Nature and roles of arts degrees in contemporary society

BA Scoping Project

About the project

The Australian Teaching and Learning Council has funded this scoping exercise via a Discipline-Based Initiative Grant.

The BA Scoping project was developed under the auspices of The Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH). The project proposal was endorsed by the group of Deans at the DASSH September 2007 annual conference and its progress monitored by a steering committee comprising of members of the DASSH executive and DASSH membership body. This scoping exercise was funded via a Discipline-Based Initiative Grant, a grant scheme of The Carrick Institute of Teaching and Learning (since renamed the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd.)

The project focused specifically on the undergraduate award programs called Bachelor of Arts. It aimed to achieve the following:

• To understand the nature and role of a Bachelor of Arts degree in contemporary Australia
• To map the diverse Bachelor of Arts programs on offer in Australia between 2001 - 2008
• To identify the major strengths, difficulties, capabilities and contributions of the program
• To provide rich base-line data on the nature and models of BAs to be accessible for future curriculum planning for Arts Faculties.

The project gathered evidence to be used by decision makers across the sector to optimize future curriculum development in the light of the potential value of the BA in university education. It aimed to provide options and guidance to the sector for other crucial projects and for further work in implementation and response to future demands.

The BA scoping project commenced in March 2007, with materials and resources developed as a result of the project launched on 30 July, 2008 on the DASSH website