Can Colleges Help High School Fine Arts Programs?
Dr. Thomas C. Duffy, CMEA News, October 1992
Complete silence fell over the assembly of 750 college band directors as a young high school band director from Danville, Illinois, quietly described his program's upcoming dissolution. From the middle of the floor, he addressed the panel on stage, concluding, "I came to this conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) with great optimism. I had hoped that this panel discussion of the problems in and with secondary and elementary music education would generate concrete action that would help save my program - a program for which funding is being withdrawn by vote of the Board of Education at this very moment. However, I have heard nothing but rhetoric and fluff. Your long-term study groups won't help; your research committees won't help; your proposed written statement of protest won't help. So I put the question to you quite simply - specifically what are you college band directors going to do to help me save my program?"
This 6-hour panel session, entitled "What is the problem with music education and what can we do about it," included testimony from band directors from colleges across the country. Many reported that secondary music programs nationwide were showing a noticeable decrease in quality, were losing funding and support, and were being reduced in size and duration. Difficulty lay in attributing causes for these effects. The panel heard many theories as to why these programs were suffering, including poor training of today's music educators, predominance of television/video and the subsequent lessening of enthusiasm for live performance, diminishing free time for music practice and study as the result of work demands, increasing emphasis on the academic arena for college admissions (which generated the perception that students were being tracked away from music and towards science and other "core curricular" subjects). The panel was about to adjourn (and send the issue to committee for a study and position statement) when the gentleman from Illinois explained his heartbreaking situation and presented his simple challenge.
The testimony and subsequent discussion presented a problem and a request for action to solve the problem. The focus of the session became fixed not on developing a strategy for a solution but almost exclusively on more precisely defining the problem. As this defining stage can be the most difficult phase of a problem-solving endeavor, it was not unusual that the majority of the session was spent thus. However, the need for real action was presented with appropriate urgency by the gentleman from Illinois.
Was there actually anything that colleges could do to assist secondary music programs? There was some suggestion that colleges were, in fact, partially to blame for the inferior position of music in the high school curriculum, as evidenced by the emphasis placed on SAT scores, class rank, and transcript grades as admissions criteria. Was there truth in the suggestion that institutions of higher education held lesser regard for one's fine arts accomplishments than writing, mathematics and science credentials? This article presents a research project that was conducted to more clearly define the prevailing attitudes of colleges toward the secondary fine arts experience. This project was officially inaugurated at the close of that panel discussion at the CBDNA National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 23, 1991.
Methods
Development of the survey: Two of the college band directors at that session, Thomas G. Everett from Harvard University, and Thomas C. Duffy from Yale University, had already spent considerable time with a project that had direct bearing on the matter at hand. At an open New England College Band Association (NECBA) meeting in December of 1989, testimony from New England high school band directors suggested that many high school students were being advised away from school music performance/study in favor of courses that would make them more attractive "academic" candidates for college. (The issue of the academic versus extracurricular status of music performance/study is important but is not meant to be a complicating factor in this casual study. The opposition of "music" and "academic" courses is not meant to assign music to a non-academic status. Rather, the use of the term academic refers to the hard sciences, mathematics, language arts and social sciences.) Similar reports were heard at two subsequent open NECBA meetings. Under the auspices of the NECBA, Duffy and Everett attempted to address this misimpression, one that most likely contributed to the de-emphasis of secondary school fine arts programs.
Duffy and Everett attempted to address this misimpression, one that most likely contributed to the de-emphasis of secondary school fine arts programs.
In 1990, Torn Everett produced a statement from William R. Fitzsimmons, the Dean of Admissions at Harvard University, as follows:
"The arts are clearly an integral part of life at Harvard and Radcliffe, important for their value to the college environment and also for the potential they provide for lifelong enrichment. In addition to academic criteria, therefore, we always consider extracurricular talents and personal strengths when we evaluate a candidate's credentials. We look for students whose previous participation in the arts shows that they can make a substantial contribution to our community."
This statement was sent to all of the college band directors in New England with the hope that they would make it available to area secondary fine arts faculty. Tom Duffy produced the following statement from Worth David, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions for Yale University:
"Qualifications for admission to Yale College include not only the reasonably well-defined areas of academic achievement and special skill in non-academic areas, but also the less tangible qualities of capacity for involvement, commitment, and personal growth. The arts offer remarkable opportunities for the exercise of these qualities. The highly skilled artist, the student whose intellectual interests include close study of the arts, and the many applicants who demonstrate motivation and the willingness to extend their reach through participation in the arts, all promise to enhance the quality of life at Yale."
These two statements were presented for consideration and discussion to the general membership at the CBDNA panel session, after which the membership passed Duffy's motion to distribute these statements for endorsement by colleges and universities in each state. A final document containing the original statements and all endorsements and additions would be produced and distributed to all CBDNA members, to the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and to the professional organizations of secondary school guidance counselors and career advisors. This document, which is still in production, should identify the importance that universities and colleges place on the fine arts component in admissions candidates. While one may notice the generic nature of some of the endorsements, one cannot help but notice the consistent and overwhelming acknowledgement that the signatory institutions of higher education place great weight on the fine arts experience at the secondary level. It is significant that neither Yale nor Harvard Universities offer an undergraduate degree in music performance (Yale does offer undergraduate instrumental study for credit under certain limited conditions).
Procedure:
On March 15, 1991, letter was sent with the Harvard and Yale admission statements to the Deans and Directors of Admissions at 100 colleges and universities, 2 per state (see appendix 1). Recipients were selected on the basis of school size, reputation of the music component of the institution, or both. Recipients were asked to endorse the statements, decline to endorse the statements, or produce a statement that more accurately described their institution's posture on the issue. Six weeks later, a second request was mailed to institutions that had not responded. Institutions not responding to the second mailing were removed from the immediate project and other schools were identified and sent the endorsement request and a reminder. The number of schools in this third mailing equaled the number of schools that did not respond.
Results
The initial mailing response was 20% (n=l00), 18 endorsements and 2 declinations. The second mailing produced an additional 21 endorsements and 4 declinations, (45%). The third mailing saw responses to bring the total to 70 endorsements or endorsing statements and 8 declinations, (78%) (see appendix 2). All of the declinations but one specified that, while they did support the statement, they did not factor fine arts experience into the admissions process.
Several of the additions to the original statements are significant enough to be reprinted here. The following statements accompanied declinations:
"Although the Georgia Institute of Technology due to its unique characteristics does not factor fine arts classwork and/or experience into our admissions process nor admissions decisions, we do agree wholeheartedly as to the importance of the fine arts experience in producing a successful and well-rounded college student and contributing member of society and the world of work following the collegiate career.
Jerry Hitt, Director of Admissions, Georgia Institute of Technology"Auburn University considers fine arts courses as positive experiences, making a student academically well-rounded; we do not factor the experience into our admissions process."
Charles F. Reeder, Director of Admissions, Auburn University
The following statements accompanied endorsements:
"Beginning in the fall of 1993, the University of Tennessee will require the completion of one year of high school course work in the visual or performing arts for admission to the university. This is tangible evidence of our commitment to the arts as an integral part of a liberal education and an affirmation of the vital role that the arts play in enriching our campus community."
Gordon E, Stanley, PhD, Director of Admissions University of Tennessee, Knoxville
"The University of Maine is committed to the value and importance of the fine acts as an integral part of the elementary and secondary school experience. We recommend that students seeking admission to the University include fine arts education as part of their academic preparation"
William J. Munsey, Dir. of Admissions University of Maine
"Of paramount importance to the University of Oklahoma is its educational mission to cultivate men and women who will become productive members of society. The University recognizes the role the fine arts assume in balancing a rigorous academic discipline with artistic beauty for the creation of an enhanced quality of life for society. In fulfillment of this mission the University, in linkage with common education, encourages participation in the fine arts as part of the quest for human proportion."
Richard E. Hall, Director of Human Services and College Relations University of Oklahoma
"I am happy to respond to your recent inquiry concerning our view of the arts as part of the preparation for our liberal arts program~ The founder of this university, Thomas Jefferson, was an avid musician himself and his influence can be seen today in the strength of the offerings in music, drama, art studio, history of art and also architecture. This university seeks students who have solid backgrounds in English, math, science, history and foreign languages. In addition, we look for students who have well-developed talents in the arts, for we know that they add a richness to our student body. They enhance the quality of life for all of our students and faculty at the University of Virginia."
John A. Blackburn, Dean of Admissions University of Virginia
"At Virginia Tech, the arts are quite important in our admissions policies, and we pay particular attention to prospective students who have arts training or experiences as a part of their secondary school curricular or extra-curricular records. In point of fact, our Undergraduate Catalog specifically notes college preparatory courses in the "fine arts" as appropriate electives for inclusion in required secondary school course work. As well, the University has special admissions procedures for students with "exceptional abilities in certain fields of study such as the creative and performing arts." From just these two perspectives, I believe that you can appreciate the importance of the arts to our admissions policies here at Virginia Tech."
David R. Bousquet, Dean Of Admissions Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
"Intellectual leaders from Plato to the present have recognized the importance of the arts to a thriving civilization. The University of Michigan joins in recommending the arts because of their humanizing 'influences, their demands for self-discipline, their abilities to evoke idealistic dreams that transcend everyday issues, their effectiveness in reflecting the achievements of diverse peoples, and their capacities to stimulate that most important of all intellectual abilities: creativity. Perhaps in no past era of our increasingly global civilization have these qualities been more sorely needed that they are today. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is a community rich in varied artistic achievements, and we are especially pleased to consider applicants whose backgrounds synchronize with artistic values."
Richard H. Shaw, Jr., Director of Admissions University of Michigan (Mr. Shaw will assume the position of Dean Of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale University as of September 1, 1992.)
Discussion
There are many approaches to the validation of the fine arts in the curricula at all educational levels. The benefits of such education can be justified in several domains - cultural, sociological, financial, artistic, psychomotor, affective, cognitive, spiritual. Unfortunately, it is difficult to compare the relative values of specific disciplines when faced with a one-or-the-other situation. This admissions statement project was designed to demonstrate the worth of the arts in such a way as to invite comparison with other disciplines. If the job of the educational system is to prepare students for college, so be it. Here lies the argument by which a student bound for college should be advised to take advanced physics and music. (Personally, this author believes that the job of the pre-college educational system is to present students with the experience, information, and fundamental intellectual skills to proceed without disadvantage along any life path that they choose, including that path called college, which allows for intense specialization.)
As well, this project might well recommend a revision in what is regarded as the standard pre-college core curriculum to include fine arts education. Secondary level music experiences are intrinsically valuable and have worth as indicators for future performance.
Perhaps the most important interpretation of the results of this descriptive study has direct bearing on the situation described at the beginning of this article. The school system that eliminates its fine arts program or reduces it to the level of a simple activity may well be removing from its students the opportunity to remain competitive for admission to the finest institutions of higher education in the country.
Conclusion
Several questions are raised by this study. There is no way to determine (from the data at hand) whether those institutions who chose not to respond did so because they had no policy. One admissions director responded to the second notice, saying that he had not answered earlier be-cause he didn't agree with the project. (He claimed that Yale and Harvard in fact did place the most emphasis on traditional core curricular academic performance and only after that evaluation was satisfactorily completed did any question of fine arts study come into bearing.) It is possible that other institutions have dismissed the survey. It is also possible that non-responding institutions have not identified their position on the relationship of the fine arts educational credential to that of other disciplines.
However, there is at least one school that formulated a previously undeclared position on the this issue in the process of responding to this survey (this school endorsed the statements).
The results of this study should not be used to suggest that, when examined for college admissions, a student's fine arts talents will necessarily overcome mediocre performance in other academic domains. Conversely, one should not discount the potential of the fine arts disciplines to strengthen a comprehensive academic portfolio.
Thomas C. Duffy is the Director of Bands at Yale University and Associate Professor of Music at the Yale Graduate School of Music. He received his Bachelor of Science in Music Education and his Master of Music composition form the University of Connecticut, and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from Cornell University, where he was a student of Karel Husa and Steven Stucky. He is past-president of the New England College Band Association, editor of the College Band Directors National Association journal, president of the Eastern Division of CBDNA, publicity co-chairman for the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, past-president of Connecticut Composers Incorporated, and a member of American Composers Alliance and BMI. Chairman of the Connecticut Music Educators Association Professional Affairs Committee, Mr. Duffy was recently appointed grants consultant to the Council for Basic Education in Washington, D.C. Appendices regarding research can be obtained by contacting Tom Duffy, P.O. Box 209048, New Haven, CT 06520-9048. Phone (203) 432-4111, Fax (203) 432-7213.
