The LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts (CMDA) has been invited to partiipate in a beta testing of a new national program to assess factors that helped or hindered the career paths of alumni, whether they have become professional artists or pursued other paths.
The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) has invited several leading arts education and training programs from around the country to participate in field tests in 2008 and 2009. These include conservatories, independent colleges of art and design, arts schools within larger universities, and arts high schools.
SNAAP Associate Director and Project Manager Sally Gaskill stated, "SNAAP will provide the first national data on how artists develop in this country; help identify the factors needed to better connect arts training to artistic careers; and allow education institutions, researchers and arts leaders to look at the factors that helped or hindered the career paths of alumni, whether they have become professional artists or pursued other paths. We are pleased that the LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts is one of the institutions joining us for the 2009 field test.”
Dean Laurence Kaptain of LSU's CMDA stated, "We are very proud to be selected as part of the cadre of elite institutions to participate in this exciting project. For many years claims have been made for the value of an arts education to society. This project will allow us to quantify those perceptions."
SNAAP is a part of the prestigious Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research (CPR). The Center hosts the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its affiliate surveys (Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, Law School Survey of Student Engagement, Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement) and the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) research project. The NSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice is the Center's service arm which was created to respond to increasing demand for using student engagement data and other relevant information to inform policy and practice.
http://snaap.indiana.edu/
Contact: Sally Gaskill Phone: 812.856.0735 Email: gaskill@indiana.edu or Dean Laurence Kaptain Phone: 225.578.9959 Email: kaptain@lsu.edu
