To: Jerry Johnson- Director, Office of the Chancellor
From: Dr. Kevin Dobbe- Rochester
Community and
Re: Activities and Final Outcomes Report for Music Special Assignment
Date:
Activities for the special assignment have been centered on three main issues: (1) the AFA degree preparedness, (2) music departmental communication, (3) continued development of the MNSCU Music Website. The following is a brief report on the activities and accomplishments within those three areas of concentration.
Articulations and the AFA Degree
With the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
(MnSCU) Board approval of the Associate of Fine Arts degree, (AFA) multiple
AFA degree applications and articulations are in progress and are at
varying levels of completion. The clear lead institution in this process
has been that of
- St. Mary’s University-Winona
- Riverland Community and
The general goals for articulations between multiple institutions for the AFA degree were to create AFA program articulations between:
Those goals have been met; and as other institutions consider the implementation of the AFA degree, the above-identified institutions can provide models and immediate feedback with regard to best-practice implementation.
The AFA degrees have been articulated to four-year institutions in three main areas of study:
- Bachelor of Science in Music Education
- Emphasis in Instrumental/General K-12
- Emphasis in Vocal/General K-12
- Bachelor of Science in Music Industry
- Bachelor of Music
- Emphasis in Performance
i. Vocal
ii.
Instrumental
- Composition-Theory
A guideline document has been created (and is included as an addendum at the end of this document) with the input of many MnSCU institutions. That guideline can and should be updated with additional input as this new degree continues to be implemented.
The central goal of creating articulations by and between multiple MnSCU and other institutions toward an AFA degree has been achieved. As the above-mentioned institutions finalize the AFA degrees, they will serve as models and points of discussion as other institutions implement both articulations and ultimately the AFA degrees.
Music Department Communications
There has historically been very little to no ongoing inter-institutional music department communications. That has been and remains to be a problem.
At the past four MnSCU music curriculum meetings, discussion
has occurred as to how a mechanism could be created to facilitate communication.
The general agreement is to take an existing association-MCUCM (
It has been my goal to facilitate participation by community college music faculty. This has been successful to some degree, but it is this author’s opinion that a bi-annual music department meeting for MnSCU institutions be facilitated. The energy gathered in the work toward the above-mentioned articulations and AFA transfer degrees has created the momentum for that potential continuation, thusly, increasing the potential improvement in services and programs offered by the MnSCU music departments and programs.
The second means of communication was the establishment of the MnSCU list-serve. Up to this point in time, there has been little participation on the list-serve. Promotion of that communication will be emphasized via the new MnSCU Music web site. It should also be promoted at the recommended annual MnSCU music meetings.
MnSCU Music Web Site
The new MnSCU Music web site (http://music.mnscu.edu) has now been implemented. A call for content additions and suggestions will continue to shape the site. The development of the site has just completed the first phase. In this phase, the general layout and content was discussed, designed, and implemented.
The main focus of the site is to provide information to the potential student wishing to explore classes and/or degrees in music from the MnSCU system. The site currently consists of the following categories: (1) Welcome; (2) Visit a Campus; (3) Degrees Offered; (4) Career Page; (5) Transfer Page; and (6) News and Announcements.
The second phase of the site should be that of promotion.
This should include links to the site from all MnSCU music web sites.
Printed literature about MnSCU music and the site should follow. If
this second phase were successful, it would be my hope that MnSCU will
establish a means to carry the site forward with support staff to provide
updates. At this point in time, the
Recommendations
With the successful start of the AFA degree implementation, the beginning of MnSCU music department meetings, and the creation of the MnSCU Music site, it is my belief there has been some level of success in reaching the initial goals of this special assignment. However, there are some specific recommendations that should be considered for implementation to continue the established momentum.
- Establish a bi-annual MnSCU Music Department meeting that will coincide with the state Minnesota Colleges and Universities Chairs of Music meetings
- Expand the support for the MnSCU Music web site
(http://music.mnscu.edu). This
should include preparations for the continuation of the site and direct
MnSCU support after the agreed upon two-year pilot by the
- MnSCU promotion of the music list-serve via direct email to all MnSCU music faculty
- Continuation of dialogue on the effectiveness of the newly established AFA degree and the creation of a continuous improvement evaluation and implementation cycle.
Addendum
Associate of Fine Arts (AFA)
in Music
Degree Guidelines
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide programmatic
guidelines for MnSCU institutions that intend to establish or maintain
an AFA articulation with MnSCU,
The guiding principles for this document are intended to be consistent with the national standards such as the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and more specifically the “Standards for Community/Junior Colleges and Associate Degree Programs.”
MnSCU AFA granting institutions are not required to be NASM members but are encouraged to become NASM accredited institutions.
Definitions
The AFA degree in music is a performance or pre-professional
degree designed for transfer toward the baccalaureate of liberal arts
or music (
The degree shall consist of 60-64 total semester credits. General Education courses should consist of 30 semester credits (with a maximum of 6 credits of music from the Humanities and the Arts area). The remaining 30-34 credits shall be music courses (Thus a total of 36-40 music course credits).
For further information, see MnSCU Board Policy 3.25 (Degree Granting Authority) section 1, subpart D.
AFA Structure and Content
The degree standards shall include courses that would be included in the first two years of preparation at a four-year institution and shall include courses in at least four of the five areas as described by the NASM Handbook (Basic Musicianship, Performance, Basic Analysis, Music Education, and General Studies [i.e., General Education including courses for the non-Major such as Music Fundamentals, Music Appreciation, etc.]).
The chart on the following page (Table 1) is a guideline of courses that will comprise the Associate of Fine Arts degree in music:
| Course Area | |
| Music Theory- Sight Singing area Full two-year sequence |
16-20 |
| Ensemble (Large and/or Small) (Four semesters) | 4-8 |
| Private Lessons (Single Instrument/Voice focus, four semesters) | 4-8 |
| Other Music Prefix Courses (Core Sequence relative to articulation) | 6-12 |
| General Education Courses (May include 6 credits of MNTC Goal 6 Courses) | 30 |
|
Total Credits:
|
60-64 |
(Table 1)
All students are expected to demonstrate piano proficiency to complete the AFA degree. Students should be prepared for entrance requirements for the program at the receiving institution in theory, history, sight-singing/ear-training, and performance.
Institutional Mission
Each music department or unit must have:
- A clearly stated mission that supports the AFA degree
- Sufficient enrollment to support the size and scope of the program offered
- Appropriate number of qualified faculty to support the size and scope of the program offered (suggested minimum of three full-time equivalent)
- Sufficient resources including facilities that support the size and scope of the program.