REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Academic Program Review Subcommittee

Approved by APRC: May 31, 2005

Approved by CAP: June 7, 2005

Subcommittee: Drs. Brinton (Chair), Shoffner, and Manson

A sub-committee of the Academic Programs and Continuing Education Committee (APACE) reviewed the Self Study of the School of Music during Spring Semester 2005. The period covered by this Self Study was FY 2002 to 2004 (data were provided in the Self Study for various periods between Fall 2001 and Spring 2004).

I.Unit Profile

The GSU Department of Music was founded in 1948 and became the School of Music in 1987. Since 1961, this department/school has been fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

A. Faculty and Staff

The current Director, Dr. Haberlen, and Associate Director, Dr. Myers, are both Full Professors and have held their positions for the last 8 years. Over the review period, the School consisted of 23 to 25 tenure track faculty, 4 to 10 non-tenure track faculty and 11 to 18 part-time/other faculty. In 2004, the tenure track faculty consisted of 3 professors, 6 associate professors and 14 assistant professors. During the review period, two Assistant Professors were promoted to Associate with tenure and one Associate Professor was promoted to Full Professor. In the self-study, it is stated that the School has experienced significant faculty turnover due to retirements and competitive offers from other institutions and that by FY03, individuals with five or less years of service comprised over 60% of the faculty. However, no specific details are provided about faculty turnover and therefore it could not be determined from the data provided which program areas lost faculty and what the impact of those losses were on the school. The faculty is diverse. Among the full-time faculty during the review period, there were 5 African Americans, 2 Asian Americans and 5 to 7 women. Faculty in a class designated as “other” are not described. Although “other” faculty are listed only for 2002 in Table B-1 A, credit hours generated for “other” faculty are listed for all three years of the review period.

The numbers and positions of staff on different lists included in the appendix are not consistent. The School apparently currently has 14 staff members. Staff positions include a Receptionist/Administrative Assistant, an Administrative Coordinator for Undergraduate Studies, an Administrative Specialist to the Director, a Public Relations Coordinator, Business Manager, a Coordinator of Graduate Studies, a Graduate Studies Assistant, a Recital Hall and Facilities Coordinator, a Piano Technician, a Recording/Technology Assistant, a Technology Support person, a Coordinator of the Community Music Programs, a Director of the Neighborhood Music Schools, and an Assistant to the Director of the Neighborhood Music Schools.

Some of the School of Music faculty members are considered academic faculty, others are performance faculty, while some are both. Academic faculty members are in the areas of music theory, music history, music education, and music management. Performance faculty are applied music teachers, conductors, and composers. The self study does not specify how many tenure track faculty fall into each of the categories. Therefore, productivity for the different types of tenure-track faculty per year could not be calculated. Tenure-track faculty productivity data are provided for 2001 through 2003, not 2002 through 2004. Between 2001 and 2003, the total tenure-track faculty performed an annual average of 57 concerts a year, and gave 33 scholarly presentations a year. The average number of concerts per year for individual faculty varied from 0 to 54. The total tenure-track faculty created an annual average of 22 music compositions, 6 published records, 3.3 film scores, 10 published monographs, 2.6 books, 3.7 book chapters, 2.3, reviews and 5 encyclopedia entries. The performance quality of some of the faculty was indicated by a number of awards and invitations received between 2001 and 2003. Also, one Professor in the School of Music received the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior Faculty Award and another, the Outstanding Teacher Award. Information provided to the subcommittee by the Director identified the awardees as Dr. Myers and Dr. Gerschefski, respectively.

The School of Music is actively involved in fund raising. Information provided by the Director, indicated that 6 faculty members in the School of Music have annually raised funds totaling $315,000. As stated in the self study, during the review period, grant funds totaling $343,100 were obtained by the Associate Director under the Center for Educational Partnerships in Music and a total of $55,910 plus an additional $9,000 to $23,000 annually of scholarship funds were obtained by the Director of the Neighborhood Music Schools. In addition, private donations were obtained by the School of Music to support 2 endowed professorships and 23 endowed scholarships as well as for a newly established piano competition.

During the review period, credit hours taught by tenured faculty in the undergraduate core increased from 702 to 813 and the total core credit hours increased from 1776 to 2061. The total number of credit hours generated in lower division undergraduate courses increased from 2662 to 3542 over the review period, but the percentage of these hours taught by tenure track faculty decreased (78% to 57%). The total number of credit hours in upper division courses increased from 4459.5 (02) to 4988.5 (04) and the majority of these courses were taught by tenure track faculty (85% in 02; 72% in 04). Over the review period, the total number of graduate credit hours ranged from 1427.5 to 1503. The percentage of these courses taught by tenure track faculty was 86% in 02 and 03 and 77% in 04. Twenty-five graduate faculty members are listed in Appendix N, while 21 are listed for 2004 in Table G-1.

The self study states that during the review period, the faculty averaged 7.76 units of service per year with a range of 1 to 30 service units per faculty per year. The School of Music defines 1 service unit as 1 significant assignment, such as committee membership. It is also stated that faculty participated in “119 regional and national professional service activities, which included 19 review and advisory boards.”

Centers and Community Programs

The School of Music has one center, the Center for Educational Partnerships in Music, and two community outreach programs, the Community Programs Office and the NeighborhoodMusicSchools

B.Degree Programs and Students.

The School of Music currently offers a Bachelor of Music degree with concentrations in Jazz Studies, Music Education, Performance, Composition, Emphasis in Sound Recording/Technology as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Management and a Master of Music degree with concentrations in Conducting, Music Education, Performance, Piano Pedagogy, Composition, and Jazz Studies. Degree programs are grouped into four divisions: Foundation Studies; Music Education/Community Music Programs; Performance and Pedagogy; and Music Composition, Technology, and Management. The outside reviewers confirm that the curriculum is consistent with national curricular norms. Additional degree programs include a Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) with a concentration in Music Education and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Teaching and Learning with a Concentration in Music Education. These two degrees are offered by the College of Education under a unique collaboration between the School of Music and the College of Education.

The average number of graduates per year over the past three years was 28 for the Bachelor of Music programs, 16 for the Bachelor of Science program, and 27 for the Master of Music programs. The average number of majors per year in each of the three degree programs was 356, 69 and 83, respectively. There was an increase in enrollment over the past three years for the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, while the enrollment in the Bachelor of Science has been decreasing (due to raising the acceptance requirements in 2002). SAT score data were supplied for all undergraduates and these data show no real increase in the average scores between 2002 and 2004.

Little specific information was provided about the different concentrations of the Music degree programs or on the quality of the students. For undergraduate programs, the mean Freshman Index was given as 2631. GRE scores, which are only required for the Masters music education and composition concentrations, averaged 1068. However, the report does not give a clear time frame for the data provided. A major indicator of the quality of the students was the statement that nearly 100% of the baccalaureate graduates find employment in P-12 schools, not only in Atlanta and Georgia, but nationwide. However, no specific employment data are provided. The first Ph.D graduate (2003) is now an assistant professor.

The School of Music offers two service courses in Area B, three in Area C, and eight general electives aimed specifically at non-majors.

II. Inventory of Program Review

The self-study committee included Dr. N. Lee Orr, Division Head of Foundation Studies and Coordinator of Music History and Literature, who chaired the committee; Mr. W. Dwight Coleman, Coordinator of Voice Performance and Opera Studies; Dr. Alan L. Raines, Director of Choral Activities; Dr. Robert J. Ambrose, Director of Bands; and Dr. Robert S. Thompson, Division Head of Composition, Technology, and Music Management and Coordinator of Recording/Production. The self-study covers Fall 2001 through Spring 2004, and generally follows the template for program review. The self-study materials included a 27-page self-study report (more than the 20-page limit), 970 pages of appendices, six tables grouped in one Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, two of those same tables were repeated in two additional spreadsheets. Many of the appendices were not labeled, but simply grouped electronically. Extraneous appendix materials were included, such as the faculty handbook, an OASIS manual and departmental forms. Redundant material was included in the appendix in different formats. Problems were noted in some cases when appendix data were referenced in the report. For instance, Table B-2 is referenced, but is missing, while faculty research productivity is actually listed in Appendix S, which is not referenced in the text. In some cases, information was not put in the section requested by the template. For instance, full comparison data for the peer institutions is provided in Section B, rather than in later sections as the self study template suggests. In the self study report, appendix data were for the most part not summarized or analyzed nor used as the basis for constructing rationales for future goals.

The Director provided information indicating faculty involvement in the self study via faculty meeting reports, a retreat, and web access to the document. The self study report was unanimously approved at a faculty meeting in December 2004.

LIST OF APPENDICES

  • Appendix A Rationale For Choices of Peer Institutions and Programs
  • Appendix B Organization of Unit Governance and Committee Structure
  • Appendix C Unit Bylaws (Faculty Handbook)
  • Appendix D Current Faculty Roster
  • Appendix E1 Center for Educational Partnerships in Music
  • Appendix E2 Center for Educational Partnerships in Music Publications
  • Appendix E3 Center for Educational Partnerships in Music Advisory Board 2004-2005
  • Appendix E4 Center for Educational Partnerships in Music Grants Submitted and Funded
  • Appendix F1 presents the Unit Strategic Plan and Goals in Place at the Beginning of the Self Study Cycle (from 1998)
  • Appendix F2 Update 1999
  • Appendix G Learning Outcome Statements and Assessment Procedures
  • Appendix H1 Current Course Descriptions for All Approved Writing Intensive Courses
  • Appendix H2 Current Course Descriptions for All Approved Writing Intensive Courses (as indicated in the list of appendices, but not discernable in the pdf file)
  • Appendix I Degree requirements for Each Program (Degree requirements are missing for the Ed.S. and Ph.D. Degree in Teaching and Learning, concentration in Music Education)
  • Appendix J List of Courses List of Course Offered Over the Past Three Years (Table D-1)
  • Appendix K Undergraduate Student Survey [enrolled undergraduates]
  • Appendix K2 Spring 2004 Survey of Recent Graduates [UG and GR alumni]
  • Faculty Survey Data was included but not listed as a named appendix
  • Appendix K3 Summary of Focus Groups Conducted for the School of Music [enrolled UG and GR students]
  • Appendix L Undergraduate and Graduate Advisement Procedures (Advisement procedures are missing for the Ed.S. and Ph.D. Degree in Teaching and Learning, concentration in Music Education)
  • Appendix M Definition of Graduate Faculty and Criteria for Section of Graduate Faculty
  • Appendix N List of Graduate Faculty
  • Appendix O Current CVs for All Full-Time Faculty
  • Appendix P Summary Data on Student/Faculty Ratios and Credit Hour Generation
  • Appendix Q1 Report on Music Holdings in the Pullen Library
  • Appendix Q2 School of Music Review Library Resources
  • Appendix R1 Community Service and EducationCenters – Community Music Programs
  • Appendix R2 Community Service and EducationCenters – Neighborhood Schools

The external review committee consisted of Edward Kocher, Professor and Dean of Music, Duquesne University, John W. Richmond, Professor and Director of the School of Music, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Arthur Tollefson, Dean Emeritus of the School of Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The external review committee visited January 24-25, 2005, and submitted the report on February 10, 2005. Their report addressed the major sections of the self-study.

Other additional documents submitted with the self-study include an Executive Summary submitted by the Director of the School of Music, Dr. John B. Haberlen, and the Dean’s Response to Self Study Report of the School of Music, submitted by Dean Lauren B. Adamson.

III. Key Observations/ Issues

1. The School of Music’s goals align with the University’s aspirations to achieve national distinction as an urban research university. However, the self study does not point out specific relationships between old or new goals and the College of Arts and Sciences or University Strategic Plans. Although not stated in the self study, the Director confirmed that the unit’s goals were listed in a prioritized order. The self-study report did not consistently include brief summaries of analyses of data gathered in the self-study process and thus the relative importance of the different future goals could not be accurately assessed. In some cases, there was a disconnect between the discussion of an issue presented in the self-study and the relative priority of the new goal addressing this issue.

The School of Music is commended for making excellent progress in accomplishing most of its 1999 goals and objectives. Notable achievements include elimination of an unproductive degree program, revision of other degree programs, increased admission requirements, initiation of a doctoral program in music education, enhancement of course offerings for non-majors and the development of additional high quality performance groups. The School has also put an increased emphasis on having their students trained as educators as well as musicians, which is a laudable initiative.

2. The level of scholarly/creative productivity appears to be uneven across the School of Music faculty.

3. The outside reviewers observe that the GSU School of Music has been quite successful in recruiting and retaining “some of the country’s most distinguished music faculty.” As do many university music schools in urban areas, the GSU School of Music relies heavily on professional musicians as part-time and adjunct faculty. However, the external reviewers point out that many of these part-time faculty also teach at other institutions in Atlanta and so have divided loyalties. The self-study requests the conversion of 4 part-time faculty positions to tenure track positions as well as the creation of 7 new tenure-track positions and the hiring of 7 additional part-time faculty (for a total of 37 tenure track and 25 part-time faculty), but does not provide adequate justification or a time line for achieving this goal. It is stated in the self-study that additional faculty are needed for the maximum projected enrollment of 500 students (375 undergraduate and 125 graduate students). The current number of students in the school is 458 (Director’s letter to the Dean). Higher pay for faculty to improve retention is also requested. The statement that the “faculty must achieve workload levels comparable to their colleagues in other institutions” may not be realistic at GSU. Five additional staff members are also requested. The external reviewers state that the future goals of the School listed in the self-study maybe overly ambitious and are not clearly prioritized.

4. The outside reviewers observed that each of the four curricular divisions have “real strength overall.” The viability of the individual concentrations within the Bachelor and Master degrees could not be determined from the data provided. Weak areas identified by the School are: Music Management, Strings and Keyboard. It is stated that these programs are central to the mission of the School. Plans centered on hiring new faculty will be developed to improve these programs.

5. The external reviewers state that a major concern of the faculty and administrators of the School of Music is the School’s competitiveness with other music programs in recruiting quality music students. While the majority of departments at GSU do not recruit undergraduates, the School of Music actively recruits students with musical talent and according to the self study has been successful in attracting excellent students.