Annual Report 2018-19
April 2019
Colleagues, Students, Alumni, and Friends,
It is with great enthusiasm that I share with you this year's Annual Report for the College of The Arts. This report provides an opportunity to formally reflect on our journey together these past months. Thank you for contributing your extensive creative energies to help continue to propel the College forward in both excellence and relevance.
The true measure of our College is clearly revealed in the extent of the fulfillment of our mission, as well as in our success in achieving the goals set out in the University's overarching strategic plan. Over the past year, the dedicated work of our faculty, staff, and students enabled our College to make progress in the key areas of student success; research, creative and scholarly endeavors; global initiatives; community engagement; interdisciplinary and community partnerships; and sustainability. The individual achievements of our faculty also continue apace, bringing regional and national recognition to the College and the University.
While there is no way to fully catalog the prodigious work of all our faculty, students, staff, and alumni, I hope you will take the opportunity to review the following pages to explore how our college supports the University of South Florida's Strategic Goals and discover some of the exciting progress we have achieved throughout this academic year.
This year's College of The Arts Annual Report is organized into three sections:
- Alignment of Planning, Performance and Accountability and College Review Data with Strategic Priorities
- Other University/College Measures and Initiatives, and
- Highlights and Accomplishments
I again congratulate all our faculty, students, and staff for your ongoing efforts and dedication.
Yours sincerely,
James S. Moy, Dean
ALIGNMENT OF PLANNING, PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND COLLEGE REVIEW DATA WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
The highest priority of the University of South Florida is the success of its students. As the University has continued to enhance its culture of caring, USF has become a national model for student success by focusing on initiatives such as persistence; elimination of the graduation rate gap by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status; and retention and graduation rates. Through this campus-wide cultural shift, student success has become a shared responsibility embedded within each area, college, and department.
At the College of The Arts, one of the most important ways to inform and enhance the continuous improvement of student success initiatives at our college comes through the understanding our data. Using this important information, we are able to identify situations that may lead to potential challenges, require additional resources, call for further discovery, and proactively identify and address any issues that may affect students' performance and well-being.
With a focus on alignment with USF's Strategic Plan, Performance Based Funding, Statewide Preeminence, and National Prominence, the College of The Arts (COTA) reports the following outcomes:
Student Access, Retention, Progression & Success
Headcount by Level, Residency, and International
The total headcount of 1135 for Fall 2018 indicates an overall increase of 5.5% over the previous year. While a decline was observed in grad level I and II, a net increase of 74 occurred at both the undergraduate lower and upper levels.
Headcount by residency reflects increases over last year of 17% for out of state undergraduate and 5% for out of state graduate levels. While a decrease of 13% was noted for in-state graduate, and increase of 8% was noted for in-state undergraduate. In addition, current graduate headcount indicates an 11% increase in international students over the previous year.
Enrollment by SCH and FTE
COTA enrollment by SCH and FTE remained consistent from 2017-18 to 2018-19, with slight gains in undergraduate lower level and grad I level.
Online Education by SCH and FTE
The College of The Arts continues to make significant financial investment in online education through course development, staffing, and course offerings throughout the year, including Maymester and Wintersession. Over the last several years, COTA has seen impressive gains in online education by SCH since 2013-14. However, this year due to the change in the General Education Curriculum, COTA has recorded a large reduction in online education by SCH of almost 2700 SCH from just one course when compared to the previous year.
Fortunately, the focused recruitment efforts undertaken by the College over this past year to bring in new majors has resulted in an addition of 2070 SCH. While these gains do not completely offset the loss resulting from the Gen Ed Revision, the net loss is only -4.9%.
The College of The Arts is currently undertaking the conversion of three existing courses and will add a new course. These offerings will be available to students in the upcoming year.
Enhanced Curriculum and High Impact Practice
The Enhanced General Education program (updated by the General Education Council on September 10, 2018) was designed to enhance skills most applicable in the 21st global community. This program provides undergraduate students with an array of knowledge, skills, and experiences designed to prepare them to be successful citizens in life. Students are provided a rigorous academic context to develop intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and application of learning through high impact practices. To ensure students are prepared to succeed upon graduation, the revised general education program helps enhance skills such as critical and analytical thinking, problem solving, and communication by embedding them throughout the major and across the curriculum.
Three such practices of particular note at COTA are: undergraduate research, education abroad and experiential and service learning.
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research participation has been shown to be highly beneficial and can lead students to the achievement of higher grades, deeper understandings of their chosen disciplines, and make them more competitive for awards, graduate and professional school, and jobs. As of this this time (based on preliminary data) approximately 6% of COTA enrollment have participated in undergraduate research as noted by select data sources. However, is not clear that all COTA undergraduate research is currently recognized by current data collection methods.
The College of The Arts continues its very special creative partnership with the USF Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). COTA faculty members working in collaboration with OUR Program Directors invite selected School of Art & Art History students to apply for Research in the Arts Scholarships to participate in the annual USF School of Art & Art History's Summer Study Abroad in Paris Program. Research scholars have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the creative process to produce research-based art projects from initial idea to installation.
Education Abroad
Study abroad is one of the most effective and accessible means for students to develop needed skills to thrive in an interconnected world and provides students with the opportunity to enhance their global awareness, academic learning, international skills and personal growth. These international experiences include participation in University-sponsored exchanges, faculty-led programs, international internships, and service learning programs.
COTA proudly continues to offer the university's longest running study abroad program through the School of Art & Art History. Now in its 32st year, the Art in Paris program provides students with an opportunity to immerse themselves in Paris through visual arts investigations under the guidance of USF art faculty who have a strong knowledge and interest in the role of this city to the history and practice of art.
The Dance Program at the School of Theatre & Dance offers study abroad opportunities available to university-age dance majors through its two USF Dance in Paris Programs. Both the Semester and Summer courses of study provide opportunities for serious dancers to take classes, see performances, live in and experience Paris from the viewpoint of a dancer.
In addition, the School of Architecture & Community Design offers study abroad opportunities in a variety of countries. Each semester, the design studios embark on field trips to regional, national, and international locations to experience significant architectural works and urban systems. Summer study abroad studios include international travel for several weeks followed by a Tampa-based studio in the second half of the summer. Recent study abroad programs have included trips to the Netherlands, Scotland, Cuba, Japan, London, and Denmark.
Currently, COTA is working on the creation of a Pan-Paris Program to help create comprehensive programming across the College. The School of Theatre & Dance, the School of Architecture & Community Design, and the School of Music are investigating the potential to run all programs concurrently in order to provide additional opportunities for students to study abroad while maximizing college resources.
COTA continues to be one of the largest participants in education abroad at the university with approximately 10% of COTA enrollment participating the programs noted above.
Undergraduate Experiential & Service Learning
The current method for data collection uses the existing data in the Banner system to recognize courses designated as service-learning. Numbers reported in the previous Annual Report indicated COTA had 161 students participating in five undergraduate experiential and service-learning courses. This represented approximately 15% of current enrollment. Numbers for the current year are not yet available.
Progression & Retention
DFW Grade Distribution
The College of The Arts did an internal review of the DFW grade distributions to investigate any potential issues. Steps have been taken to address the small number of courses that accounted for the DF rate. In addition, as a proactive step to ensure students' success, clarification of course expectations are presented to students to help them make informed decisions about course selection.
First Year Retention and Academic Progress Rate (2nd Year Retention and Retention with GPA above 2.0)
COTA regularly follows up with students to track and monitor timely registration. Due to these efforts, COTA saw inconsistency in both the second year retention rate and the academic progress rate for one-year retention (after cohort changes) of 87% in both areas. In addition, the second year retention for those retained with a GPA of 2.0 or above at remained consistent at 86%.
Student Success
4 year and 6 year FTIC graduation rates
After marked improvement in four year FTIC graduation rate for the 2013 cohort, COTA recently saw a drop in graduation rate for the 2014 cohort. To ensure time-to-graduation percentages are in line with University requirements across all college disciplines, COTA now actively monitors students' progress to ensure their timely progression toward degree completion.
Focused efforts to address retention and continuity combined with close monitoring of timely registration, course availability, and professional advising services now provide greater support for students' progress.
As of this date, FTIC data for the graduate cohort of 2013 and 2014 are not yet available and, therefore, not reported here.
doctoral degrees awarded
The College of The Arts offers one Ph.D. program. The Doctor of Philosophy in music education is a research-focused terminal degree intended for aspiring leaders in music education research, teaching, and administration. While the current graduation number is lower than the previous year, current recruitment efforts are showing great promise as it is anticipated that five new students will enroll, with the potential for a sixth student who is currently in the decision-making process.
degrees in strategic emphasis
To better align the degree production goals of the State University System, the Board of Governors' Office periodically conducts environmental scans to identify labor market demands and identify programs for strategic emphasis. COTA currently has three programs identified as strategic emphasis: Master of Architecture, Bachelors in Music Education, and Master in Music Education. It is noted that lower admissions in previous School of Architecture & Community Design cohorts led to a decrease in this years' output. It is anticipated that the large increase in admissions for the incoming cohort of approximately 55 students will raise output in the coming years.
excess hours
In order to ensure the timely progression to degree completion and reduce contributing factors to student debt, COTA has addressed the process of reducing the required number of hours to 122 in the Music Education program for all incoming students. It is important to note that those students already enrolled in the program will remain under the standards for the program according to the course catalog under which they entered. Excess hours for these students will continue to affect college metrics until these cohorts complete all necessary coursework to meet graduation requirements.
To address this issue in other college disciplines, all COTA advisors regularly inform students of the potential complications of excess hours and encourage use of the university's Excess Hours Counter to track credit hours.
Number of Class Sections
To enhance student learning and increase student success, Colleges were asked to review and determine if reductions in undergraduate class size were possible for all face-to-face classes.
Due to the creative nature and specific accreditation requirements for College of The Arts programs, class sizes tend to be smaller than other colleges at the university. As the chart below indicates, 78.4% of COTA face-to-face classes have enrollments of 19 or fewer students, and 87.5% of COTA face-to-face classes have enrollments of 29 or fewer students.
For the few classes indicating enrollments above 29, it is important to note that some of these classes tend to be music ensemble courses where higher numbers of students are required in order to provide students with performance level skills and professional preparation (Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Choral Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra).
Student Awards
The College of The Arts is pleased to recognize the following Student Award for 2018-19 as noted by the USF Office National Scholarships:
Student: Niatikqua Brooks
School: School of Theatre & Dance
Award: Gilman International Scholarship - Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship is
a competitive scholarship program that provides study abroad funding for students
in need.
Location: France
Project: Undergraduate theatre major Niatikqua Brooks will study abroad in Paris as part
of the USF Paris Theatre program. For four weeks Brooks will learn about European
theatre traditions from guest teachers and develop a piece of theatre improvisation.
The trip will be her first time abroad on her own.
Student: Adrian Iordache
School: School of Music
Award: Fulbright US Student Program - Research Grant
Location: Romania
Project: Music Education doctoral student Adrian Iordache has earned the Fulbright US Student
Research Award to study a particular group of professional musicians in Romania, many
of whom lack a formal music training yet have a high level of musicianship. His predominant
research interest is in the continuous improvement of teaching methods for a continuous
improvement of student outcomes.
Niatikqua Brooks (left) and Adrian Iordache (right)
Other recent student awards and recognitions are noted in the Highlights and Accomplishments section of this report.
Academic success
Indicators of student success can be observed in current students through measures of timely graduation, retention rates, and other metrics. In addition, our alumni also provide insightful information on the student success competencies obtained through their College experience by their achievements in the post-graduation world. A few examples of such success by our recent alumni include:
School of Theatre & Dance Alumnus Matthew Lopez Takes Top Awards
The Inheritance, a two-part, six-and-a-half hour play about the legacy of AIDS in New York, dominated the Olivier Awards, winning four trophies at the British equivalent of the Tony Awards. Written by playwright and USF theatre alumnus Matthew Lopez, the play received rave reviews in Britain after opening last year at London’s Young Vic. Dominic Cavendish, writing in The Daily Telegraph, called it “a theatrical marathon that instantly looks like a modern classic,” adding that it was “perhaps the most important American play of the century so far.”
Music Education Alumna, Melissa Salguero, is a Finalist for the $1 Million Global Teaching Prize
Not only did School of Music alumna, Melissa Salguero, Music Education '09, win the 2018 GRAMMY Music Educator Award for her significant contribution to the field of music education last year, this year Melissa was a top 10 finalist for the Global Teaching Prize for her work teaching music to students at the P.S. 48 Joseph R. Drake school in the South Bronx, New York City. The Global Teaching Prize, hosted by the Varkey Foundation, is an annual $1 million award presented to a teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession. Melissa was the only person from the United States to be chosen as a finalist and was the first music teacher ever selected.
Ryan Swanson Selected for Creative Producers International, UK
Ryan Swanson, architecture alumnus and founder of The Urban Conga design firm, is part of an international discourse on play and urban design as a member of the arts and urban design collective Creative Producers International by the UK arts organization Watershed. Working with the collective over the three year span of the program, Swanson and the cohort traveled to Japan, where they worked with Japan Trains (JR Trains) to help implement play as a way of activating public space in ways that might go against some cultural norms. With the support of Creative Producers International, Swanson is working on a research-based guide for municipalities on how to create social interaction through play as a way of targeting specific city goals, such as developing branding, improving public space and transit, and targeting social issues.
Dawn Gunter, Designing Tampa's Future
Dawn Gunter, architecture alumna, is a principal and co-managing director for the Tampa office of Gensler, an internationally renowned architecture and design firm with offices around the world. Currently, Dawn is involved with the design for Tampa's Riverwalk Place, a mixed-use tower over 50 stories high that will activate the Riverwalk and is set to become the tallest tower on Florida's west coast. Dawn is also the principal-in-charge for a 20-story office tower over an activated retail base that will be located along Morgan Street, in Tampa's new Water District.
Matt Horanzy, Collecting Awards in Jazz
School of Music alumnus Matt Horanzy (2018) was the first place winner of the Bill Conti Big Band Arranging and Composing Competition for his piece init 1 for full jazz orchestra. With this award, Horanzy received a cash prize, and a performance of his work by the Kim Richmond Concert Jazz Orchestra in Los Angeles, California. Horanzy was selected for the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, a renowned program that connects emerging jazz artists with New York Jazz Orchestra reading sessions and mentorship from Grammy Award-winning composers Ted Nash and Andy Farber. In late September, Horanzy also won the NBA Young Composers Jazz Composition Contest for init 1.
Daniel Johnson
Since graduating in 2013, USF architecture alumnus Daniel has been living in San Francisco working at WRNS Studio, one of the top-ranked architectural firms in the United States. Within four and a half years, he was promoted to associate at the firm, and now helps lead the office toward new cultural and professional goals. He has designed a multi-department mixed-use building for UC Berkeley, an Arts & Humanities Building for CSU Monterey Bay and most recently, he designed an Academic Leadership & Classroom Building for UC Merced.
Research, Innovation & Creative Activity
Proposals Submitted and Sponsored Awards
The proposals submitted by the College of The Arts show a five-year average of approximately $2.3M. Sponsored Awards indicate a five-year average of $1.1M.
Research Expenditures and F&A Rates
The five-year average for Total Sponsored Research Expenditures is $682,507. The overall F&A rate over the five-year average is approximately 10.8%.
Faculty Awards
The College of The Arts is pleased to recognize the following Faculty Awards for calendar year 2017 as noted by the USF Office of Research & Innovation:
Faculty: C. Victor Fung
School: School of Music
Award: Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar
Type: TARU, NRC
Project: School of Music professor Victor Fung received a Fulbright Research Award (July
to December 2018) to study senior citizens’ music participation and quality of life
in Japan, a country with the top-rank percentage of senior citizens in the population.
During his Fulbright residency in Tokyo, he collaborated with a team of Japanese researchers
in eight different geographic areas. The study team will present preliminary findings
as a panel at the 12th Asia-Pacific Symposium on Music Education Research in Macau
in July 2019.
Faculty: Cesar Cornejo
School: School of Art & Art History
Award: Howard Fellow
Type: Others
Project: Cesar Cornejo's work explores the relationship between art, architecture and society.
He is influenced by having lived and worked in four different cultures: Peru, Japan,
England and USA, having each of them influenced the way he thinks about art and how
he makes it. He produces multilayered pieces that while addressing issues that may
refer to his native Peru, are also open to broader interpretations. He works in several
medias including; installation, sculpture, painting, drawing, photography and performance.
He is also interested in creating alternative institutional models that can promote
social change. His ongoing project Puno Museum of Contemporary Art (Puno MoCA), does
this through proposing an alternative model of museum which places community at its
center.
Faculty: Elisabeth Fraser
School: School of Art & Art History
Award: ACRL Choice Outstanding Academic Title
Type: Others
Project: Art History Professor Elisabeth Fraser’s latest book, Mediterranean Encounters:
Artists Between Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 1774–1839, has been named a 2017 Outstanding
Academic Title in Choice magazine’s January 2018 edition. This places Mediterranean
Encounters in a curated list of the best scholarly titles reviewed by Choice and gives
the publication the recognition of the academic library community. Choice, a publishing
unit of the of the Association of College and Research Libraries, selects its Outstanding
Academic based on their overall excellence in presentation and scholarship, importance
relative to other literature in the field, and distinction as a first treatment of
a given subject in book or electronic form. Also considered in evaluating titles are
originality or uniqueness of treatment, value to undergraduate students, and importance
in building undergraduate library collections.
Faculty: Michael Halflants
School: School of Architecture & Community Design
Award: AIA Florida Medal of Honor for Design Award
Type: Others
Project: The American Institute of Architects’ Florida-Caribbean chapter presented Halflants,
of Halflants + Pichette Studio for Modern Architecture in Sarasota, with the Medal
of Honor for Design at its recent convention in Ponte Vedra Beach. The Medal of Honor
is the highest award for design that AIA Florida can bestow on an architect. The Medal
of Honor recognizes an individual who has distinguished himself by the high quality
and originality of his work and provided inspiration to colleagues. The jury consisted
of the past award recipients. The medal was presented in Sawgrass at the AIA Florida
convention with 500 architects in attendance.
Other recent faculty awards and recognitions are noted in the Highlights and Accomplishments section of this report.
Resources
Instructional Personnel Headcount by FTE
The College of The Arts instructional personnel consists of 81 FTE regular full-time faculty and is supplemented by 10 FTE adjunct faculty, many of whom teach one or more classes.
Endowment
As of January 31, 2019, the market value of the COTA endowment is $22,410,198.
Fundraising
The College of The Arts gives special thanks to the following generous donors whose important gifts to the College of The Arts will enhance the arts-education experiences of our students for generations to come (as of April 15, 2019):
- Mr. and Mrs. Raxit Shah donated a beautiful and historic Civil War-era (1861) Steinway & Sons grand piano.
- Don Jones renewed his commitment to the David M. Alfano Scholarship in Opera.
- Tom and Debbie Jackson established the Katie & Elizabeth Jackson Memorial Award in Musical Theatre.
- Rebecca Penneys established the Rebecca Penneys Steinway Renovation Fund which enabled the full restoration of the School of Music's 1970s-era Steinway & Sons walnut grand piano.
- Dr. Allen Root supported the Contemporary Art Museum with his sponsorship of the exhibit "The Visible Turn," in memory of his late wife Janet G. Root.
- Renowned jazz bassist John Lamb established the John Lamb Endowed Scholarship in Jazz Studies.
- Mort and Sara Richter have made gifts to USF's renowned Graphicstudio and hosted the 11th Annual Jazz Brunch.
- Nancy Preis provided a gift to support the Nancy J. Preis Piano Fund, which will support the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival.
- Betty Castor and Sam Bell provided an additional gift through their estate to the Betty Castor Band/Music Education Endowment.
- Bill and Sandy Frye established the Bill & Sandy Frye Scholarship in the Arts, a rotating scholarship that will aid music, theatre, dance, and the visual arts.
- Phillip Passantino sponsored a new competition for School of Music piano students.
- Stanton Storer made a gift to support the Contemporary Art Museum's Art for Community Engagement (ACE) program.
- Suzanne Mayo generously provided funds for the Contemporary Art Museum's "Breaking Barriers" summer photography program for veterans.
- The Music Gallery (Clearwater), through its support of the Richard Goode performance and the Steinway Series, continues to be a wonderful partner to USF's School of Music.
- Robert A. Iles & Michael J. Paonessa have demonstrated their support of Graphicstudio, USF's world-renowned art atelier, by including it in their estate plans.
- Steve and Teresa Oscher have significantly enhanced their Oscher Family Scholarship in Dance.
- Tina Worrall and Stanton Storer co-hosted the annual "An Evening with the MFA Graduates" event, which supports the School of Art & Art History, the Institute for Research in Art, and especially our talented MFA graduates.
- Dr. Karen Frank made a bequest gift to create the Karen A. Frank Scholarship in Studio Art to provide scholarship support for art students.
OTHER UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE MEASURES AND INITIATIVES
Provost's Curricular Review
The curricular review is a critical component of our comprehensive student success focus and is considered a best practice among leading institutions of higher education. To meet the needs of our students and the communities we serve, the College of The Arts in final stages of this comprehensive, faculty-led undergraduate curricular review using the following guiding principles to ensure the quality of our academic programs:
- Strategic alignment,
- Intellectual rigor,
- Student centricity,
- Relevance, and
- Curriculum coherence.
The review will be completed by the end of the Spring 2019 semester.
FUSE
Fuse is a transfer program between the University of South Florida and eight Florida State Colleges. This partnership provides seamless academic pathways for students to complete their associate degree, which guarantees admission into specific majors at USF and promotes timely graduation.
Over the last several years, COTA had partnerships with both St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College for the following degrees: B.A. Art History, B.A. Studio Art, and B.F.A. Studio Art.
As of this year, the College of The Arts has expanded upon those original partnerships to now offer FUSE pathways at all eight partner institutions:
• Hillsborough Community College
• Polk State College
• St. Petersburg College
• Pasco Hernando State College
• State College of Florida
• College of Central Florida
• South Florida State College
• Santa Fe College
In addition, discussions are underway for the creation of a new B.A. Theatre pathway
with St. Petersburg College.
General Education Revision
The Enhanced General Education curriculum seeks to enhance skills most applicable
in the 21st century global community. Its design directly supports the University
of South Florida's commitment to deliver a competitive undergraduate program that
generates knowledge, fosters intellectual development, and ensures students' success
in a global environment.
| ARC 2701 Architecture History I (conversion) |
| ARC 2702 Architecture History 2 (conversion) |
| ART 2301C Beginning Drawing (conversion) |
| MUS 4930/MUS 5905 All You Need is Love: Beatles (new) |
| ARH 2051 History of Visual Arts II |
| ART 4940 Extended Studies |
| IDA 4490 Community-Based Arts Practice (approved as IDS 4377) |
| MUE 4480 Special Ensemble Methods |
| ARH 4973 Visual Cultures of the Middle East | Submitted to SCNS* |
| ARH 5224 Art of the Medieval and Renaissance Book | Council Reviewer Added |
| ARH 5577 Cross-Cultural Interactions in Islamic Art | Council Reviewer Added |
| ARH 5817 ARH 5817 Research in Art History | Council Reviewer Added |
| ARH 5889 Cultural Encounters in Art | Submitted to SCNS |
| ARH 6868 Current Historiography: 20th Century | Submitted SCNS |
| ARH 4812 Art History Research and Writing | Submitted to College |
| ARH 2050 History of Visual Arts I | Sent to Gen Ed Council |
| ART 4940 External Studies | Council Reviewer Added |
| ART 4802 B.S. Studio Art Forum | Submitted to College |
| MUE 4936 Senior Seminar in Music Education | Sent for Internal Admin Review |
| MUE 4940 Internship: Music Education | Returned to Proposer |
| MUH 3452 Music and Politics | Submitted to College |
| MUH 4652 Music and Medicine | Submitted to SCNS |
| MUS 3400C Advanced Keyboard Skills | Submitted to SCNS |
| MUS 4900 Directed Readings Bio & Ergo in Mus Perf | Submitted to SCNS |
| MUT 3151 Music Theory Pedagogy | Submitted for Internal Acad Review |
| THE 4562 Contemporary Performance Theory | Submitted to College |
| B.S. Music Education (MUE) |
External Relations
Website progress
To reach a new generation of prospective students and continue to support the student recruitment and student success objectives of the College of The Arts, the Office of External Relations continues the redesign work of all websites for each school. New websites for the Schools of Art & Art History and Architecture & Community Design new websites were successfully launched this year, and the new School of Theatre & Dance website is anticipated to launch this summer. Now, visitors to the newly redesigned sites are greeted by auto-play video (created in-house) showcasing talent from each COTA School and unit. Multiple images illustrating academics and student life maintain visual interest throughout the website and break the monotony of textual content. The new website is also responsive: Web pages adapt to the device and screen size, thus ensuring an easy and pleasant viewing experience across both mobile and desktop platforms.
Serving as an information resource for prospective students and their families, the Schools' new websites focus on content. Information for each school was reorganized to increase ease of navigation and provide consistency throughout COTA websites. The "Apply" tab provides prospective students with a brief overview of the admissions processes for each school, along with helpful links to guide them to additional information. Prospective students and their families can easily and quickly discover all the academic programs available, as well as information on the minors and certificates available.
Social Media Reach
The secondary focus of the new website was to improve COTA's community outreach through integrating social media in meaningful ways. The College of The Arts started co-hosting the Institute for Research in Art's events on Facebook, casting a wider net of interest which garnered new followers and increased awareness of events. All official COTA events were promoted in full and have experienced great positive response. Due to these efforts across all COTA social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), the College has recorded an in-progress total organic reach of 394,233 impressions for academic year 2018-19 to date, compared to 115,769 views on our FastBook website calendar for the entire 2016-17 academic year. Review of this social media data allows COTA to determine what events from each COTA unit were audience favorites. The goal is to continue to engage the community while simultaneously raising the profile of our schools and students and their work.
Marketing and Branding
In addition to addressing enrollment concerns, the COTA website redesign and social media strategy are also efforts to make all marketing and communications from the College of The Arts and its schools more cohesive. To help engage visitors in the USF experience, the Office of External Relations has worked with University Communications and Marketing to redesign each COTA school website with the same objectives in mind. In order to promote the COTA brand as a single united front, the schools' new websites now follow a similar layout to the COTA website, thereby achieving a consistent look that is visually engaging, informational, and easy to navigate.
HIGHLIGHTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
As the creative center of the University of South Florida, the College of The Arts provides an enriched, student-centered, outcome-driven, professional environment for tomorrow's leaders in architecture, community design, art, art history, music, theatre, and dance. Through experimentation and scholarship, the College of The Arts provides diverse perspectives, creates new representational practices, and informs the emergence of new research trajectories and visualization techniques to give our students the ability to function with agility in the ever-changing cultural landscape.
Following are links to the remarkable highlights and accomplishments of the faculty, students, alumni and staff of the College of The Arts over the last academic year:
To find out more about the programs, research, and cultural opportunities occurring at the College of The Arts, visit the following sites:
