As a liaison with other colleges in the university, university administration, and the arts community at large, the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication should be an advocate for the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance,

Graduates of the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will demonstrate knowledge and skills to enter the workforce in their chosen area and/or be accepted into a related graduate program.

A survey of graduates six months after graduation will indicate that at least 75% of graduates are employed in their chosen or related field.  Additionally, at least 1% of graduates will have been accepted into a graduate program in a field related to their major area.

(This first year will be devoted to generating an appropriate survey to administer 6 months after graduation.  It will need to be complete by 8/1/2012.) 

Survey for COFAMC graduates created for distribution on the following tentative schedule:
Fall Graduates - June 1
Spring Graduates - Dec 1
Summer Graduates - Mar 1

Developing the initial survey led to consideration of expanding the scope of the survey.  Distribute to 2011-2012 COFAMC graduates on proposed timeline - 6 months after graduation.  Further development of survey will be considered to collect more information related the objective.

The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will encourage and facilitate the departments of Art, Dance, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Musical Theatre in attracting and maintaining quality faculties.

Faculty recruited to the College will have the appropriate degrees and skills to teach effectively, remain in the College for an average of five years, and meet appropriate research goals in their specific discipline.

At least 90% of tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College will have a terminal degree in the area in which they teach as documented by official transcripts.

Records indicate that 20 of 25 (80%) tenure-track faculty have completed terminal degrees in their field, and that 35 of 36 (97.2%) tenured faculty have completed terminal degrees in their field. Combined, 55 of 61 (90.1%) of tenured/tenure-track faculty have completed terminal degrees in their field.  (It is to be noted that the Department of Music has multiple faculty members who did not have a terminal degree (doctorate) in their field who were granted tenure.  It has been conveyed to the college that since the time they were granted tenure, a requirement of a completed doctorate to receive tenure has been implemented.  Those faculty who were granted tenure without a doctorate are being counted as tenured faculty with a terminal degree.  It should also be noted that a Master of Fine Arts -MFA - is considered to be a terminal degree in Art, Dance, and Theatre.)

The College faculty teaching will be rated by students, using the IDEA system, as above the institutional average as measured by the IDEA summary score.

Fall 2011 Summary– IDEA Averages, Comparisons, Analysis -The IDEA “Group Summary Report” report provided data and guidance for analysis related to the quality of teaching effectiveness in the COFAMC.  According to the Section III - Part 1 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, 5% is the degree that teaching effectiveness appears to be superior to SHSU courses.  Based on figures reported in Part 2 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, with a converted score of 52 (SHSU-50) and a rating of 4.2 on a 5-point scale (.01 above SHSU rating of 4.1), it did not appear that the overall teaching effectiveness of COFAMC was highly favorable.
 
Spring 2012 Summary– IDEA Averages, Comparisons, Analysis - The IDEA “Group Summary Report” report provided data and guidance for analysis related to the quality of teaching effectiveness in the COFAMC.  According to the Section III - Part 1 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, 3% is the degree that teaching effectiveness appears to be superior to SHSU courses.  Based on figures reported in Part 2 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, with a converted score of 52 (SHSU-50) and a rating of 4.1 on a 5-point scale (SHSU rating-4.1), it did not appear that the overall teaching effectiveness of COFAMC was highly favorable.

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Fall 2011 - According to the Section III, Part 1 of the IDEA “Group Summary Report” for the COFAMC for Fall 2011, the “Distribution of Converted Scores Compared to This Institution,” the adjusted Summary Evaluation (Average of “A. Progress on Relevant Objectives,” “B. Excellence of Teacher,” and “C. Excellence of Course”) indicated 6% were “Much Higher,” 29% were “Higher,” 50% were “Similar,” 9% were “Lower,” and 6% were “Much Lower.” 35% were Higher or Much Higher (5% above SHSU).  Section III, Part 2 indicates that the adjusted average converted scores of COFAMC courses (compared to SHSU) was 52, and on a 5-point scale, the adjusted average was 4.2 (.01 above SHSU rating of 4.1).  COFAMC courses did not exceed 55 in any area, and on a 5-point scale, was not .03 above SHSU (except for .03 above in Raw of “Excellence of Course”).   

Spring 2012 - According to the Section III, Part 1 of the IDEA “Group Summary Report” for the COFAMC for Spring 2012, the “Distribution of Converted Scores Compared to This Institution,” the adjusted Summary Evaluation (Average of “A. Progress on Relevant Objectives,” “B. Excellence of Teacher,” and “C. Excellence of Course”) indicated 7% were “Much Higher,” 26% were “Higher,” 52% were “Similar,” 9% were “Lower,” and 6% were “Much Lower.” 33% were Higher or Much Higher (3% above SHSU). Section III, Part 2 indicates that the adjusted average converted scores of COFAMC courses (compared to SHSU) was 52, and on a 5-point scale, the adjusted average was 4.1 (same as SHSU rating of 4.1).  COFAMC courses did not exceed 55 in any area, and on a 5-point scale, was not .03 above SHSU (except for .03 above in Raw of “Excellence of Course”).   

Contextualized IDEA Analysis Guidelines (p. 3 of IDEA “Group Summary Report”).  To the degree that the percentages of COFAMC classes in the two highest categories (Much Higher & Higher) exceed 30% (Part 1), teaching effectiveness appears to be superior to that in the comparison group (SHSU).  Similarly, if the Group’s converted average exceeds 55, and its average on the 5-point scale is 0.3 above that for the comparison group (Part 2), overall teaching effectiveness in the Group appears to be highly favorable.

To supplement the analysis of the data reported in the IDEA Group Summary Report, COFAMC departments were asked to submit the number of faculty teaching above the institutional average.  Results indicated that one department reported only 53% of their faculty as evaluated, and that 20% of the total faculty had evaluations above the institutional average (37.5% of faculty who were evaluated).  Another department reported only 86% of their faculty as evaluated, and that 71.4% of the total faculty had evaluations above the institutional average (83.3% of faculty that were evaluated).  The other departments reported 100% of the faculty as evaluated, with one of those department having 84% of the total faculty with evaluations above the institutional average, and the remaining reporting 100% of faculty having evaluations above the institutional average.  Combined, with 86.8% of faculty reported by the Departments as evaluated, 70.5% of the total COFAMC faculty had evaluations above the institutional average (81.1% of faculty that were evaluated).
 

 

 

At least 90% of tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College will remain in the college for an average of five years unless denied tenure or a continuing contract.

Records indicated that 63.93% (39 of 61 total) tenure/tenure-track faculty had served for at least five years.

At least 80% of tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College will complete appropriate scholarly work in their specific discipline (e.g. publishing at least two scholarly pieces) within the year as reported on the FES forms.  It is recognized that "scholarly work" often takes a different form in the Fine Arts, and may appear significantly different than a research publication that is a typical example of other scholarly work in the majority of other disciplines.  

Departments reported the number of tenured/tenure-track faculty who listed at least two scholarly works on their FES (Faculty Evaluation System). One department reported no (0%) faculty listing scholarly works on their FES.  Other departments reported 46.8%, 64%, 77.8%, and 100% of faculty listing at least two scholarly works.  Collectively, 35 of 61 COFAMC faculty (57.38%) listed at least two scholarly works on their FES.

Faculty are the “deliverers” of the programs of the department, and the quality of the faculty relates directly to the quality of the program. Reviewing multiple indicators of faculty quality inform the faculty of where they may be able to collectively improve. Results of the four performance indicators in this goal will be reviewed and improvement initiatives will be considered and prioritized.

Terminal Degree. Though records indicate that achievement of terminal degrees by tenured/tenure-track faculty is an area of strength, COFAMC will collect data to assess this faculty characteristic.

IDEA.  Based on the data in Group Summary Report for the College and the information forwarded by the departments, teaching effectiveness is a potential area for improvement.  However, it has reportedly been suggested in the past to university administration that the IDEA instrument does not address the peculiarities of instruction and student preparation in the fine arts, and that the evaluation and related data may not provide an accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness for many courses taught in the Fine Arts. 

That said, in 2012-2013, more specific data will be reviewed, analyzed, and shared with the departments in the hopes of making appropriate adjustments to the process and/or instrument to determine a more accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness across the COFAMC.  If chairs agree, an ad-hoc committee will be created to consider and propose improvements to the evaluation instrument and process.  Changes implemented would hopefully provide a more accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness, and in turn provide data that would inform department’s efforts to improve the teaching effectiveness of their faculty.

Retention of Faculty.  Though records indicate the retention of faculty (63.93%) was well below the goal of 90%, the process suggested the need for a more thoughtful and/or detailed approach to capturing and assessing this element of faculty quality.  An improved approach will be researched and implemented in 2012-2013.

Scholarly Work.  The percentage of scholarly work listed by faculty (57%) on FES as reported to the college by the departments was very inconsistent and well below the goal of 80% proposed in the COFAMC objective.  It is suggested that more scholarly work is accomplished than was reported.  In 2012-2013, it will be requested that the departments disaggregate the faculty information into tenured and tenure-track data to better assess and support junior faculty who are pursuing tenure. The expectation of scholarly work for both tenured and tenure-track faculty will be discussed with the department with the hope of getting closer to the goal of 80% of faculty reporting scholarly work.

The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will support the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance in their efforts to improve student recruitment, success, and retention.

The College will support the recruitment of highly qualified students, generating degree plans that promote success, and retaining students as majors from year to year

There will be a 2% increase in undergraduate students for the College as reported by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (IRA).

Based on enrollment records spanning five long semesters (Spring 2010 to Spring 2012), undergraduate enrollment decreased in two departments (-13.2% and -4.9%).  Undergraduate enrollment increased in the other departments (10.6%, 15,7%, and 16.3%).  The collective growth in undergraduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC over the last five semesters is .071%.

Based on enrollment records of the last two fall semesters (Fall 2010 and Fall 2011), undergraduate enrollment decreased in three departments (-9.38%, -6.57%, and -.4%).  Undergraduate enrollment increased in the other departments (7.61% and 13.95%).  The collective decrease in undergraduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC from Fall 2010 to Fall 2011 is 2.47%.

The figures above indicate less than 1% growth in the current COFAMC departments since Spring 2010, and a decrease of nearly 2½ % in fall enrollment between Fall 2010 and Fall 2011.

There will be a 1.5% increase in graduate students for the College as reported by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (IRA).

Based on enrollment records spanning five long semesters (Spring 2010 to Spring 2012), graduate enrollment in the two departments with graduate programs increased (55.56% and 22.22%).  The collective growth in graduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC over the last five semesters is 33.33%.

Based on enrollment records of the last two fall semesters (Fall 2010 and Fall 2011), graduate enrollment in one of the two departments with graduate programs increased 52.38%, while enrollment in the other department remained flat at 0%.  The collective growth in graduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC from Fall 2010 to Fall 2011 is 34.38%.

Based on enrollment records of the last two spring semesters (Spring 2011 and Spring 2012), graduate enrollment in the two departments with graduate programs increased (27.27% and 22.22%).  The collective growth in graduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC from Spring 2011 to Spring 2012 is 24.14%.

The figures above indicate significant growth (33%) in the current COFAMC departments since Spring 2010, with the growth trend continuing through the last two fall semesters (34%) and the last two spring semesters (24%).

At least 85% of students will have filed their degree plan before their senior year as reported by the Registrar’s Office.

A search in DegreeWorks produced no undeclared junior status students in COFAMC.

At least 80% of students declaring their majors in the College will persist in the College through graduation as measured by major rosters and graduation rosters provided by the Registrar’s Office from year to year.

Institutional report does not facilitate the capture of persistence of major.

Strategies to recruit and retain quality students can be informed by enrollment data. Reviewing increase of enrollment and persistence of students' major will inform consideration of improvement initiatives. Requests for focused reports to collect data will be forwarded to information services.

Increase Undergraduate Enrollment.  Depending on the comparison semesters, records indicated both increase and decrease in undergraduate enrollment for the college, but generally, enrollment numbers did not meet the 2% goal stated in the COFAMC indicator.  The most recent comparisons actually indicate a decrease in enrollment for the college. However, when disaggregated by department, enrollment in some department increased while other decreased.  Discussion with some departments suggested that despite a university goal to increase enrollment, they were monitoring growth in consideration of the negative consequences of outgrowing resources, facilities, and faculty.  Detailed enrollment data will be shared with chairs and enrollment strategies that balance growth and resources will be determined.

Increase Graduate Enrollment.  Records indicated a marked increase in graduate enrollment for the two departments in the college that currently have graduate programs, and surpassed the 1% goal stated in the COFAMC indicator.  (Note:  The data did not include students enrolled in the American Band College program).  Detailed enrollment data will be shared with chairs and enrollment strategies that balance growth and resources will be determined.

Filing Degree Plan.  No undeclared COFAMC students of junior status were noted.  The objective indicator is surpassed and will likely not carry over in 2012-2013.

Persistence of Major.  Collection of this comparative data proved to be challenging to obtain.  Efforts to secure the information will be ongoing, and to make the process more straightforward, a request should be forwarded to Information Technology to create a “Persistence of Major” report.  After the data is determined and collected, it will be analyzed and shared with the department chairs for consideration and planning for improvement initiatives if appropriate.

The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will encourage, suggest, and support efforts by the departments of Art, Dance, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Musical Theatre to be of service to communities in and outside the university.

The College’s faculty members and students will provide service to various entities

The number of Academic Community Engagement Courses (ACE) will increase by 1% over the previous year as reported by the ACE Center. We will also survey faculty regarding the ease and difficulty with having a course with an ACE designation.

Director of Academic Community Engagement program indicated that COFAMC departments (then in COAS and CHSS) had 2 ACE-designated courses in 2010-2011.  Those same departments offered 11 ACE courses in 2011-2012, representing a 550% increase in ACE courses offered by COFAMC departments.

For a baseline of services, the College will begin generating a database of services provided to the various entities, being sure to document the faculty member, course number, and any other statistic that demonstrates the global emphasis on service.  The initial step will be to identify which College faculty have ACE-designated courses. This information can be provided by the ACE Center. Eventually, we will be able to determine from the database our strengths and weaknesses in global service.

The Center for Academic Community Involvement created a database of ACE courses that included pertinent information for tracking, providing information on courses and departments that connect and engage outside the confines of a course.

The incorporation of Academic Community Engagement into more courses in the departments of the COFAMC will be encouraged and tracked.

ACE Courses.  A faculty member who can represent the majority of the departments in the college will be appointed to the Engaged Scholar Committee and will take a lead role in recruiting faculty to submit courses for ACE designation and support them through the application and implementation process.  The college will support a one course release for the college’s representative on the university level committee. 

 
Service Database.  A database has been created to collect information on ACE courses and other efforts in the college that involve service to the community.  This database will be expanded as information related to community service efforts is requested and collected.  Faculty involved in service efforts that could, but are not incorporated into an ACE-designated course, will be encouraged to consider ACE-designation for their course.

The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will determine strategic initiatives which support the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance, and concurrently foster the creation and growth of the new College.

Present new strategic initiatives from the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance, to university administration as a crucial component of creating a new college within the university.

One strategic initiative from each college will be forwarded for possible funding through Academic Affairs budget allocation.

COFAMC forwarded the following initiatives from the Departments (1 March 2012) for possible funding to Academic Affairs:
Art – Enhance Animation Program;
Dance – Establish a Department of Dance;
Mass Communication – Spanish Radio Station;
Mass Communication – International Media Center;
Music – Create a Center for String Pedagogy;
Theatre – Create a Center for Musical Theatre.

Track support record of strategic initiatives presented by the College to assess and implement appropriate modifications.

A database for tracking submission and approval dates, and the funding support record for the strategic initiatives presented by the College has been created.

For unfunded initiatives, seek and identify funding both within the College and through external funding sources.

Some alternative funding sources had been identified in the fall semester, but pursuit of sources was suspended due to the transition of leadership in the College.  Plans are to renew those efforts in 2012-2013

Funding for proposed strategic initiatives was secured as follows:

COFAMC forwarded the following initiatives from the Departments (1 March 2012) for possible funding to Academic Affairs:

Dance – Establish a Department of Dance-Appvd 25 May 12, will be 5th COFAMC department on Sept 1, 2012;
Mass Communication – Spanish Radio Station-Appvd 26 June 12 ($58,000 requested and approved)
Mass Communication – International Media Center-Appvd 26 June 12; ($320,683 requested, $328,000 approved)

Art – Enhance Animation Program; (not approved as of 3Aug 2012
Music – Create a Center for String Pedagogy; (not approved as of 3 Aug 2012)
Theatre – Create a Center for Musical Theatre. (not approved as of 3Aug 2012)

Possible alternative funding initiatives for Art, Music, and Theatre were discussed, but funds were not directed or committed.

The College will Develop an Advisory Board to advise regarding alumni and donor relations

This first year, we will identify possible advisory board members and make initial contact with them.  Our goal will be to identify one person from each department in the College to approach about service on the advisory board.

An advisory board comprised of members of the community was formed to advise and support the dean on initiatives to connect with the community. Meetings of the faculty advisory board were suspended upon the change in leadership for the college.

A second advisory board comprised of faculty members from each department was formed to advise and serve as a sounding board for the dean in academic and program matters. Meetings of the faculty advisory board were suspended upon the change in leadership for the college.

Establishment of dean's office staff to administer and facilitate college communication, business, and interaction with students, faculty, and administration.

The dean’s office has brought together a staff of skilled individuals with a variety of learning and working styles.  The diversity of approaches and the skills of the staff are a formula for a powerful and effective administrative team.  The establishment of a COFAMC marketing coordinator position this fall was key for future initiatives of the college and its departments.

Establish COFAMC Policy and Procedures Committee to facilitate collaborative method of determining college policies and procedures.

A COFAMC Policy and Procedures Committee, consisting of tenured and tenure-track faculty representatives from each department, was established.  It is co-chaired by faculty, and was an important step in creating a collaborative, faculty-focused, consensus-based foundation for decision-making in the college.

Resuming meetings of the community and faculty advisory boards that were suspended in the spring of 2012 is planned.  There are also plans for coordinating a donor list (supplied by the Development Office) with merging two ticketing systems into a single comprehensive ticketing system, thus facilitating improved tracking of trends and connections in patron (donors, alumni, staff, etc.) attendance.