been successfully accepted by the committee and the oral presentation has been made.
    

ASSESSMENT COMMENTARY:

STATUS: Implementation of all assessment requirements except for the upper level writing projects have been put into place and are operative. Implementation of the writing requirement is in process and becomes effective Spring 2000. Student files are updated at each pre-registration and registration period. Currently, after a review of music major files (by the chair and staff), it must be noted that, for several reasons, the faculty and music majors need to be further educated in the requirements, deadlines and effective record-keeping processes. Departmental advisement procedures and proper use of standardized forms will be reviewed in the first faculty meeting for the next semester so that more efficient and up-to-date record-keeping can be accomplished. Since most of the required assessment tools are set up as A, B or not acceptable, a percentage evaluation hasn't been implemented. The tools are cumbersome, entirely too time consuming and difficult to understand. Dissemination of requirements and record-keeping processes need to be adjusted as we proceed. The process will be ongoing throughout the entire year.

Our problems have been overwhelming given the unusual circumstances of the year. Our portion of the building project in the Center for the Arts has created tremendous difficulties in simple, daily activities such as classroom space. Our faculty has been short by four regular members due to an unusual amount of granted faculty leaves. Also, as a new departmental chair, I have had difficulty in getting up-to-date in personnel, records, reports and day-to-day problems.

CRITIQUE: The very nature of a Performing Art such as Music provides for a series of measured outcomes. A process for collecting and analysis of data is being put in place and implemented for individual students. However; further development of process and the use of forms are needed to facilitate a quick overview of our students' status as a whole rather than as individuals. Analysis of the statistics generated by these assessment procedures are limited in application since student records only include a pass or partial pass in their records with the exception of graded juries and written work.

Too many of our students seem unaware of the requirements even though they appear prominently in the bulletin and in their curriculum worksheets which are very specific to areas of study, and even though faculty advisors stress these requirements at their respective conferences. Following a review of a recent survey of majors it must be noted that a disturbing number of students seem confused as to which academic degree they are pursuing in relation to the appropriate major. Such distinctions have apparently not seemed important to them as they have repeatedly failed to recall them. This has pointed to the need for developing new methods of communicating with students in their planning and understanding of their goals, timelines and their current status with respect to those goals. This discovery has been an important benefit which is the direct result of the current assessment report. Informative meetings with in like major degree programs will be held in addition to a directed and focused advisement in order to help ensure greater success in guiding our students through the various curricula, required proficiencies, written work and general graduation requirements.

PROCESS: Recently updated curriculum worksheets which have been used for the students' individual record-keeping will now become an official part of each major's folder and will provide quick access to student data regarding progress in each area of assessment. As noted previously in this document, all appropriate written work by the students will be maintained in their files as well. This will simplify collection of data and help in providing a departmental overview. Review of assessment areas, methods, documentation and analysis will continue as a routine process in departmental development as does curricular review and other areas of immediate and long-range planning. These are done within the context of NCA and our national accrediting agency, the National Association of Schools of Music. Our next scheduled self study is for the year, 2000-2001, and will continue at approximately 5-year intervals. Next year's study will be a part of our university's self-study plan and the following study will constitute our third application for accreditation from NASM since our first acceptance in 1969. It will include a NASM approved and recommended outside evaluator.

Additional data for future comparisons will include comparative enrollments in core courses and major ensembles. This information should help us determine relative success and support future planning for recruitment and budgetary commitments. Curricular decisions will be aided by noting attrition in Freshman level music theory, for example. Revision of the writing requirement is needed as it is weighted too heavily for the Music Department's goals and has become nearly impossible to administrate given the faculty>student ratio and the tremendous number of musical proficiencies and juried performances.

COLLECTED DATA AND INTERPRETATION:

The checklist represents, as of mid-December, 1999, a summary of records contained in the 171 undergraduate folders which are maintain in the Music Office in a confidential file cabinet.

Freshmen and transfer student files generally will not contain any of the assessment reports until completion of an academic semester.

OUTCOMES*:

*NOTES: 1 - (Blank degree listings should be considered "Undecided")  2 - (Specific Curricular Worksheets which identify degree programs and areas of emphasis are not available but are being implemented.)

1. Of the 171 identifiable music majors only7 have written work approved and placed in their files.(This corresponds to the number of students who have come to the chair for approval of their graduation forms to be completed a semester prior to graduation). In order to more correctly assess the current status of the various categories, 56 Freshman and ca. 9 recent   transfer students should be subtracted from the overview process which leaves a total of 106. Of that number, not quite 7% are up to date on their written requirements.
   
   Commentary: Faculty advisors need training in the requirements and processes while students need to be aware of, read and understand the information contained in the appropriate, official MSU Bulletin. Some of the older students may not be legally bound by the latest updates since they cannot be "grandfathered" after their official enrollment.
    
2. Of the 106 files of students who have completed at least a full semester in the Music Department, 79 contain completed jury  forms for their appropriate applied emphasis representing nearly 75% adherence to the procedures.
   
   Commentary: This obviously means that while some may not have taken applied lessons as yet, close to 25% of those who have do not have their jury sheets on file. Some (newer?) faculty may not have understood that requirement. Standard operating procedures need to be put in place and everyone must implement them.
    
3. 53 students are currently enrolled in the BS program which implies teacher preparation. This represents 31% of our enrollment. This will be important for future comparisons. of those in the BS degree program, 10 have completed their exit exams which means they are permitted to do their student teaching. It may also be assumed that they plan to graduate by the end of next semester. This represents 19% of the teacher education program.
    
4. 29 students have records indicating they have passed the upper divisional test and can receive applied credit at the 300 or 400 level. Except in areas of applied vocal/instrumental emphasis, such as in the Jazz area, BM-Music Industry majors do not need upper divisional credit in their applied area. Students pursuing the BA degree in Music also do not need upper divisional credit in their applied area. Our current records do not indicate the exact number of those who need to achieve upper division status since it is unclear who of those who need upper divisional credits are first semester students (either freshmen or transfers). Therefore, no percentage can be assigned to upper classmen who have either passed or need to pass the upper divisional requirement. This will be corrected when the "curricular worksheets" are updated and placed in each student's file.
    
5. 49 students currently list themselves as BM - Music Industry majors which represents nearly 29% of our music majors. Further breakdown of their areas of emphasis will be available.
6. 16 students of the 49 enrolled in the teacher education program have completed the guitar proficiency. This represents 33% or a third of those needing to pass prior to student teaching.
7. 26 students are listed as seeking a BM degree which represents 15% of enrolled majors.
8. 29 students are undecided which represents 17% of the total.
9. 14 students are listed as candidates for the BA degree which represents 8% of the total.

Some additional data from the H.E.A.D.S. 1999 REPORT

(Higher Education Arts Data Service) Serving as an annual report for the

National Association of Schools of Music.. 11/17/99

1. Number of degrees awarded July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999=15

2. Projected number of credit hours generated by non-music majors for Fall & Spring =2,080

3. Projected number of credit hours generated by music majors =2,752

4. Projected number of credit hours generated by music courses (items 2 & 3) =4,832

5. Projected number of students involved in any curricular aspect of music = ca. 850

6. This academic year's active full-time and adjunct faculty plus grad assistants:

   3- Full Professors

   7- Assistant Professors

   1 - Instructor

   2- part time Instructors with faculty status

   17- Adjunct Faculty and Teaching Associates

   2- graduate assistants

7. A partial list of allocated operational expenses for fiscal year 1999-2000:

1. Instructional supplies = $9, 051

2. Library (performance scores and parts only) = 4,796

3. Office supplies = 1,300

4. Printing/Duplication = 4,300

5. Undergraduate Scholarships (administered by music) = 13,350

6. Graduate Scholarships = 1,500

7. Equipment & Supplies purchases 99-2000 = 6,500

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