Repeatability Regs Are Negatively Impacting Performing Arts
Students and Faculty
By Michael Strunk, Music Program Chair
1) Leveled Courses
One of the most obvious consequences resulting from leveling courses that were previously repeatable is that it appears to not always be an effective replacement for repeatability. In defense of the CO’s decision on repeatability, the Academic Senate has asserted, “Purposes currently served by repeatability in these areas can be accomplished through existing curricular options” (Recommendations Regarding Repeatability, Fall 2011).
In MUSIC, applied instructional courses (such as Beginning Piano, Beg. Guitar, Beg. Voice, Beg. Jazz/Pop Guitar, Beg. Jazz/Pop Solo Voice, Beg. Strings, Beg. Winds, and Jazz Improvisation) were all previously repeatable (4X), which allowed students to progress at their own rate while still meeting the SLOs of the curriculum. These courses are now leveled (i.e., MUS 51A, B, C and D), and we’re finding negative consequences. Due to the individually complex nature of musical skills development, course curriculum cannot be written specifically enough to cover the vast range of developmental rates that exist among music students:
Beginning Piano: |
Students who are advancing up to higher levels are not always fully ready. Instructors are finding the levels B, C and D are more difficult to teach, due to the increasing gap in students’ abilities. Combining higher levels in concurrent sections (MUS 51C/D) in order to have minimum enrollment is very difficult for the instructor. |
Beginning Voice, |
Students are maxing out their repetitions without having had time to correlate their vocal skills with their theory skills. |
Beginning Guitar, |
Instructors are unwilling to combine upper levels concurrently due to instructional difficulties and enrollment risk. Level ‘A’ courses are seeing dwindling enrollments; we are endangering our entire guitar program. |
Beginning Winds: |
Repeatability restriction has effectively eliminated these courses. Students were primarily older students (25+) learning winds as 2nd instrument for teaching skills / career skills (see below, #3). |
Jazz Improvisation: |
Used by area professional musicians as refresher courses for skill enhancement; repeatability limits no longer allow them to periodically re-take the courses (see below, #3). |
2) Auditing
A common solution proposed for students needing further repetition of a skills-building course is for those students to audit the class or otherwise pay for private instruction. However, a comprehensive system of course audit has yet to be put into place that compensates the college at an affordable rate. Forcing students to rely on auditing also reduces their unit load while they put in the same amount of work – effectively punishing them for not conforming to a “standardized” rate of musical skill building. This also puts such students at risk academically, as auditing or private lessons do not appear on transcripts, nor are they calculated in financial aid benefits.
3) Career Training in the Arts
The majority of professionals in the Arts work independently; they do not belong to large companies that pay for re-training nor participate in industry-wide groups that support continuing education in their fields. Community Colleges have long been part of the network of continuing education for professional and semi-professional artists and performers. Unfortunately, this kind of “career training” is not recognized as being part of the CTE category of education, so these kinds of students are not eligible for employment-related repeatability of courses.
Private music instructors and working musicians have long been a small but consistent part of Cabrillo’s music student body; they can often be seen playing in our ensembles. The non-credit Older Adult category of courses allows them to continue repeating ensembles (for now, at least) but they are now beginning to be shut out of the applied courses. The same is true for Studio Art and Theater. These students do not fit into the “transfer student – lifelong learner” polarity that is at the center of repeatability discussions, yet they are a real part of the community and its economy.
Performing Arts Faculty Speaks Out
Susan Bruckner (Piano):
“I can testify to the fact that my Thurs night class is overflowing with less advanced students than ever before due to the fact that students cannot repeat the lower levels. I am having to repeat all of the technique and sight reading that I'm doing in the previous two classes (51C/D) below 22A/B, due to the 'watering down' effect I am seeing that pushes students through the system before they are ready. It is definitely impacting my syllabus in a negative way.
“Three transfer students had to drop because they couldn't keep up. An additional seven students in that class are struggling to improve their technique and sight reading for transfer purposes and should be in an intermediate class where the emphasis on those skills is more appropriate to their level.”
Mark Bidelman (Voice):
“I have a 25 + year old in my women's chorus who took all her math four or five years ago to be an accountant. She then took five years off to raise a family. Now she wants to go back to her chosen career, but she needs to brush up on her math skills and guess what.....they will not allow her to repeat any of the math classes she needs.”
Steve Wilson (Jazz):
“Zach Olsen comes to mind. When he first played in the big band with me years ago, he was a talented young drummer with punk and ska credentials. I think he would agree that playing at Cabrillo for multiple semesters gave him jazz/Latin and reading experience that has contributed to his success as a well-respected full time musician and private teacher.”
Don Adkins (Orchestra):
“Two students immediately come to mind when I think of the issues with repeatability and music majors. It is critical that music majors have a large number of performing group credits on their transcripts, or it appears they are not serious about doing what it takes to become an experienced musician. I conduct the Cabrillo College Orchestra, and two music majors have taken two different paths when they could no longer repeat playing in the orchestra.
“The violinist decided that he still needed to be playing the literature as long as he was attending Cabrillo so he switched to taking the no-credit older adult class option for the orchestra. This gives him the experience but it does not appear on his transcript, which is a negative.
“The horn player decided to stop playing in the orchestra, which is where he truly belongs, and participate in other groups so that all of his work appears on his transcript. This is also a negative solution. These students should be able to play in the orchestra every semester until they transfer.”
Susan Stuart (Musical Theater):
“A 40 year old mother/student who has entered college for the first time to get an AA to transfer to a four-year BA program in Creative Writing (including scripts, screenwriting, etc.) has petitioned to repeat TA10A (a basic acting class) because she has taken it from only one of the variety of teachers who teach it and wants to take it again. She wants to try to gain more experience and knowledge with a different teacher.
“An 18-year-old second year music major readying to transfer to an accelerated conservatory program must repeat Jazz Singers (and several other performance courses) for her resume but cannot enroll in them. She must opt to attend them (including concerts, rehearsals) with no credit toward her AA but merely so she can submit a resume on par with other student applicants.
“A fall semester second year Theatre Arts major who has already performed in two TA productions each requiring concurrent enrollment in TA29 (performance) and TA 27 (production workshop) is disallowed from any further theatrical performance after her freshman year due to the 'course family' ruling. Only two semesters of this family of performance course work is allowed.
“A TA9 Theatre Appreciation student who had missed quite a few classes due to illness asked to be failed even though his classwork was good and he had completed most assignments and was due to get a C. When told he was going to pass with a C, he asked for a No-Pass and purposely did not attend the Final Exam so he could repeat the course the next semester and get an A, which he needed for his GPA.
“A Theatrical Design student used to be able to take the Theatrical Design course four times, and since the class covers the variety / separate design elements (sound, lighting, costume, set and scenic, painting, construction, materials, etc.), the restrictions now give that student inadequate experience to offer any future employer or theatrical venue.
“A 55-year-old former contractor who had severely injured his back, had extensive surgery, and was on a pain medication regimen was trying to find new career possibilities when he enrolled at Cabrillo. He took a screenwriting course several times (in 2005/06 before the repeatability regs were enacted), and was steered into a Theatre Directing course by his instructor, so he could gain further understanding of how a script needs 'stageabilty' as well as 'speakability.' He took the directing class twice: once from a novice instructor, and two semesters later from a more experienced instructor/ professional director. This student is now directing and writing scripts for hire and has said of the two directing classes how completely different they were, how much he got from each, and that he would take either one again if he were allowed to.”