THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

FACULTY SENATE

Senate Document Number 4211S

Date of Senate Approval 04/07/11

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 29: Reduce the number of required hours for the B.F.A. in Art

Effective Date: Fall 2011

1. Delete: On page 67, under Bachelor of Fine Arts, item I:

I. Required courses in the concentration—74 total hours, including: ART 110, 111, 112, 113, 210, 220, 227, 230, 240; 15 hours of Art History courses, including ARTH 201 and 202 (3 of the 15 hours may be taken in individual research or satisfied by taking PHIL 310); 30 hours must be taken in Studio Art, to include 6 hours of Senior Exhibitions (ART 490, 491). Students with an intermedia concentration are also required to take ART 492.

Add: On page 67, in place of deleted entry:

I. Required courses in the program—68 total hours, including: ART 110, 111, 112, 113, 210, 220, 227, 230, 240; 15 hours of Art History courses, including ARTH 201 and 202 (3 of the 15 hours may be taken in individual research or satisfied by taking PHIL 310). 24 hours must be taken in Studio Art, to include 6 hours of Senior Exhibitions (ART 490, 491). Students with an intermedia concentration are also required to take ART 492.

Impact Statement:

There will be no negative impact with respect to the need for additional staffing or studio space/equipment. There may be a positive impact in that we can move students more quickly through the program.

Rationale:

This proposal would eliminate 6 hours in the B.F.A. program by reducing the current requirement of 30 credit hours of additional studio art to 24 credit hours. Currently, in most of the concentrations, the students have to scramble to come up with enough courses in their area of concentration to meet the 21 hour requirement. Students often have to arrange special topics and individual classes with their professors to fill the hours. By reducing the number of credit hours required for students to graduate with a B.F.A. degree in studio art, students will not have to look for extra courses, and the faculty will not have to add to their workload with special topics classes. In addition it will reduce the time it takes a student to graduate with a BFA, therefore encouraging more students to apply for the B.F.A. degree program. The department has many qualified students who would do well in the BFA program who are discouraged by the time factor associated with the old model and choose the BA degree instead.

While many B.F.A. programs have art requirements in the 70+ hour range, there is certainly precedent for having fewer hours in art required. (UNC Chapel Hill has a B.F.A. with only 60 art credit hours required.)

2. Delete: On page 67, under Bachelor of Fine Arts, item III c):

c) The Concentration – The specific areas for concentration are intermedia, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, ceramics, and sculpture. The student’s concentration requires the completion of 21 credit hours in the area chosen. (see Art Department Guidelines for the specific credit allocation.) The major focus may carry a greater number of hours.

Add: On page 67, in place of deleted entry:

c) The Concentration – The specific areas for concentration are intermedia, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, ceramics, and sculpture. The student’s concentration requires the completion of 18 credit hours in the area chosen.

Impact Statement:

No negative impact. Positive impact will be students finding the necessary courses to fill the concentration hours without having to take as many special topics and individual courses and the reduction of time it takes for a student to complete the degree.

Rationale:

Many B.F.A. students have traditionally had difficulty meeting the relatively high number of courses required in their area of concentration (i.e., ceramics, sculpture, photography, etc.) Some areas don’t offer enough courses in the concentration to make this easily possible, thus students have to resort to independent study or special topic classes. This change would help those students by reducing the requirement by one course. The other course would be eliminated from the three elective studio courses currently required in the overall required studio hours. By reducing the overall required hours, the program will attract more qualified students to the B.F.A program.

3. Delete: On page 67, under: Bachelor of Fine Arts, the second sentence:

The pre-professional B.F.A. which leads to the M.F.A. (A terminal degree) requires a minimum of 125 credit hours.

Impact Statement:

None.

Rationale :

All UNCA degrees require at least 120 hours. Students taking the B.F.A. do not always pursue the M.F.A. Students may pursue an M.F.A. with degrees and majors other than B.F.A. in Art.