Date
12-19-2023
Department
School of Music
Degree
Doctor of Music Education (DME)
Chair
Brian D. Stiffler
Keywords
college music, early college high school, higher education music
Disciplines
Music
Recommended Citation
Eakins, Frieda, "A Case for Offering an Associate of Fine Arts in Music at Community Colleges in Rural Northwestern and Northern Regions of North Carolina" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5060.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5060
Abstract
This qualitative method research paper with survey design identifies the need to implement an associate in fine arts degree in music at community colleges located in the rural northwestern and northern regions of North Carolina. A music degree would provide early college students with music courses comparable to those offered in traditional area high schools and greater accessibility for a diverse student population of community college students. At the inception of this study, early college high school programs in rural northwestern and northern regions of North Carolina did not offer music courses. Students in these programs relied on the community colleges to deliver music courses. Music courses in the community college could provide a greater variety of musical experiences for the culturally diverse student population attending rural northwestern and northern North Carolina community colleges and generate significant opportunities for cohesiveness between these rural community colleges and their respective communities at large. Much of the current scholarly study on music in community colleges addresses the challenge of transferring course credits from two-year colleges to four-year colleges and universities. More information is needed to show the benefits of offering music courses in community colleges. This research demonstrates that many students attending rural community colleges in the regions of interest would seek an associate in fine arts degree in music if the degree were available. To identify interest in such programs, the researcher analyzed online survey responses from the following groups: North Carolina community college students and early college high school students within the research area who were enrolled in the Spring semester of 2023 and who were or had been enrolled in college music courses; and music faculty at Surry Community College and Wilkes Community College in North Carolina.
