It is important that remaining Dance BA students continue to be academically and artistically supported as they move toward completion of the Dance BA degree which has been eliminated as a Dance degree program at SHSU for any student admitted as of Fall 2009 and after.

The dance faculty has been dissatisfied with the content of the BA in Dance.  It is not substantially different from the BFA, lacking its own "special" classes, simply having fewer requirements and creatinga two caste system in which those perceived as less talented are restricted in options to expand study of dance.  Lacking the faculty lines to develop a BA that is strong and distinctive, the dance faculty has resolved to eliminate the program but to continue to support those students who do not qualify or do not chose to change to the BFA program and who must complete their Dance BA program under the specifications given in the university catalog for the year in which they were admitted.

Dance BA students will  be expected to demonstrate proficiency in both Modern Dance and Ballet Technique by completion of their Dance major program

Like all dance majors, the BA students will be required to undergo Technique class placement screening each semester in order to be 'placed' in the appropriate level technique class in that semester. 

The assessment is conducted by a jury of Modern or Ballet faculty, as appropriate. The faculty adjudicators use the Technique Placement Rubric (both attached) for either Ballet or Modern and rate students on a scale of 1-4 on 10 standards and then render judgment about the placement of the student which are translated into the three levels:
-Ready for the subsequent technique class level
-Not Ready and required to repeat the level last completed
-In Need of Remediation and required to take a level lower than the one  last completed. 

The assessments of Junior and Senior level  Dance BA Students who underwent technique class placement screening for either or both Ballet or Modern Technique  in  Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 were  identified, grouped, and summarized for the evaluation of their Technical competence in dance. 

90% of the Juniors and Seniors assessed for this program evaluation will be judged technically competent to be placed in Intermediate level technique classes for Modern or Ballet.

6 of the 6 remaining Jr.s and Sr.s in the Dance BA program were  judged sufficiently competent in dance technique to be placed in intermediate level ballet or modern technique classes for fall 2011. They are still challenged by alignment, body positions, consistency, and performance quality.
 
18 students with Dance BA majors (1st or 2nd major)  were enrolled in Spring 2011.  Of those, 5 graduated in May, 4 auditioned and were admitted to the BFA in Dance program, and 2 majors were inactive in the program. 

As of Spring 2010, all newly admitted undergraduate students in the dance program will pursue the BFA curriculum, hence the future  focus of the department will shift towards sustaining and improving the quality of that program while continuing to nurture and hold the remaining BA students to the same standards that were expected of them when they were first admitted. In addition to assessing  the learning and demonstrated competence of  these dance students in the critical area of dance technique, Dance faculty feel that it is necessary to be able to assess how effectively they are facilitating learning in other areas of dance. To that end, the faculty will convene to draw up a Bachelor's level "comprehensive" exam to assess knowledge of Dance BA Seniors in areas of composition, terminology, kinesiology, Laban Movement Analysis, dance history, and world dance culture.  The faculty may use the Texas Examination of Educator Standards (TExES) as a point of departure for this comprehensive exam and will construct an instrument that reflects the curriculum focus of the program, in a form that can be assessed effectively by the dance faculty.