UNION COUNTY COLLEGE ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW. Liberal Arts/Fine Arts/Photography Associate in Arts Degree

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1 I. Program Objectives UNION COUNTY COLLEGE ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW Liberal Arts/Fine Arts/Photography Associate in Arts Degree The Fine Arts Option in Photography is a Liberal Arts transfer-oriented curriculum that provides students, through a core of visual arts/photography-related courses, a theoretical and practical understanding of the artistic and commercial areas of photography. Utilizing skills and techniques learned through a combined lecture/studio/darkroom experience, students are taught the basics of black and white, color photography, and the history of photography which are applicable to the commercial and artistic environments. A large component of this program focuses on developing studio photography skills, including darkroom techniques, standard and large format camera usage, studio lighting, theoretical and historical applications, and comprehensive portfolio development. The specific objectives of this program are that the graduate must be able to demonstrate: a practical and theoretical understanding of general picture-taking skills including f/stop, shutter speed and depth of field control; the ability to process black and white negatives and color and black and white prints; a knowledge and familiarity of all darkroom and studio equipment including strobes, large format cameras, and light meters; an awareness of historical and contemporary issues of photographic practice and an ability to generate critical thinking and effective communication about art; a portfolio of work that demonstrates competency in photography and provides the necessary visual support material needed for transfer acceptance into a fouryear program or for an entry-level vocational position. II. Departmental Organization and Administration The LAPH program is an associate in arts degree program. The coordinator of the program has limited responsibilities for student advisement and the administrative maintenance of the program such as program updates. The professors of the LAPH program report to their respective department chairpersons and to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who reports to the President of Union County College (Union). III. Curriculum Business (3 credits): Communications (18 credits): BUS 203 Principles of Advertising ENG 101 English Composition I ENG 102 English Composition II ENG 128 Dynamics of Communication OR ENG 129 Public Speaking ENG 200-Level Literature Course 1

2 Economics, Government, History (9 credits): Mathematics, Science and Technology (12 credits): Social Sciences (6 credits): Fine Arts (18 credits): Total (66 credits) 2 Modern Language Courses HIS 101 Introduction to Western Civilization I HIS 102 Introduction to Western Civilization II GOV 202 American National Government OR PHI 205 Introduction to Philosophy MAT 119 Algebra MAT 127 Elementary Statistics OR Laboratory Science 1 Laboratory Science PSY 101 General Psychology PSY 102 Psychology of Personality FIA 108 Art Appreciation FIA 221 Black & White Photography I FIA 222 Black & White Photography II FIA 223 Color Photography FIA 225 Advanced Digital Imaging for Art & Photography FIA Diversity Course (FIA 105, FIA 111, FIA 112, or FIA 117) The total number of credits required in the LAPH program meets the criteria for being awarded an Associate in Arts degree and the distribution of courses is appropriate for a typical Music/Fine Arts curriculum. The importance of the English communications courses cannot be overemphasized; repeatedly employer feedback highlights the need for good communications skills from employees. The remaining courses help contribute to developing students wellrounded general education. All of these courses have the appropriate content and level as indicated by the course descriptions in the Union course catalog. IV. Students A. Program Enrollment Analysis The proportionate change in total LAPH majors has a history of fluctuating. The total enrollment in the academic year included 47 LAPH majors, most of whom were continuing (17) or first-time (17) students. Table 1 details LAPH enrollment patterns over the past several years. Table 2 further details fall enrollment patterns by attendance status. As can be seen in this table, there was a slight increase in the amount of students enrolled in the Fall of 2008 (30) to the Fall of 2009 (31). Table 3 shows the number of transfers into the LAPH program. The LAPH program had 4 external transfers in both and which decreased to 2 from to The amount of external transfers decreased again to 1 from to and then increased to 2 in From to the amount of external transfer remained at 1. Student attrition throughout the LAPH program can be seen in Table 4. As Table 4 depicts, there were 14 first-time LAPH students in the Fall of Of the 14 first-time students 3 (21%) continued in the LAPH program after four semesters. Those who did not remain in the 2

3 LAPH program either stopped attending Union County College (5 students, or 36%), or changed their major (6 students, or 43%). Table 5 illustrates the number of graduates from the LAPH program. There were 0 graduates from the LAPH program in which increased to 2 in and remained at 2 in The number of LAPH graduates decreased to 1 in and remained at 1 in The number of students who graduated then increased to 2 in and decreased back to 1 in The cohort of first-time, full-time freshmen who entered the LAPH program in the Fall of 2006 were tracked for three-years. During the three year time period the attrition rate was one hundred percent. Table 6 contains this information. Credit hours generated from LAPH students increased 164 hours to 689 credit hours from fiscal year (FY) 2004 to FY Table 7 contains this information. The LAPH direct instructional cost has increased over $13,000 between the 2004 and 2009 fiscal years, to $63, while the cost per full-time equivalent (FTE) student has also increased to $2, Table 8 has figures since FY There is 1 similar Associate s degree program and 2 similar Certificate programs in the area. Table 9 lists these schools and programs. B. Core Course Scheduling and Enrollment Table 10 depicts the distribution of students among core LAPH courses from the to academic years. Overall, 3,436 (duplicate) students enrolled in 172 sections of core LAPH courses with an average class size of 20.0 students. A total of 499 (duplicate) students enrolled in the core LAPH courses in academic year There were 23 sections that ran, with an overall average class size of 21.7 students. During the academic year, 587 (duplicate) students enrolled in 25 sections for an average class size of 23.5 students. It should be noted that Advanced Digital Imaging for Art & Photography (FIA 225) was not offered or run at all during the to academic years. All other LAPH core courses were offered and ran at least once during the to academic years. Additional required course enrollment is presented in Table 11. Table 12 contains core course scheduling information. There were a total of 181 core courses offered, of which 172 actually ran, over the seven year time period. Most LAPH major courses were offered (and ran) on the Cranford campus. Tuesday/Thursday courses dominated the schedule, with 68 of the 71 offered courses running. Apart from Tuesday/Thursday courses, the most popular days for courses were Monday/Wednesday (44 that ran) and classes that started between 9:00am - 9:59am (31 that ran). C. Student Outcomes The Office of Assessment, Planning and Research conducts an annual survey of Union graduates. All of the LAPH respondents reported that they accomplished their objective at Union. Survey results over the past four years also emphasize that the majority of LAPH would recommend Union to others. Further details from this survey are presented in Table 13. V. Summary and Conclusions 3

4 The obvious weakness of the LAPH program is low retention. In the Fall of 2008 the LAPH program had 14 first-time students enrolled. Of these 14 students, only 3 were still enrolled in the LAPH program after four semesters. When compared to the total Union County College three-year graduation and transfer rates of Fall 2006 full-time, first-time, degree/certificate seeking students the LAPH program falls short. The graduation rate for the total college was 5.9% and the transfer rate was 16.7% while both the graduation and transfer rate for the LAPH program was 0.0%. It was noted that one of the core courses, FIA 225, has not been offered in seven years. The coordinator of the FIAM program did not attended meetings involving the program review. This review is being submitted without input from the coordinator. It is recommended that the effectiveness of the program be evaluated in light of the small number of graduates. 4

5 Table 1 Program Enrollment Seven Year Summary 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 Continuing First Admits Former Transfers (2 yr) Transfers (4 yr) Total Students % Change

6 Table 2 Full-Time/Part-Time Status Five Year Summary (Fall Enrollment) % change 2005 % change 2006 % change Full-Time Part-Time Total Students % change 2008 % change 2009 % change Full-Time Part-Time Total Students

7 Table 3 External Transfers Five Year Summary Academic Year 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 Number of students % change 0.0% -50.0% -50.0% 100.0% -50.0% 0.0% 7

8 Table 4 Attrition / Retention First Time in Fall 2008 # % Enrolled for 1 semester Enrolled full-time for 1 semester After 1 semester Enrolled for 2 semesters Enrolled full-time for 2 semesters After 2 semesters Enrolled for 3 semesters 7 50 Enrolled full-time for 3 semesters 4 29 After 3 semesters Enrolled for 4 semesters 5 36 Enrolled full-time for 4 semesters 4 29 After 4 semesters students stopped attending Union, 2 students changed their major, and 1 student was placed on academic probation. 2 3 students changed their major, 2 students were placed on academic probation, 1 student had continued probation, and 1 student received high honors. 3 2 students stopped attending Union, 2 students had continued probation, 1 student had probation removed, and 1 student received high honors. 4 1 student stopped attending Union; 1 student changed their major; 1 student had academic probation removed; and 1 student received honors 8

9 Table 5 Degrees Conferred Five Year Summary Academic Year 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 Number of degrees % change N/A

10 Table 6 Graduation/Transfer/Persister/Attritor First Time in Fall 2006 # % Graduation Rate 0 0 Transfer Rate 0 0 Persister Rate 0 0 Attritor Rate Total Students **Note: Cohort was tracked for three years 10

11 Table 7 Credit Hours Generated The unadjusted student credit hours generated for the Liberal Arts/Fine Arts/Photography program is as follows: FY FY FY FY FY FY Program Liberal Arts/Fine Arts/Photography (LAPH)

12 Table 8 Direct Instructional Cost (in dollars) FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 Direct Cost 50, , , , , , Cost per FTE 2, , , , , ,

13 Table 9 Local Related Programs Institution Program Degree Liberal Arts/Fine Arts/Photography Begen Community College Photography Certif. Burlington County College Photography Certif. Burlington County College Photography A.F.A. * Source: New Jersey Commission on Higher Education 13

14 Table 10 Core Course Enrollment Course Number Avg. Number Avg. Number Avg. Number Avg. Total of Class Total of Class Total of Class Total of Class Students Sections Size Students Sections Size Students Sections Size Students Sections Size FIA FIA FIA FIA FIA Annual Total Total FIA , FIA FIA FIA FIA Annual Total ,

15 Table 11 Additional Course Enrollment Course Number Avg. Number Avg. Number Avg. Number Avg. Total of Class Total of Class Total of Class Total of Class Students Sections Size Students Sections Size Students Sections Size Students Sections Size BUS ENG 101 1, , , , ENG 102 1, , , , ENG ENG GOV HIS 101 1, , , , HIS MAT , , , MAT PHI PSY 101 2, , , , PSY Annual Total 10, , , , TOTAL Number Avg. Number Avg. Number Avg. Number Avg. Course Total of Class Total of Class Total of Class Total of Class Students Sections Size Students Sections Size Students Sections Size Students Sections Size BUS ENG 101 1, , , , ENG 102 1, , , , ENG , ENG , GOV , HIS 101 1, , , , HIS , MAT 119 1, , , , MAT , PHI , PSY 101 2, , , , PSY , Annual Total 11, , , ,

16 Table 12 LAPH Core Course Scheduling Academic Year to Frequency Offered Ran Campus Cranford Elizabeth Online Total Days Wednesday 7 7 Thursday 7 7 Monday/Wednesday Tuesday/Thursday Monday/Wednesday/Friday Online Total Class Start Times 8:00-8:59 am 1 0 9:00-9:59 am :00-10:59 am :00-11:59 am :00-12:59 pm :00-1:59 pm 8 8 2:00-2:59 pm 3 3 3:00-3:59 pm 7 6 4:00-4:59 pm 5 4 5:00-5:59 pm 9 9 6:00-6:59 pm 3 3 7:00-7:59 pm :00-8:59 pm 6 5 Online Total

17 Table 13 Graduate Survey Information Graduate Survey Information -- LAPH Majors n=1 n=0 n=1 n=0 n=2 Accomplished objective Currently employed full-time Currently employed part-time Satisfied with Union, in general 1 - Indifferent - 2-Indifferent Would choose Union again 1 - No Recommend Union 1 - No - 2 Transferred School Kean University - Fairleigh Dickinson University - Kean University Major Graphic Communications - Creative Writing - Education Credits Accepted Student was undecided 17