PROGRAM GOALS:
Students in the Art Department work within the context of a
traditional liberal arts education, rather than concentrating
only on studies in art as they would in graduate school or an
Art academy. On the undergraduate level a screening process
takes place when the University accepts the student, and
questions of potential and motivation are generally assessed at
that time. To identify gifted students in art is difficult both
in school systems and the professional world. In the studio
program at CSUB, we choose to approach this issue with the
belief that our students will themselves begin to identify and
develop their aesthetic and creative orientation when given the
opportunity.
When viewing the critical discourse of the modern period one
thing is quite clear; there continues to be a diverse and
ever-changing array of contrasting viewpoints about the nature
of art and the characteristics of aesthetic value. In the
contemporary world the process of change has accelerated to such
a degree that, whatever universal standards may once have been
recognized, they have been challenged to the point that any
absolute values have been significantly compromised. We reject
the idea that there are some objective or statistical criteria
for assessment of the artistic performance.
One of the most important elements of our program is the
exchange of ideas between the students themselves. Our program
is designed to encourage them to identify and compare their
esthetic perspectives as they learn to function as artists. We
want our students to see each other as individuals with unique
values, ideals, goals and a conscious understanding of their own
lives and the world around them. We challenge students to
consider what purpose art can serve in this constantly changing
world. Our curriculum addresses these ideas to provide our
students with the perspectives and insights necessary to fulfill
their career goals and to sharpen their awareness of the
significance of creativity in their lives. By structuring a
curricular approach that encourages students to express and
exchange their ideas freely and to develop confidence in their
personal view, we feel we enhance their education well beyond
what is provided by a more rigid traditional curriculum.
Studio Art Program Goals:
Students graduating in Studio Art will be able to function
creatively and effectively in the studio setting.
| Student Outcome #1. |
Graduating students will demonstrate
the ability to "read" the non-verbal language of art and
design, and to express their "reading" in clear written
and verbal forms.
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| Student Outcome #2. |
Graduating students will demonstrate
familiarity with and basic competence in a number of art
or design media, as well as the safety issues pertaining
to those media.
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| Student Outcome #3. |
Graduating students will
have a basic specialization in a selected art medium or
related media which form their primary means of artistic
expression.
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| Student Outcome #4. |
Graduating students will
possess the ability to express personal responses to
visual phenomena, both intellectually and intuitively.
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| Student Outcome #5. |
Graduating students will
possess a familiarity with the major achievements in the
history of art, including the works and intentions of
leading artists from diverse cultures in the past and
the present.
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| Student Outcome #6. |
Graduating students will
possess the ability to understand and evaluate
contemporary thinking about the visual arts.
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| Student Outcome #7. |
Graduating students will
possess the ability to make valid assessments of
qualitative expression in the visual arts. |
Art History Goals:
Students graduating in Art History will be able to research,
understand and discuss meaningfully the nature and achievements
of art in other times and other cultures.
| Student Outcome #1. |
Graduating students will possess the ability to "read" the
non-verbal language of art and design, and to express their
reading in clear written and verbal forms.
|
| Student Outcome #2. |
Graduating students will possess a
basic familiarity with art and design media.
|
| Student Outcome #3. |
Graduating students will
possess familiarity with the major achievements in the
history of art, including the works and intentions of
leading artists from diverse cultures in the past and
the present.
|
| Student Outcome #4. |
Graduating students will
possess a deeper understanding of one or more periods in
the history of art.
|
| Student Outcome #5. |
Graduating students will
possess the necessary research tools and information to
work effectively at the beginning levels of professional
art history.
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| Student Outcome #6. |
Graduating students will
possess the ability to make valid assessments of
qualitative expression in the visual arts. |
Studio Art Assessment Procedures:
The following activities are used in order to determine
student outcomes in Studio Art.1. The curriculum is
designed to assure that each student has a broad exposure to
studio media, and the achievements in the visual arts by diverse
cultures. Each studio major must complete a core of lower
division course work, which provides a basic knowledge of two
and three-dimensional design principles, and explores drawing
techniques. In addition, each student takes a two quarter survey
of World Art History. At the upper division level, each studio
major is required to take basic courses in two and three
dimensional art media in order facilitate a broad understanding
of artistic process. Students also take two upper division art
history courses in Modern Art (late 19th century to c. 1970),
and Contemporary Art. But the major goals of the upper division
studio experience at CSUB is allow the student to explore in
depth his or her chosen artistic medium, or related media.
Studio courses include critiques of individual student work by
both the instructor and the other students. In these, the
student is required to defend his or her aesthetic choices and
work, both through oral presentations and through dialogue.
Student evaluations are done in most classes. These evaluations
include course objectives, an analysis as to whether or not
those objectives have been met and any suggestions that the
students may have for the improvement of the course.
2. In the first half of the Senior Art Project (Art
490), which forms the culminating academic experience for Studio
majors, each graduating major concentrates on creating a body of
artistic work to be exhibited in the Todd Madigan Gallery. In
addition, each graduating major prepares a concise "thesis"
which provides reasons for the aesthetic choices in and the
content (meaning) of their art works. This thesis, which should
be approximately five pages in length, should also describe any
inspirations on their creative choices.
3. A "Senior Review" is given prior to each student's
final senior exhibition, at the end of the first half of the
Senior Art Project (Art 490), which forms the culminating
academic experience for Studio majors. This review takes place
before the entire faculty, and takes the form of an oral
dialogue between the faculty and student. The student is asked
to provide a rationale for his or her artistic choices as shown
in works of art to be exhibited in the university gallery.
4. Outcomes Assessment for each student is made by
program faculty from the Senior Review, and from Art 491, the
second half of the Senior Art Project. In Art 491, each student
selects work under faculty supervision to be exhibited in the
Todd Madigan Gallery. While the work is on public view, the
student submits a portfolio that is examined by the entire art
faculty. This portfolio includes a resumé, ten slides of the
student's work, the final text of the student's Senior thesis,
and a summary of the thesis offering a concise statement of the
student's artistic goals.
5. The Art faculty schedules a yearly meeting with the
students in a Group Forum where the scope, quality and direction
of our program can be discussed in an open and informative
manner
Art History Assessment Procedures:
The following activities are used in order to determine
student outcomes in Art History:
1. Each Art History major takes a two quarter survey of World
Art, and three studio courses as part of the lower division
core. In addition, each student must complete two quarters of a
single foreign language as part of the major. The program
requires each major to take five upper division course in Art
History, of which one is in Ancient or Medieval art, one in art
of the Renaissance through the 18th century, one in Modern Art
(Art 483), one further in art of the 19th and 20th centuries,
with the final course an elective. This ensures that the student
has a broad knowledge of art in diverse cultures throughout
time.
2. Each student writes a senior thesis as his or her culminating
experience (Art 492). This paper, of approximately 20-30 pages,
and with full scholarly apparatus, is prepared on a topic of
interest to the student under direct supervision of a faculty
member.
3. Each Art History major will take a brief test as part of Art
492. This will consist of 25 multiple choice questions, each
worth four points, which measures the student's factual
knowledge of and recall of Art History course work. Successful
passage of this test (70% or better) is required in order to
complete Art 492.
4. Each student will submit a portfolio of three papers. This
should consist of the senior thesis, a long (at least ten pages)
research paper prepared for an art history class, and a shorter
paper from an art history class. The test (see 3 above) will be
added to this portfolio.
Timeline for Implementing the Assessment Program:
The basic program was implemented in a preliminary form last
year (see appended student portfolios). In studio art, last
year's graduates were not required to submit a thesis. This
requirement will be implemented in the Winter and Spring
quarters of this academic year. In art history, last year's sole
graduate was not required to complete the test, nor submit a
portfolio. Her senior thesis is appended. The assessment
procedures outlined above will be implemented this Spring
quarter.
Program Review:
As required by the CSU, the Art Department undertakes regular
official programmatic reviews with all the appropriate
consultation and planning. In future reviews, the collected
student portfolios will be evaluated as part of the review
process, and lessons gleaned from them used to modify or improve
instruction.
In addition, periodic Faculty Peer Reviews (i.e. post tenure)
are conducted for each full time faculty member. The style of
the review is loosely modeled after the existing R.P.T. process,
but will seek to incorporate feedback from student assessment,
as well as constructive suggestions concerning creative work,
teaching and individual contributions to the university and
community.
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