Direct Measure
In order to fulfill degree requirements for both majors administered by the Theatre Program, students are required to complete the Play Direction course, THEA 417/480. Through the completion of three principal directing assignments - a duet scene, a cutting from a full-length play, and a one-act play - theatre majors are expected to successfully incorporate the skills and techniques in performance, technical production, and playscript analysis that they have acquired during their tenure in the Theatre Program. Directing projects are performed in the Studio Theatre for an outside audience and are evaluated by theatre faculty as a whole based on an established set of criteria. The directing project evaluations assess student performance in the areas of research and preparation (script analysis, development of concepts, research), organization (rehearsal schedules, prompt script, journals), aesthetics (blocking/staging, technical/design elements), and communication (collaboration with cast/designers/technicians).
Students following the course progression for the Performance Studies emphasis are expected to prepare and perform audition monologues and scene work through four levels in their academic career. These performances may be video-taped or performed live for the theatre faculty, and are followed by critical feedback sessions and written responses from the faculty according to an established set of performance criteria. In conjunction with these regular performances, acting training culminates in the preparation of monologues and the compilation of acting portfolios (resumes, headshots, production photos, etc.) suitable for job and/or graduate school applications. Through these portfolios, students are able to maintain an accurate record of their acting experiences and display their readiness for advanced study or work in professional theatre. The review of acting portfolios by theatre faculty as a whole serves to assess the student's representation of his/her performance history while at UNK.
Theatre majors seeking an emphasis in Theatre Design and Technology are required to create and maintain a design/technical portfolio documenting all projects accomplished during their academic tenure. Portfolios are to include: classroom projects, realized production projects (design, construction, stage management) with appropriate documentation, and related projects completed for organizations outside of the Theatre Program and/or the University. Theatre faculty as a whole will review Design/Technical portfolios at the close of each academic year, or upon completion of major projects. Feedback will be given for all areas of the portfolio with assessment of individual projects, and the whole, based on a standard set of criteria. These assessments will also be utilized in formulating recommendations for production assignments, guidance in degree focus, and evaluation of professional growth.
Students following the Theatre Education Endorsement are assessed by their cooperating teachers and the UNK Education Department.
Indirect Measures
The program will actively survey theatre alumni every two to three years. The interval between surveys will be determined by the number of new alumni in the field over a given period. Through this alumni survey, the Theatre Program will seek to determine its successes and failures in achieving the educational goals associated with its mission. The results of the completed surveys will be tabulated and used to assess student learning outcomes and the value alumni place on their academic experience with the UNK Theatre Program.
Assessment of Assessment Process
The Theatre Assessment Committee (a committee of the shole) will review assessmant plans and data collected yearly in an attempt to answer the following questions:
- Q: How are our students performing with regard to our stated learning objectives and what do the results imply about our program?
A: If the majority of our students are meeting a large portion of our objectives getting mostly 3's and 4's on our rubrics, then we contue to teach as before. If students are receiving mostly 1's and 2's, we will re-analyze our teaching methodology and rubrics in order for students to start receiving 3's and 4's.
- Q: How effective is our current assessment plan and what changes, if needed, in our academic program and our assessment plan will guarantee better outcomes for the students?
A: If the majority of the students are receiving 3's and 4's, then we continue as before, but if not, we re-think and re-do our assessment plan.
- Q: How effective is teh current assessment plan for student teachers of theatre? Does the theatre department need to be more involved in assessing these future theatre teachers in specific areas?