Mission

The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts manifests the fundamental role of the visual, performing, and communication studies in our diverse and global community. We commit ourselves to educating our students artistically and intellectually to facilitate personal and professional development. We value excellence in visual, spoken, written, kinetic, electronic, and musical expression. We seek to graduate creative individuals who think critically, communicate effectively, and act responsibly in society.

The following statements inform our mission:

• Students are the focus of our endeavors.
• We are a diverse body of faculty and staff who motivate, lead, and instruct students at the highest possible level and whose active professional lives model the standards we expect of our students.
• We serve students with diverse educational and professional goals.
• We pursue significant intellectual achievement and excellence through performance.
• We create partnerships with our community that provide artistic development, and reach audiences that we might not otherwise serve.

General Information

Welcome to the Arts!

The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts is widely recognized throughout Indiana University for its excellence; attracting attention regionally, nationally, and internationally. Our prestigious faculty and accomplished alumni provide our community with continued dynamic experiences in the arts through their expertise.
The school offers five major areas of study: communication studies, music, new media, theatre and dance, and the visual arts. Students are mentored by faculty and enjoy small class size, which provides exceptional educational opportunities within a range of traditional degree programs and professional studies leading to bachelor’s degrees.
The educational process in the school balances specialization against an interdisciplinary viewpoint. In addition to the increase of knowledge and skills within a chosen area of study, students also develop critical thinking, communication, and self-awareness skills. The school embraces difference and encourages students and faculty alike to explore the value of diversity. A close reading of the mission statement will prove beneficial to students applying to the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts.

Admission

Students who wish to major in a subject area offered by the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts must take the following steps:

• Seek admission to IU South Bend. (See admission section in the front of this publication.)
• Incoming freshmen must attend one of the mandatory orientation sessions. Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts majors are directly admitted to the school and need the information presented in this orientation session. All entering freshmen must take university placement examinations in mathematics and reading and complete courses as determined by placement examination results. English placement level and course requirement is determined by the SAT score or by taking an optional placement examination in English. Depending upon program requirements, some students may need to take additional courses.
• Students are certified into degree programs only after completion of an entrance procedure as stipulated by each major area. The procedure may be an audition, an interview with a faculty member, a review of high school transcripts, a portfolio review, or some other method as prescribed by the area coordinator of each discipline. (Prospective music students should see the section on bachelor’s degrees in music for entrance procedures.) Transfer students must wait until after they are admitted to IU South Bend and their transcripts are evaluated by the admissions office to be advised.
• Transfer students must consult with the coordinator of arts student services to determine their placement examination requirements. Transfer course equivalencies and fulfillment of degree requirements in the major are not guaranteed and the number of courses that transfer and count towards an IU South Bend degree is limited (see the specific information listed under each degree). The faculty in each area may require a transfer student to retake courses transferred from another university or Indiana University campus in order to guarantee proficiency. Should questions arise regarding the transfer of general-education courses, transfer students must be prepared to present a syllabus and course description or a portfolio (if appropriate) to facilitate appropriate course transfers.

The Student’s Responsibility

Each student in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts is responsible for reading and understanding all requirements described in this publication. All colleges establish certain academic requirements that must be met before a degree is granted. These regulations concern such things as curricula and courses, the requirements for majors and minors, and university procedures. Advisors, directors, and deans are available to advise students on how to meet these requirements, but each student is individually responsible for fulfilling them. If requirements are not satisfied, the degree is withheld pending completion.

Academic Regulations

Students in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts are subject to the regulations and policies of the university in the front section of this publication as well as a number of specialized regulations that apply to the school.
Occasional changes in the graduation requirements for Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts majors may lead to uncertainty as to what requirements are applicable for a given graduating student. For the campuswide general-education requirements and other academic matters, the student may choose either the IU South Bend Bulletin in effect at the time of matriculation to IU South Bend or the IU South Bend Bulletin in effect at the time of graduation. For meeting requirements of the major, the choice is between the IU South Bend Bulletin in effect when the student is accepted into the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts or the IU South Bend Bulletin in effect when the student graduates.

Arts Plagiarism Policy

Students caught plagiarizing could jeopardize their standing in the university. The associate dean for academics of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts adopts the Indiana University Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct’s definition of plagiarism: “presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. What is common knowledge may differ from course to course.” Visit www.dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index2 for more information.

First Offense

Offenders will be subjected to the following repercussions:

• The instructor will meet with the student to discuss the instance in question as well as inform them of the repercussions.
• The instructor will submit a copy of the plagiarism to the area coordinator.
• The instructor will report the plagiarism to the area faculty.
• The instructor will contact the coordinator of student services for the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts and have a record of the plagiarism placed in the student’s academic file.

Appropriate punishment is at the instructor’s discretion and may include the following actions: expulsion from the course, the degree program, and the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts.

Second Offense

Offenders will be subjected to the following repercussions:

• The instructor will meet with the student to discuss the instance in question as well as inform them of the repercussions.
• The instructor will submit a copy of the plagiarism to the area coordinator.
• The instructor will report the plagiarism to the area faculty.
• The area faculty will decide whether the student remains a major or whether they will be expelled from the degree program. In deciding, the faculty may request a written petition from the student.
• The instructor will contact the coordinator of student services for the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts and have a record of the plagiarism placed in the student’s academic file.
• The instructor will notify the assistant/associate dean for academics, the dean, and other appropriate administrative personnel in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts about the plagiarism.
• The instructor will notify the Office of the Registrar of the plagiarism and have a notation placed in the student’s permanent academic record. (Students who are reported to the Office of the Registrar are not eligible for the Academic Renewal Policy.)

Appropriate punishment is up to instructor’s discretion and may include the following actions: expulsion from the course, the degree program, and the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts.

Third Offense

Students caught plagiarizing more than two times will automatically be expelled from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts.

Residency Requirement

A candidate for a degree from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts must complete a significant portion of work, especially during the senior year, while in residence at IU South Bend. (See the specific requirement listed under the degrees that follow.) A student is normally expected to complete the work for a degree within 10 years. Failure to do so may require passing comprehensive examinations on the subjects in the area(s) of concentration, and fulfilling the requirements in the current IU South Bend Bulletin.

GPA Requirement

The faculty of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts expects all students to maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average (CGPA). This includes all courses in the major, campuswide general-education courses, and electives. All arts students required to take ENG-W 131 Elementary Composition 1 or SPCH-S 121 Public Speaking must complete the courses with a C or higher. Grades below C– in any course required for the major do not count toward the completion of the degree.

Application for Degrees

An application for a degree must be filed in the office of the coordinator of arts student services, Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts, no later than October 1 for May graduation, or March 1 for August and December graduations.

All credit hours of candidates for degrees, except those of the current semester, must be on record at least six weeks prior to the conferring of degrees. Credit hours by correspondence must be on record at least three weeks prior to the conferring of degrees. A student may not be awarded an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree in the same field in the same academic year.

Bachelor’s Degrees

The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts offers instruction leading to the Bachelor of Arts with concentrations in mass communication, speech communication, music, visual arts, and theatre; Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in fine arts, new media, and theatre; Bachelor of Science in Music; Bachelor of Music; and Bachelor of Music Education.

General Requirements

Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts students must meet the following minimum degree requirements by the time they expect to graduate:

• Complete at least 120-129 credit hours (see specific degree requirements). The total may include 4 credit hours of military science (not included in CGPA).
• Complete at least 26 credit hours of the work of the senior year and at least 10 credit hours above the first-level courses in the major subject (not necessarily during the senior year) while in residence at IU South Bend. The 10 credit hours in the major subject must be taken in courses approved by the major department. Transfer students may expect to transfer no more than 95 credit hours toward the minimum 120 credit hours necessary for graduation in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts. This limit applies also to credit hours earned at other campuses of Indiana University. Ensemble credit hours earned by music majors do not apply to the 120 credit hour minimum.
• Achieve a minimum CGPA of 2.0.
• Complete all requirements in the student’s major and minor areas with a C– or higher. However, the overall GPA in these areas may not fall below 2.0 (C). Any course in which the student receives a grade of F does not count in the credit hours accumulated for graduation.
• Pass an upper-division examination. Students are eligible for placement in the upper-division approximately halfway through the degree program, upon completion of 56 credit hours, with a significant number of hours in the major area. A student’s readiness for the upper-division is determined by the student’s faculty advisor and area coordinator with input from the coordinator of arts student services. Upper-division reviews are a portfolio review in visual arts, a twenty-minute performance in music, a monologue or portfolio review in theatre, and a major paper or project in mass communication and speech communication, as determined by the faculty in communication studies.
• Complete at least 30 credit hours of coursework at the 300- or 400-level.
• Any student completing the undergraduate requirements for a degree in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 is graduated with distinction; 3.75, with high distinction; 3.90 (3.95 in music courses), with highest distinction.

Restrictions

Not more than 60 credit hours earned in accredited two-year institutions may be credited toward a bachelor’s degree.

By special permission of the dean or area coordinator, a maximum of 12 credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree may be earned through special credit examination, correspondence study, or online instruction*. Ordinarily students in residence in the school are permitted to enroll concurrently in courses offered through the Indiana University Independent Study Program (correspondence courses). Any correspondence courses in the student’s major must also have the approval of the departmental area coordinator. SPCH-S 121 Public Speaking may not be taken by correspondence. SPCH-S 121 Public Speaking, SPCH-S 205 Introduction to Speech Communication, and JOUR-C 200 Introduction to Mass Communications may not be accomplished by special credit examination.