Art Department Annual Assessment Report to the College 2017-2018

Abstract

The Art department (B.A./BFA; M.A./M.F.A.) 2017-18 annual assessment report to the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication for the Office of Academic Assessment and Program Review. The department continued its ongoing assessments of critical thinking at the upper division via rubric-scored direct assessments of student work, reporting the following results: “1. The Synthesis component of the rubric had the highest scoring average, vs. that of the Interpretation, Context, and Analysis component. This is true for both the written and image-based works. The overall average score was 2.95 out of 4 (74%). 2. The lowest scoring component was the Context component, which addresses interrelated surrounding conditions used in developing the artwork, and/or which might used as a subject for the artwork. The overall average score was 2.86 out of 4 (72%). 3. Interpretation and Analysis were close with 2.92 and 2.91 (73%), respectively. 4. The breakdown for each course shows some differences in performance. Art 344: Graphic Design II had the highest overall averages for all components, while Art 414: History of Japanese Art scored the lowest. A. Art 344: Synthesis- 3.21, Context-3.02, Interpretation-3.05, Analysis-3.08 B. Art 414: Synthesis- 2.78, Context-2.70, Interpretation-2.74, Analysis-2.72,” concluding that “according to item #1, Students seem to have an easier time with combining visual elements into a cohesive composition (creating the artwork) than with analysis of their own work, while “ according to item #2, scoring may have revealed a deficit in students finding connections within their artwork and utilizing clear external influences (external influences such as other artists' work, social/cultural connections, other researched ideas and information),” and “according to item #4, as noted above, the data support the finding that students are more drawn to and engaged with visual projects than with written assignments.” In addition, an analysis of high DFU rates in lower division Art history courses (ART 110, 112, & 114) from 2007-2014 revealed that reducing the enrollment cap on these courses made no difference to student success in those courses, leading to an hypothesis that “pedagogical factors and faculty performance may be at issue.” Recommendations from the department’s Faculty Learning Community will be explored in 2018-19 to help improve student performance, and the department will be conducting General Education assessment in 2018-19 as part of the Arts & Humanities GE assessment initiative.