College of Visual and Performing Arts

Ted Barnes, Dean

Purpose

The College of Visual and Performing Arts is an integral part of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and operates in accordance with the overall mission of the University. The College’s purpose is to promote excellence through artistic practice and scholarship within the framework of a “faith-informed” environment. We are dedicated to producing artists, designers, performers, teachers, and scholars of unique creative thought and insightful Christian faith. We are committed to helping our students develop an understanding of and appreciation for the important role of the visual and performing arts in society.

Core Curriculum offered by the College of Visual and Performing Arts

UMHB has a broadly based core curriculum that is central to the University’s mission. Three credit hours of fine arts courses are required for all students seeking a degree. The CVPA offers a wide range of courses to fulfill this requirement, which range from a general fine arts appreciation course (see below) to more specific fine arts courses such as art appreciation, music appreciation, design, drawing, musical ensembles, and more.

UMHB Fine Arts Experience Requirement (FAE)

The general education core at UMHB is designed to help students develop to their full potential as educated persons. UMHB strives to offer its students a setting in which they can mature culturally, as well as intellectually. In an effort to provide a well-rounded education, the University requires a Fine Arts Experience (FAE) in addition to three hours of fine arts course credit required in the core curriculum. The purpose of this Fine Arts Experience requirement is to establish and foster a life-long pattern of fine arts involvement.

All full-time undergraduate, degree-seeking students must attend no less than eight (see requirements listed below) FAE events, one each semester they are enrolled. Students are advised to enroll for UMHB 1005: Fine Arts Experience the beginning of their first semester as a full-time student. By doing this requirement conflicts will be avoided.

What is a Fine Arts Experience Event?

Each semester a calendar of approved Fine Arts Experience events is prepared. Approved FAE events will cover a wide variety of programs and will be chosen from areas such as plays, art exhibitions and musical performances, or from lectures/presentations of general appeal related to the fine arts. These events will be scheduled and approved by an FAE Committee appointed from the CVPA by the Provost.

How Can the Requirement Be Fulfilled?

Satisfactory Fine Arts Experience (FAE) attendance requirements are as follows:

1. Incoming Freshmen (or transfer students with less than thirty semester hours accepted by UMHB) must acquire eight semesters of FAE credit.
2. Transfer Students
   1. Sophomores (students with thirty to fifty-nine semester hours accepted by UMHB) must acquire six semesters of FAE credit.
   2. Juniors (students with sixty to eighty-nine semester hours accepted by UMHB) must acquire four semesters of FAE credit.
   3. Seniors (students with ninety or more semester hours accepted by UMHB) must acquire two semesters of FAE credit.
3. FAE attendance is mandatory, if attendance records indicate that a student did not attend the required number of FAE events, or did not make-up the absence, they will receive non-credit for FAE on the grade report for that semester. Students are responsible for making sure they have fulfilled all requirements for attendance and can check the records of attendance with the Director of the Fine Arts Experience in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. If a student feels that an error has been made, he/she has until the first two weeks of the following semester to question the accuracy of the records.

   To receive credit the student must be scanned out of the event.