Music Industry Studies
Entertainment, technology and business

The University of Colorado at Denver's Music Industry Studies program provides training for student who enjoy music but perhaps are not accomplished musicians, and who are interested in technology or business.  This program enables students to combine diverse interests and prepare for a career in the music & entertainment industry.

Music Industry Studies is a flexible program that allows students to concentrate on the business side of the music industry, focus on music technology, or create a personalized, integrated course of study that combines both areas of emphasis.  Students develop a broad range of marketable skills in music management, promotion, publishing, producing and audio engineering.  Classes cover the business and legal aspects of music & entertainment, as well as the technologies associated with music recording and video and multimedia production.  Graduating seniors take with them a foundation in the language and practice of music that allows them to function intelligently and knowledgeably among musicians and others in the industry.

Music Assessment Glossary

Alternative Assessment
Any assessment technique that uses strategies for collecting and analyzing information different from traditional paper-and-pencil tests.

Assessment
The collection, analysis, interpretation, and application of information about student performance or program effectiveness in making educational decisions.

Authentic Assessment
Assessment techniques that gather information about students' ability to perform tasks that are found in real world situations.

Benchmark
The comparison of student performance against an established standard that provides information as to the student's progress toward attaining the standard.

Criteria
A description of the standard of performance for a particular task.

Criterion-Referenced
Determining the value of a student's performance by referring to criteria that were specified prior to the student's performance of a task.

Evaluation
The collection and use of information to make informed educational decisions.

Formative Assessment
On-going assessment within an educational program whose purpose is to improve the program as it progresses.

Norm
The midpoint in a set of scores taken from a large number of representative individuals where 50 percent of the scores are above the norm and 50 percent are below.

Norm-Referenced
T value of a student's performance determined by referring to a norm established by a large number of representative individuals that indicates how a student performed in relation to other individuals previous performance.

Performance Assessment
An assessment technique that determines a student's ability to perform on assigned tasks rather than on the ability to answer questions.

Performance Task
A student demonstration that shows ability to handle complex material in "real-world" situations.

Portfolio Assessment
A collection of student work used to demonstrate student attainment in a content area. Student progress is determined by reviewing the collected works in light of previously established criteria.

Program Assessment
The determination of an educational program's strengths and weaknesses through a well-conceived and implemented plan of data collection and analysis.

Reliability
The consistency of an assessment instrument to obtain comparable scores across time.

Rubric
A set of scoring criteria used to determine the value of a student's performance on assigned tasks. The criteria are written so students are able to learn what must be done to improve their performance in the future.

Self-assessment
Analyzing and making decisions about one's own performance or abilities.

Standard
The content, level, or type of performance expected by students at a particular point in time or stage of development.

Student Assessment
The determination of one or more students' capabilities in a subject matter made from information gathered on meaningful performance tasks that are referenced to well-defined, educationally sound performance criteria.

Summative Assessment
Assessment performed to determine the overall effectiveness of an educational program.

Validity
The ability of an assessment instrument to measure what it is supposed to measure. It is also the appropriate use of assessment information and results.

Assessment Artifacts

Alternative Measures
Business Legalities Project
Capstone Courses
Common Multi-Sectional Course Exams
Communication
General Recitals
Internship
Interviews
Knowledge Surveys
Multimedia Production Project
Music Management Focus Project
Non-Course-Based Exams
Oral Presentations
Portfolio Evaluation
Post-Graduation Surveys
Recording Arts Focus Project
Senior Project
Standardized Tests
Student Self-Evaluations and Applied Lesson Reflections
Written Papers or Reports

Showcase Artifacts

Digital Audio
Digital Video
Multimedia Presentations
Student-Centered Goals
Student Self-Assessment Reflections
Web Development Projects

Student Portfolio Links

Senior Capstone Portfolio links in the four MEIS program areas.
 

Assessment Artifacts