The BFA in Graphic Design will provide students with the skiils and training necessary for the professional practice of Graphic Design. Graduates of the BFA program will be qualified for graduate study at Universities offering the Master of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design.

Students will demonstrate basic skills in drawing, design, and awareness of contemporary art.

BFA review portfolios will be required of all students pursuing the BFA before they enroll in upper level Art courses.

The BFA Portfolio Review will be held at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters and include a selection of coursework from 
Art 130 and 131 (WASH)
Art 163 (Drawing)
Art 164 (Life Drawing 1)
Art 262 (Foundations in Digital Art)

Students who do not pass the BFA Review will become BA majors in Studio Art. Students who choose the BA at the outset of their art studies are not required to take the BFA Review, but the Review provides an assessment of work done in the Foundation courses that the BA students are required to take.

All BFA Candidates participate in BFA Review after completion of Sophomore level art foundation courses to assess their retention and integration of skills learned. Students bring work from these classes to the review and are assessed by a panel of faculty.

Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to make sophisticated compositions using the elements of line, shape, color, form, texture, value and scale and the principles of balance, movement, symmetry, organization, and figure-ground relationships.
Students will be evaluated on their ability to keep a sketchbook and to creatively solve problems by exhibiting works that are unique examples of harmonious design. Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to convey concepts through the use of the elements of design.

The BFA review will be held once a semester. A panel of at least 5 Art faculty will review each portfolio. Using a scale of 1-10 to evaluate the student work. It is expected that at least 80% of the students will receive a score of 7 or higher. The Faculty will use a rubric developed by the BFA review committee. It is expected that at least 80% of students pursuing the BFA in Graphic Design will pass the review.

29% of Graphic Design students failed the BFA portfolio reviiew in 2010-11.

Faculty comments and scores indicated that there was a lack of quality in the 3-Dimensional work, that sketchbooks did not appear to be emphasized in the curriculum, and that the conceptual basis for the WASH projects was weak. The faculty noted that in the figurative work from Life Drawing, students had very similar styles of rendering and compositions consistently excluded hands and feet. The work indicated that students were being taught a "right" way to draw rather then being taught to use technical skills to express their own style or "voice". The figurative work demonstrated a failure to teach a gestural approach to drawing. 

Change the course descriptions of ART 163 (1316) Drawing to include Gesture. Teach the traditions of drawing and place it in a historical context that emphasizes its importance in contemporary art.

Change the course description of ART 164 (1317) Life Drawing 1 to include Gesture and Compositional strategies.

Change the course description of ART 269 (3317) to emphasize personal expression and a study of the use of the figure in contemporary art.

Evaluate the Adjunct Faculty and adjust teaching assignments to ensure that qualified instructors are teaching the core classes and that the course descriptions are being followed.

The BFA in Graphic Design will provide students with the skiils and training necessary for the professional practice of Graphic Design. Graduates of the BFA program will be qualified for graduate study at Universities offering the Master of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design.

Students will demonstrate:

- principles of visual organization and composition, information, hierarchies, symbolic representation, typography, aesthetics, and the construction of meaningful images;
- use of tools and technology in the creation, reproduction, and distribution of visual images associated with techniques of drawing, offset printing, photography, and time-based interactive media;
- the ability to identify and solve graphic design problems through data-gathering, alternate solutions generation, prototype creation, and outcome evaluation;
- the ability to recognize cognitive, cultural, and social human factors that shape design decisions; and
- the ability to organize design projects and work effectively as a member of a team.

Students will be required to take ART 434 and produce a portfolio that includes printed copies of at least 10 successful graphic design projects and a digital portfolio of at least 10 successful graphic design projects and participate in a Graphic Design Senior Exhibition.

•Investigation – has the student demonstrated; a process of researching the requirements, subject matter, and possible solutions for given a project. Has the student displayed progress beyond initial ideation, effort to reach and visualize unique solutions, attention to materials and production options.
•Typography – has the student demonstrated; an understanding of typographic standards, the ability to select type appropriate for a given project, the ability to organize typographic information in a logical, hierarchal manor, the ability to utilize type as image, the ability to employ type as an expressive visual element.
•Image – has the student demonstrated; appropriate selection and use of imagery, use of image as a representational visual element, use of image as a non-representational visual element.
•Color – has the student demonstrated; the application of basic color theory, an understanding of the use of color as an organizational visual element, an understanding of the use of color as an expressive visual element.
•Craftsmanship – has the student demonstrated; attention to detail, successful handling of materials, cleanliness, as well as attention to spelling, alignment, dimensions.
•Gestalt – has the student demonstrated; the ability to successfully organize all visual elements of a project as a unified whole, the ability to create visual interest, attention to thoroughness and completeness.

The portfolios will be evaluated by a committee of Graphic Design faculty. The faculty will use a rubric developed and adopted by the committee. Using a scale of 0-100% to determine successful completion of the portfolio, it is expected that at least 80% of the students will score 80% or higher.

79% of the students scored above 80 on the evaluation of their senior portfolios.
An examination of the scores and the faculty comments indicates weakness in the use of type as a sophisticated design element, weaknesses in the students selection and use of imagery to appropriately convey a theme or idea and the ability to synthesize all of the visual elements into a cohesive whole that conveys the essence of the product, company or message that the work represents.

Students in ART 333 will design a personal website. Student websites will:
• contain properly prepared graphic elements
• have functioning links to other pages
• be properly uploaded to the server and function properly
• have at least one dynamic html object
• have META tags on at least one page
• use tables as a design structure
• be aesthetically pleasing

The websites will be evaluated by a committee of Photography and/or Graphic Design faculty. The faculty will use a rubric developed and adopted by the committee. Using a scale of 0-100% to determine successful completion of the portfolio, it is expected that at least 80% of the students will score 80% or higher.

44% of the student websites received a score below 80 by the faculty evaluators. The scores were lowest in the area of aesthetics and quality of design. The evaluations showed that students were being taught rudimentary technical elements related to the creation of websites, but were not demonstrating the ability to use design concepts in their constructions.
The evaluators also felt that the rubric should be modified to evaluate CSS rather than tables and that CSS and it's use in design structure should be taught. 

Students in ART 230 will learn the technical principles and creative potential of photography. They will produce 6 prints during the semester. 5 of these prints will be submitted in an envelope at the end of the semester.

A committee of Photography faculty will evaluate the 5 prints from assignments in ART 230. The faculty will use a rubric developed and adopted by the committee. Using a scale of 0-100%,it is expected that at least 80% of students receive a score of 75% or greater.

Faculty evaluators felt that none of the portfolios produced by students in this class demonstrated the photographic abilities required by students in a Graphic Design Program.

The Graphic Design curriculum will be revised to require a second semester of Typography.
ARTS 4325 Advanced Typography is an exploration of typography beyond its foundations. Students will investigate the interdependence of type, image, and content, as they relate to visual communication. Projects will focus on the handling of complex, extended copy and the creation of information graphics.  

ARTS 3383 Design History will be added to the curriculum. The course will provide an overview of the styles, schools, philosophies, and parallel fields of design from the Industrial Revolution to current day and emphasize the  development of the profession of graphic design and its relationship to commerce and technology. 

The Graphic Design Curriculum will be modified to require ART 4333 Interactive Design. This course will build upon the technical skills taught in ART 333 Website Design and emphasize the design and aesthetic elements of internet delivered content.

ART 230 Photographic Principles is a course for non-majors. The Graphic Design Curriculum will be revised to require ART 236 (2375) Photographic Principles as the required Photography class. This class covers the fundamental concepts and techniques of Photography that are needed by the Graphic Design Students.