II

Annual Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Report

Unit Name: Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design

Prepared by: Cheryl Goldsleger, Associate Director,

Date: July 27, 2005

Academic Year: 2004 -2005

I. Assessment Procedures

III. Changes to Procedures or Curriculum Based on Assessment

II. Achievement of Departmental Objectives for Students

A. Undergraduate--
B. Graduate

IV. Changes in Department’s Assessment Goals

I. Assessment Procedures

A. Outcomes Assessed

The Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design offers challenging and multi-faceted degree programs in the visual arts. The unit offers the BFA and MFA in Studio, the BA in Studio, the BFA and MAED in Art Education and the BA and MA in Art History. With this range of programs the learning outcomes assessed include the outcomes set by the University at large including: communicate, collaborate, think critically, analyze contemporary issues, quantitative skills and technology, and outcomes that are specific to the disciplines housed within the school. The outcomes for majors are described in depth in the Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan for the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design that can be accessed on-line at: http://education.gsu.edu/ctl/outocmes/gsu_plan.htm.

Summarizing the learning outcomes articulated in the plan, they include assessing outcomes for lower division courses and upper division areas of concentration. The foundation core of classes is required for all BFA in Studio and BFA in Art Education students. Learning outcomes include the University mandated outcomes as they relate to art making and art history. Learning outcomes for BFA upper division courses include the University mandated outcomes and technical, historical, multicultural, professional, interdisciplinary and contemporary issues among others as they relate to the practice of art making. In the MFA in Studio program the learning outcomes involve critical thinking, cross disciplinary knowledge, collaboration, contemporary issues, communication, research skills and professional skills as they relate to the art making process.

The BFA in Art Education learning outcomes are planned to meet standards in the professional guidelines of INTASC, National New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. Students must meet university and state mandated outcomes criteria for art teachers. The program is designed to meet and exceed these requirements. Students in Art Education must also pass Praxis I (the State’s education competency exam administered prior to student teaching or provisional certification) each student must have a minimum overall 2.5 GPA and a 3.0 GPA in art related courses, and each student submits a portfolio for review before being admitted to the Art Education program. The Masters of Arts in Art Education program uses the NBPTS, the National Board Professional Teaching Standards, for their learning outcomes matrix.

The BA in Art History program includes all University wide learning outcomes and area specific outcomes including scholarly writing, scholarly research, art historical perspectives, understanding of the creative process, understanding of the fine arts in the culture historically and in contemporary culture, multicultural appreciation, second language skills and professional competence outcomes. Learning outcomes for the MA in Art History have not yet been articulated by the art history faculty.

B. Elements of Assessment

In each of the nine disciplines plus the foundation core courses housed in the School of Art and Design the faculty have required different materials to be collected in order to assess learning outcomes.

Foundation Core

The Foundation Core of classes that make up the visual arts lower division classes are assessed through sample documentation of student portfolios as they apply to their chosen major after completing 24 credit hours in specific visual art courses. Along with the portfolio written statements are required. The sample required of this group per major is 10% of applicants to the major or at least 3 portfolios when possible.

BFA in Studio

The documentation for the BFA in Studio includes written statements and documentation of the artwork exhibited in the BFA Exit exhibition. Additional images and writings are collected during the capstone classes, Portfolio I and II.

MFA in Studio

Graduate students seeking an MFA in Studio are required to document their solo exhibitions and copies of theses papers are kept.

BFA in Art Education

The BFA in Art Education program collects information that reflects the learning outcomes assessed in the program. These materials include final grades in student teaching and teaching portfolios.

MA in Art Education

Materials collected for the MA in Art Education include performance in grad level Art Education courses and thesis performance.

BA in Art History

Sample computer exams and sample essay tests from upper division classes and sample papers from seminar classes are collected for the purpose of learning outcomes assessment for the BA in Art History.

C. Data Collected

Foundation Core Program

The number of students applying to each discipline at the end of the Foundation Core Program was not kept this past year. There were 20 applicant portfolios documented for learning outcomes from the Foundation Program. (each area was asked to document 10% of their applicants but no more than 3 applicants per area.) Only nine of the twenty portfolios were capable of being reviewed due to faulty documentation procedures. These portfolios were collected from the following disciplines within the School: Drawing, Painting and Printmaking, Textiles, Photography, and Ceramics.

BFA in Studio

The total number of students graduating in Summer 04, Fall, 04 and Spring 05 with a BFA in Studio was 70. Of this number 11 students’ portfolios and learning outcomes assessment materials were documented and assessed.

MFA in Studio

The total number of students graduating in Summer 04, Fall, 04 and Spring 05 with an MFA in Studio was 13. Of this number 8 student’s portfolios and thesis papers were documented and assessed.

BFA in Art Education

Art Education graduated 20 in the BFA in Art Education program in Summer 04, Fall, 04 and Spring 05. Five students received post-baccalaureate certification. Learning outcomes were assessed on 28 art education students. The data collected included final grades in student teaching and teaching portfolios.

MA in Art Education

The MA in Art Education graduated 7 students this past year and of that number 5 of those students were documented in the learning outcomes assessment. The data collected included performance in graduate level Art Education courses and thesis performance.

BA and MA in Art History

The BA in Art History had 9students complete their degrees and the MA in Art History had 3 students finish. Art History has not turned in materials on learning outcomes assessment for the major.

D. Data Analysis

Foundation Program

The following rubric was used to define the levels of student learning outcomes performance for the Foundation Program.

Poor

Fair

Good

Very Good

Excellent

Outstanding

Student work was so poor that basic levels of competence were not demonstrated in portfolio or other documentation.

Student work was not up to standards expected. Portfolio or other documentation was did not demonstrate the content expected.

Student work was acceptable but showed lack of ability or misunderstanding in certain areas.

Student work was good in portfolio or other documentation and showed knowledge in all areas related to discipline.

Student work was excellent in portfolio or other documentation and showed superior knowledge in all areas related to discipline.

Student work was outstanding in portfolio or other documentation and showed highly original and creative knowledge in all areas related to discipline.

II. Achievement of Departmental Objectives for Students

Undergraduate

Foundation Core

The following charts reflect the learning outcomes data collected and analyzed on the Foundation Program for 2004-2005.

Summary Chart of Data Collected through Portfolio Review Process of Foundation Program

(Total of 9 students evaluated for learning outcomes)

Outcome Goal

Poor

Fair

Good

Very Good

Excellent

Outstanding

Not Evaluated

Communication:

Oral and/or

Written

Analytical Skills

Critical Thinking Skills:

a. Formal Concepts

b. Original Concepts

Collaborative/

Group Skills:

Assignments

Critiques

Quantitative Skills:

Perceptual

Proportion

Color

Related Quantitative

BFA Studio Program

Summary Chart of Data Collected from BFA Exit Exhibition and Capstone Class

(Total of 11 students evaluated for learning outcomes)

Outcome Goal

Poor

Fair

Good

Very Good

Excellent

Outstanding

Not Evaluated

Technical Skills:

a. Formal

b. Perceptual

c. Technical

Interdisciplinary Knowledge:

a. Cross discipline

b. Experimental Approaches

Technology Skills:

Health and Safety

Collaborative/

Group Skills

Contemporary Issues:

a. Art Theory

Historical Knowledge:

a. Broad factors that influence art

Multi-Cultural Awareness

Professional Preparation in Art

BFA in Art Education

Art History

No data collected in 2004-2005.

B. Graduate Programs

1. MFA in Studio

Summary Chart of Data Collected from Thesis Exhibitions and Thesis Papers

(total of 8 students evaluated for learning outcomes)

Outcome Goal	Poor 1	Fair 2	Good 3	Very Good 4	Excellent 5	Outstanding 6	Not Evaluated
Research and Critical Thinking: High level of competence in one medium		1		1	5	2
Cross Disciplinary Knowledge: Cross disciplinary and experimental approaches				4	3	2
Collaboration: Interdisciplinary projects			1	2	1	2	3
Communication: Broad awareness of contemporary art			1	2	3	3
Advanced Research Skills: For own artwork			2		4	3
Professional Skills: Presentation of own artwork		1		1	3	4

2. MA in Art Education

Summary Chart of Data Collected from graduate level Art Ed Courses and Thesis performance (total of 5 students evaluated)

Conceptual Framework Components		Numbers of Students Performance Levels
Conceptual Framework Components		1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Educators are committed to students and their learning/development.	0	0	0	1	1	3
2	The educator is an expert in his/her field and can effectively apply that expertise to promote	0	0	1	0	2	2
	learning/development.
3	The educator is responsible for managing and mentoring student learning/development.	0	0	1	0	0	4
4	The educator thinks systematically about his/her practice and learns from professional experience.	0	0	1	0	2	2
5	The educator is a member of one or more learning communities	0	0	0	1	3	1

III. Changes in Department's Assessment Goals
            The School of Art and Design initiated a two-tier learning outcomes assessment plan this past year with only moderate success. Our goal is to evaluate and assess learning outcomes for the foundation (lower division) program, then to evaluate and assess learning outcomes of upper division undergraduates and graduate students completing their programs of study. The benefit of having gone through the process with difficulty this year is that we now see much more clearly how certain changes in procedure must be made in order to better implement the assessment.

            Many difficulties were encountered that hindered the success of the learning outcomes assessment process. These included faulty documentation of portfolios (making it impossible to open some digital files of student work), failure to collect and document materials by several disciplines, and incomplete documentation of student materials.

            Realizing these shortcomings, the School of Art and Design proposes to modify the procedures it uses to collect and assess data in order to make this information more complete, more useful to individual disciplines and the School at large, and to get faculty more fully engaged in the learning-outcomes goals and evaluation process. To do this the School proposes several changes to data collection and documentation.

A. Learning Outcomes Assessment of Foundations Program
            Foundation courses are evaluated based on the portfolios students submit when they apply to a discipline. All faculty members within a discipline participate in portfolio evaluation. New guidelines will be distributed this fall outlining the student work that will be required in every portfolio, across all disciplines. Portfolios will include representative samples from each foundation course plus additional visual samples that are selected at the student's discretion. A written statement will continue to be required.

            The School currently uses an "Application to Major Form" that is filled out by students and signed off by faculty members, informing students of the faculty’s application decision. This form will be modified to include the learning-outcomes goals and evaluation chart. With this in place, each portfolio and each applicant to BFA major disciplines will be uniformly assessed on learning outcomes. Additionally, faculty members will be required to document a representative sample of three (or less if fewer applicants) complete portfolios from each discipline. This will include digital photos of all work in the portfolio in PDF or Power Point formats, and a photocopy or digital copy of the student’s written statement. All "Application to Major Forms" with the learning outcomes assessment evaluations will be kept on file in the Art Office. A sample new form is attached at the end of this report.

B. Learning Outcomes Assessment for Graduating Seniors and Graduate Students
            Seniors in the BFA Studio program currently take two capstone courses, Portfolio I and Portfolio II, and are required to participate in the senior exit exhibition. The Portfolio courses are taught by multiple faculty members with one instructor of record. In order to assess learning outcomes, all instructors for these courses will be required to jointly fill out a learning outcomes assessment evaluation for each graduating senior. The students in the class are normally required to write an artist's statement, a resume, and to document their work in slides or digital format. A minimum of three student portfolios in each discipline (fewer if less than three graduating students), with statement, resume and visual samples will turned in to the Art Office as documentation along with photocopies of all learning outcomes assessment forms for each Portfolio II student. A sample form is attached at the end of this report.

C. Learning Outcomes Assessment for Graduate Students
            Graduate student's MFA thesis committee members will evaluate each graduate student at the completion of the student's program of study. These evaluations will include a matrix for evaluation of learning outcomes. Graduate students will be required to turn in a photocopy of their thesis, a portfolio of slides or digital images of their exhibition and a resume. These will be kept on file in the Art Office with copies of all learning outcomes forms for each graduate student completing their program of study. A sample MFA in Studio learning outcomes form is attached at the end of this report.

D. Changes to be made to insure that all material is turned in.
            The School of Art and Design will institute a new policy beginning in Fall ‘05 requiring each discipline to write an annual report, including the above information and other pertinent information every year. Guidelines and a template for this annual report will be given to all areas at the first fall faculty meeting. Area annual reports will be due in April prior to the end of the academic year.

            These reports will serve many purposes. They will help the Director collect the information needed to write the School's Annual Report, and will help the Associate Director write the Learning Outcomes Report. However, it is hoped that they will do much more than help with these two tasks. As faculty members in each area meet to write these reports, the process will allow for comprehensive area assessments, and stimulate insights concerning the teaching/learning process, as well as curricular, facility, or miscellaneous needs of the discipline. It will result in an ongoing overview of each program’s development. We feel that this process will enhance the effectiveness of the School in numerous ways, and will enhance the quality of our programs of study. Sample guideline for ‘Discipline Annual Report’ is attached at the end of this report.

Application for Bachelor of Fine Arts Program – Studio Major

Name______________________________________________________ _________________

(Last) (First) (m.i.) date

Student ID, Phone & E-mail_______________________________________________________

Date of Application______________________________________________________________

Previous Application date(s) if any__________________________________________________

Applicant must include with his/her portfolio a one page written statement about your work and why you are choosing this major.

All portfolios must include 3 examples each from all foundation studio courses for a total of 12 examples from Art 1010, 1020, 1030, 1040. Additional examples of creative work may be included at your discretion.

Completion of Area F: Courses Appropriate to the Major

1. Studio Requirements (12)

Grade Semester/Year

Art 1010 ________________________________________________________________

Art 1020 ________________________________________________________________

Art 1030 ________________________________________________________________

Art 1040 ________________________________________________________________

2. Art History Requirements (select two courses) (6)

AH 1700 ________________________________________________________________

AH 1750 ________________________________________________________________

AH 1850 ________________________________________________________________

Proposed Concentration________________________________________________________

(List only 3000 and 4000 courses)

Course Grade Quarter/Year

________________________________________________________________

Application for Bachelor of Fine Arts Program – Studio Art Major (cont.)

This page for official use only

Learning Outcomes Portfolio and Written Statement Evaluation

Outcome Goal	Poor 1	Fair 2	Good 3	Very Good 4	Excellent 5	Out-standing 6	Not Applicable
Communication: Oral and/or Written
Analytical Skills
Critical Thinking Skills: a. Formal Concepts b. Original Concepts
Collaborative - Group Skills: Assignments Critiques
Quantitative Skills: Perceptual Proportion Color Related Quantitative

Admission Committee Action

____Accepted full status _____Re-apply

____Rejected _____Other, explain ____________________________

Committee Comments _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Name of assigned advisor -_____________________________________________________

Faculty Committee Signatures

Print Name Signature

1. ___________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________

Date ________________________________________________________________________

Bachelors of Fine Arts Program - Studio Art Major

Learning Outcomes Assessment Form for Undergraduate Student in Portfolio II

Semester / Year_____________________ Date___________________

Student’s Name: ____________________________ Student ID____________

(last) (first) (m.i)

Studio Discipline________________________________________________

Portfolio Documentation Collected

_____ Portfolio in Slides or on disk

_____ Written Artist Statement

_____ Resume

Learning Outcomes Assessment Evaluation

Outcome Goal	Poor 1	Fair 2	Good 3	Very Good 4	Excellent 5	Outstanding 6	Not Applic-able
Technical Skills: a. Formal b. Perceptual c. Technical
Interdisciplinary Knowledge: a. Cross discipline b. Experimental Approaches
Technology Skills:
Health and Safety
Outcome Goal	Poor 1	Fair 2	Good 3	Very Good 4	Excellent 5	Outstanding 6	Not Applic-able
Collaborative/ Group Skills
Contemporary Issues: a. Art Theory
Historical Knowledge: a. Broad factors that influence art
Multi-Cultural Awareness
Professional Preparation in Art

Comments (optional):

______________________________________________________________

Portfolio II Faculty Signatures

Print Name Signature

1. ___________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________________

Date ________________________________________________________________________

Outcome Goal	Poor 1	Fair 2	Good 3	Very Good 4	Excellent 5	Outstanding 6	Not Evaluated
Research and Critical Thinking: High level of competence in one medium
Cross Disciplinary Knowledge: Cross disciplinary and experimental approaches
Collaboration: Interdisciplinary projects
Communication: Broad awareness of contemporary art
Advanced Research Skills: For own artwork
Professional Skills: Presentation of own artwork

Master of Fine Arts Learning Outcomes Assessment Form

Grad Student’s Name:_____________________________________________________

Grad Student’s Major: _____________________________________________________

Faculty Committee Chair: ___________________________________________________

Committee Members: ______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Ernest G. Welch

School of Art and Design

Discipline Annual Report Template

Instructions: Please call an area meeting in order to complete this information. List only the 5 most significant activities or accomplishments for each question. Write “Not Applicable” or N/A if no significant activities have occurred. Answer all questions. Make sure all portfolio images are labeled with student’s name. Portfolios submitted on disk must be in PDF or Power Point format. Slides or prints are also acceptable. Turn in the completed form with all documentation to the Associate Director by April 20^th.

Also required with this completed form:

Photocopies of all “Application to Major” forms for Fall and Spring
Three documented portfolios of applicants to this discipline
Photocopies of all “Portfolio II Learning Outcomes Assessment” forms
Three documented senior BFA portfolios for this discipline
Photocopies of all MFA Learning Outcomes forms with sample portfolios and photocopy of theses

Discipline _______________________________________ Date______________________________

Area Coordinator_______________________________________________________________________

Names of all faculty members in the discipline

______________________________________ ____________________________________

A. Faculty Accomplishments

1. External Funding for Research (**list all – if necessary use an additional sheet of paper)

Last Name Funding Organization Brief Title Amount

______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Publications and/or Exhibitions - list 5 most significant highlights of faculty professional activities

______________________________________________________________________________________

Total number of publications, exhibitions, or other noteworthy professional development activities for

faculty members in this area. __________________

3. Faculty Honors (awards, fellowships, major accomplishments) Total number _______________

______________________________________________________________________________________

4. International Activities of Faculty – list study abroad programs, lectures, events, visiting scholars

______________________________________________________________________________________

5. Community Partnerships: community related events, service, diversity programs, work with public agencies.

______________________________________________________________________________________

6. Educational Partnerships: teacher workshops, work with K-12 teachers and students

______________________________________________________________________________________

7. Professional Conference or Public Presentations: lectures, symposia, conferences, etc.

______________________________________________________________________________________

8. Technology related initiatives: Innovative use of tech fee, technology-rich events, innovations in computer-based instruction

______________________________________________________________________________________

B. Student Accomplishments

1. Total number of students applying to major Fall _________________ Spring___________________

2. Total number of students accepted to major Fall _________________ Spring___________________

3. Total number of Application to Major Forms submitted with this report_____________________

4. Total number of “Application to Major” student portfolios submitted with this report _________

(Documented portfolios should contain images of all work submitted for review, copy of written

statement, and Application to Major form completely filled out and signed.)

5. Total number of students completing program of study and graduating:

Fall ___________________ Spring_____________________ Summer__________________________

6. Total number of Portfolio II Learning Outcomes Assessment Forms submitted with this report________

7. Total number of Portfolio II student portfolios documented _________________________________

(Portfolio II portfolios should include images of work completed during Portfolio II, copy of artist statement, resume, and Portfolio II Learning Outcomes Assessment Form.)

8. List Student’s Accomplishments: Exhibitions, papers, presentations, awards, recognition, honors

______________________________________________________________________________________

Student’s Accomplishments: Exhibitions, papers, presentations, awards, recognition, honors (cont.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

9. Summary of programmatic or curricular changes initiated or implemented based on learning outcomes, or other assessment processes.

______________________________________________________________________________________

C. Retention and Graduation Improvements in discipline

1. Describe any significant initiatives aimed at improving retention and graduation rates in this discipline.

______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Student Organization Activities – name student organization and describe significant activities

______________________________________________________________________________________