2018-19 CTE Instructional Program Review
First name
Michelle
Last name
Brown
Email
brownm@smccd.edu
Program Name
Please select your program
Digital Media


Division
Please select your division
Creative Arts/Social Science


Submission Date
Oct-25-2018


1a. Provide a brief description of the program and how it supports the college’s Mission and Values Statements, its Diversity Statement, CSM’s and SMCCCD’s Strategic Plans, and the college’s Educational Master Plan. You may also discuss any factors that have impacted the program and its enrollment. Include changes in student populations, statewide initiatives, transfer requirements, advisory committee recommendations, legal mandates, workforce development and employment opportunities, and community needs.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
The Digital Media program offers a wide range of classes that both respond to the workforce needs and also align with the mission of CSM. Specifically, the program focuses on career and technical education (CTE) and consists of three concentrations:
1. Graphic Design
2. Web/Multimedia
3. Broadcast & Electronic Media

Digital Media's Vision is to become the preeminent community college media program on the peninsula that attracts students to transfer and training in film, TV, web/multimedia, and graphic design through its reputation of building solid production skills in professional facilities, and guiding students toward a theoretical understanding of media's influence on culture and society.
We’re fortunate to have a core of experienced full-time and adjuncts, many of whom have or still work in the industry. There are three full time faculty in Digital Media; one from each core concentration, plus 3 adjunct faculty. Digital Media (DGME) offers approximately 33 sections a year with 3 AA degree paths, 1 AS-T transfer degree, and 5 certificates.

The Digital Media program currently supports the college’s mission through its student-centered instruction in CTE career/technical education and transfer preparation. Digital Media courses also meet the college Mission Statement to prepare students to be informed and engaged citizens in an increasingly global community; one dominated by media messages - those they consume and those they now construct. What we used to call the "audience" have now become media producers and digital designers themselves. We train and empower our students to use media effectively in today’s society.

The Digital Media program maintains an open-access policy of inclusiveness that recognizes, values, and reflects the diversity of the community we serve. Some assignments offer opportunities to explore issues related to diversity through media production. DGME faculty participate in equity workshops... (see attachment


Description of Program
File upload

2a. Describe the results of your previous Program Review’s action plan.
f your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
Looking back at the 2016 Program Review, Plan #1 was to create a student-run radio station connected to a radio production course. That has been accomplished. You can now hear KDOG streaming online! https://collegeofsanmateo.edu/kdog/ The station is not using KCSM’s HD signal as initially proposed. It was easier to begin the station using a streaming service, which charges a nominal monthly fee. Fall 2018 is the second semester that DGME 119 Radio Lab has been offered, and the station has been on the air. Adjunct professor Donna Eyestone has done wonderful work getting the station KDOG started and teaching the new radio course!

We have received the Glowforge laser cutter and engraver, which was acquired with the help of an innovation grant funding. Prof. Vera Fainshtein is being trained how to use it and is going to introduce it in DGME 103 (Two-Dimensional Design) class in Fall 2018.

We have received funding and finished the install of a new art display area on the first floor of Building 10. The display area contains seven clear acrylic frames and allows to feature student work along with the work of professional artists. So far, this space was used for two student shows and an international poster exhibit.

Every spring, Prof. Fainshtein curates, organizes and installs an international design exhibition at CSM. “Eco Art: Graphic Design for Change”, which was on campus in Spring 2017, featured a collection of 30 ‘eco-philosophical’ posters. The posters promoted ecological values central to the global environment and sustainable lifestyles on a macroscopic scale. The show included works by world famous designers such as Reza Abedini, Kazumasa Nagai, Lech Majewski, and many others. Students in DGME 211 (Intro to Graphic Design) were assigned a project related to the show. They researched eco themes provided by the Biology department, and designed posters, some of which were featured along the work of professional artists.

The latest show (Spring 2018) was “The


Results of your previous Program Review’s action plan
File upload

2b. Program coherence and effectiveness: Explain any curriculum changes since last program review, including SLO alignments.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
The Digital Media Program uses student learning outcomes-based assessment for each course and maps activities so that courses follow a continuous improvement path that ultimately leads the student to developing competencies needed to work at industry standards and transfer to schools offering upper-division courses.

Over the last two years we have successfully updated our curriculum in response to the job market demands. We banked outdated courses such as DGME 235 Production Design, and updated the content of all of our graphic design courses to emphasize the design process, theory, and the critical thinking component. We moved away from focusing mainly on the technical skills to a more balanced curriculum to help our students develop both - technical and conceptual skills. Starting with the foundation courses, DGME students work on real world projects, build pieces towards their portfolio, and are given a variety of opportunities to participate in contests, international design and student exhibits.

We updated and brought back two capstone courses such as ART 200 Portfolio and DGME 250 Internship, which have not been offered for a while. ART 200 is offered every fall and DGME 250 – every spring. We also added several new, courses developed by Prof. Diana Bennett: DGME 164 (UI/UX Design) and short software skill builder courses (DGME 110 Photoshop and DGME 111 Dreamweaver).

In addition, we are now partnering with the Strong Workforce Development Grant to fund new curriculum development to keep current with workforce demands (DGME 105 Intro Digital Media, DGME 107 Intro Social Media).


2c. Student success and equity: Discuss what your program has done to address equity gaps between student populations and between modes of delivery (online, hybrid, and face-to-face), describing your successes, works in progress, and/or ongoing challenges.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
The student success rate for the Digital Media program has been steadily increasing in the last three years. The current rate for 2017-2018 is 84%, which is 1.4% higher than the student success rate in 2015-2016. In addition, the student success rate for DGME is higher than the college average (73.3%).

The 2017-2018 retention rate for the Digital Media program (93.1%) has also increased since the previous years. It is 4% higher than the DGME retention rate in 2015-2016. In addition, it is 6.4% higher than the retention rate for the whole college.

The withdrawal rate for the Digital Media Program (6.9%) dropped from 10.7% last cycle. It is 6.4% points below the college average (13.3%). We are very pleased that fewer students are withdrawing from DGME classes, and we attribute this decrease in correlation to the updates in curriculum, the addition of new full-time and adjunct faculty and faculty professional development.

The average success rate for the demographic variable of ethnicity for the Digital Media Program is 83.2%, which is an increase from 82.5% in the last cycle, and better than the college average (72.7%). Faculty have noticed more ethnic diversity in their classrooms since the last cycle. In addition, many new students identify as multi-racial, so we wonder if these numbers might continue to increase as a result. The average success rate for the demographic variable of gender reveals a slightly higher rate for women (84.1%) than for men (82.1%), even though there are slightly more men enrolled in DGME courses.

This success rate is higher than the college average for women at 75.3% and for men at 71.7% - again, with more men enrolled college-wide. The success rate across all age brackets for the Digital Media Program is higher than the corresponding college rate. The mean success rate for all ages in the Digital Media program is 88.9%; for the college as a whole it is 73.3%.

Our goal is to provide equal opportunities to students.....


Student Success and Equity
File upload

2d. Provide an update on any long-term plans that are still in progress (if applicable).
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
A new course DGME 122 Live Sound has been created by Professor Brown to support the new AV Technician Certificate. The Certificate is currently making its way through Curricunet. The course is ready to be offered once we identify and hire an instructor.

A long-term plan that will begin in 2019, if requests are approved, is updating the student TV Studio to incorporate some of the high-definition equipment left after the sale of KCSM TV. A new video switcher must be purchased and new wall monitor. The two remaining broadcast engineers at Jazz91 may be able to do the upgrades, however, they already have full schedules and responsibilities. We’re hopeful that work will get started in spring and completed before Fall 2019. Once completed, there will be no technical support for the TV Studio.


Long-term plans
File upload

3a. Course and program assessment. Discuss the results of your program assessment. Explain any strategies, research, initiatives, curriculum development or other activities intended to improve student learning and promote educational equity in your discipline, either at the course or program level.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
Over the last two years we have successfully updated our curriculum in response to the job market demands. We banked outdated courses such as DGME 235 Production Design, and updated the content of all of our graphic design courses to emphasize the design process, theory, and the critical thinking component. We moved away from focusing mainly on the technical skills to a more balanced curriculum to help our students develop both - technical and conceptual skills. Starting with the foundation courses, DGME students work on real world projects, build pieces towards their portfolio, and are given a variety of opportunities to participate in contests, international design and student exhibits.

We updated and brought back two capstone courses such as ART 200 Portfolio and DGME 250 Internship, which have not been offered for a while. ART 200 is offered every fall and DGME 250 – every spring. We also added several new, courses developed by Prof. Diana Bennett: DGME 164 (UI/UX Design) and short software skill builder courses (DGME 110 Photoshop and DGME 111 Dreamweaver).

Also, the web/multimedia courses (DGME 167, DGME 167, DGME 168) were updated to include mobile design and online advertising

In Spring 2018, College of San Mateo hosted an international design exhibit titled: “The New Winds” Contemporary Iranian Design. Co-curated and organized by the digital media faculty Prof. Fainshtein, the show debuted in the United States for the first time. The objective of the exhibit was to raise social awareness and promote diversity, by developing the student’s ability to recognize cultural traditions and to understand and appreciate diversity of the human experience, past and present (i.e. institutional SLO #5). With over 50 professional artists participating, the exhibition gave the American audience a chance to experience a culture, a people, and letterforms that may be unknown or misunderstood. It was a great event for designers, educators, and the general public intereste


Course and program assessment
File upload

3b. General Education / Institutional assessment. Discuss participation in any General Education, Core Competencies, institutional or interdisciplinary assessment activities. 
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
DGME faculty participate in flex day activities. We also met with Madeleine Murphy to discuss our assessment methods.

Ongoing discussion and assessment of effectiveness of the Digital Media program and courses has taken place in department meetings on a regular basis, with particular concentration on the quality of core and required courses.


4a. Review the program's available labor market data, as applicable. Here are two relevant links:
Explain how the program meets a documented labor market demand.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
Based on the Perkins data we are meeting or exceeding our goals five Core areas Skill Attainment, Competence, Persistence, Employment and Non traditional employment. We appear to be weakest in supporting students with internships in the areas of employment and non traditional employment. The issue is a lack of partnerships with industry. With the recent hiring of Director of Workforce and Director of Career Education to assist in exploring avenues for students it is likely we will be able to increase the numbers. We have identified this as something we will investigate as part of our SLO review this year

Digital Media department offers the following degrees:
• AA Degree in Broadcast and Electronic Media
• AA Degree in Graphic Design
• AA Degree in Web Design/Multimedia
• AS-T Degree in Film, Television and Electronic Media

We offer the following Certificates of Achievement:
• Certificate in Graphic Design
• Certificate in Web Design/Multimedia

The following are the Certificates of Specialization:
• Applied Audio and Video Production
• Broadcast and Electronic Media
• Web Design/Multimedia
According to the Creative Circle staffing agency, the 5 essentials that are needed in order to land a creative job are: professional networking, a well-structured resume, strong digital portfolio, good interview skills, and an iconic personal brand. All of our upper division courses are designed to help students with all of the components mentioned above.

Our two capstone courses, which have been recently revived after being on hold for several years: ART 200 Portfolio and DGME 250 Internship prepare students for transfer and entry-level jobs in the industry. Our students have successfully completed internships and freelance assignments at the following organizations: Pro-Beach Soccer, VA Palo Alto Health Center, City of Redwood City, Millbrae Community Television, Accion Latina, UC Botanical Garden, Halfmoon Bay Theater, and many others. Out of 18 students...


Labor Market Demand
File upload

4b. Summarize student outcomes in terms of degrees and certificates. Identify areas of accomplishments and areas of concern.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
We believe that the Digital Media program is successful given the growth in the number of students in our classes and the increasing number of students graduating each year. For example, in 2015-2016, we awarded 74 degrees and certificates vs 91 degrees and certificated awarded in 2016-2017.
On a number of occasions, we have partnered with the Strong Workforce Development Grant in order to update our hardware and equipment, as well as to better promote and explain our varied curriculum. Our students successfully transition to four year design and digital media programs at universities such as SJSU, Cal State East Bay, San Jose State, San Francisco State, Parsons School of Design, Pasadena Art Center, Cal Arts, the Art Institute, and many others. We’re in the process of putting together an “exit survey”, which will let us determine which part of the program students found to be most useful and where they are going once they’ve completed their studies at CSM.
We are starting to see an increase in students pursuing the AS-T (FTVE) Film, Television, and Electronic Media. Over half of students in the TV Studio class have declared the AS-T as their academic goal at CSM. Most of these students will transfer to San Francisco State University’s (BECA) Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts program for their B.A. However, that program is impacted and it’s taking our transfers longer to complete their B.A. than they anticipated.
Area of concerns:
Course cancellation due to low enrollment.
Course scheduling to facilitate the completion of AA Degree and Certificates in a timely manner.
Another major concern is the total lack of technical support or supervision overseeing equipment and facilities. CSM has made a substantial investment in state-of-the-art audio and video facilities, plus professional equipment for students to use. At one time the KCSM TV engineers were able to help maintain facilities and equipment. With the sale of the station, there are no longer......


Summarize Student Outcomes
File upload

4c. Review and update the program’s Advisory Committee information. Provide the date of most recent advisory committee meeting.
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
In Spring Semester, May 2018, we had a focused advisory meeting about radio. The DGME faculty met with staff from KCSM Jazz 91FM to lay out plans for the student-run radio station. We decided to use a streaming service instead of starting the station on Jazz 91’s HD signal. KCSM is allowing the student radio station to use a room in B9 next to the student TV Studio.

Another topic of discussion was the upcoming sale of KCSM TV and how that will affect the academic program. At that point, no one really knew anything, so we speculated on possibilities. One of the concerns is having to move the student TV Studio from B9 to B10 someday, but there is no timeline to do so.
All DGME faculty spend time with various professionals discussing potential job/internship opportunities for our students, recommended changes/adjustments to our curriculum and how our students can better offer support to them.

Most Recent Committee Meeting Attendees:

Dante Betteo KCSM-FM Radio Station Manager
Hyla Lacefield Canada College faculty
Marilyn Lawrence KCSM - retired
Michele Muller KCSM-TV Station Manager
Ian Pollock CSU East Bay faculty
Stephen Schmidt Duuplex - Principal/Creative Director
Hanns Ullrich SMCCCD ITS Broadcast Engineer
Diana Bennett CSM - Digital Media faculty
Michelle Brown CSM - Digital Media faculty
Vera Fainshtein CSM - Digital Media faculty
Nico van Dongen CSM - Digital Media faculty, adjunct


5a. Provide a brief description, including actions, measurable outcomes, and timelines  
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
5. Planning Describe and prioritize goals and plans to sustain and improve student success and equity (referring to Parts 2, 3, and 4 above):

a) Provide a brief description, including actions, measurable outcomes, and timelines.

Some of the future plans to sustain and improve student success and equity are:
1. Expand the internship program by establishing strong relationships with local businesses and non-profits to hire students as interns and contract/ freelance designers

2. Continue the DGME Lecture Series and Portfolio Review sessions (as part of Art 200 Portfolio class) by bringing professionals from the industry that are approaching digital media and design from an innovative, cutting-edge perspective. (Institutional SLO #4 Critical Thinking).

3. Work closely with local K-12 high-schools to increase enrollment in concurrent and dual enrollment

4. Work with the CSM marketing department to develop two student surveys and
gather, and analyze the following data:
a) where our students are going after they graduate (how many of them
transfer to 4-year programs, how many get jobs in the field, etc.)
b) “exit” skills survey (i.e. to track the most successful part of the program
and the least successful)

5. Work with Director of Workforce to market courses via social media to increase enrollemt.
6. Implement Cooperative Work Experience



7. Put together a Graphic Design Student Show, which will include the work
of graduating students from CSM, Canada College and Skyline. The goal is to enhance communication between the three colleges in the district. In addition,
we would like to foster the exchange of ideas and experiences between the students, as well as the faculty. The prospective date of the show is April – May 2019. The location is CSM. (Institutional SLO #2 Effective Communication)
8. Bring more international design and digital media exhibits to CSM to improve student’s ability to identify and analyze a diversity...


Description of Planning
File upload

5b. What will your program do to increase student success and promote student equity in the next two years? What kind of professional development and institutional support will be engaged and enacted to meet these goals?  
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
1. Collaborate with the CSM marketing department to create surveys.
2. Request funding via the Workforce and Innovation grants.
3. Collaborate with other departments on projects related to upcoming design and digital media exhibits.
4. Work closely with the CSM Library staff on making the Maker Space a prominent innovation and collaboration place on campus


Student Success and Equity
File upload

5c. Describe other professional development activities and institutional support and collaborations that would most effectively ensure that the program achieve its goals and plans.  
If your answer is more than 2000 characters (approximately 300 words), please upload a Word document below (10 MB or less). If you’re not sure, please upload your answer. Please upload text only; we cannot ensure that non-text such as images, diagrams, or charts will be retained in the final submission.
1. Attend professional conferences for college professors such as CCCAOE, CCA & FATE
2. Complete a laser cutting, engraving workshop and attend a Maker conference
3. Continue to partner with the Strong Workforce Development Grant to fund new and revised curriculum.
4. Collaborate with Canada’s MART program to assure consistency in web/multimedia course offerings.