| Thanks, y'all, I have, indeed, read doctorjohn's post about juries and yes, it makes sense. I am somewhat familiar with the notion of juries in a high school setting, as they have them at my D's arts high school. I do get that programs in drama or musical theater or other arts areas need to have some way to ascertain whether students are measuring up and, indeed, progressing, as they move through a program. Juries do that, and also give the faculty a regularly-scheduled time to weed out/cull people who may be talented, but may also lack commitment, passion, etc. (By this, I am alluding to kids who don't come to class, rehearsal, etc. etc. In other words, who obviously display lack of commitment.)
Even so, doesn't it seem extraordinary to anyone else that a program cut 17 students? Again, perhaps this is not unusual, and my ignorance is once again showing. (I confess openly to not knowing much, if anything, about these college programs. That's why I came to this list: to learn.) But it seems to me that cutting 17 kids from a program means that something went wrong somewhere: either in the admissions process or elsewhere. Of course, once again, let me point out that we really don't have a complete set of info here on which to base our discussion. It would be great if someone from U of A (administration or faculty) could come on list to comment, so things could be clearer. In any case, I do feel for any U of A student who was working hard and doing his or her best, only to find himself or herself out of a school. I think we can agree that not a one of us would want that to happen to her child. |