Meeting of the Board of Regents | June 2009

Summary

Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)

Should the Board of Regents authorize New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) to award the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in the History of the Interior and the Decorative Arts?

Reason(s) for Consideration

Required by State regulation.

Proposed Handling

This question will come before the Board of Regents at its June 2009 meeting where it will be voted on and action taken. 

Procedural History

On January 5, 2009, the Department received from NYSID a proposal requesting registration of a program in the History of the Interior and the Decorative Arts leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree.  This would be NYSID’s first baccalaureate degree in the discipline of the Fine Arts.

Included with the proposal was a report from an external peer reviewer who highly recommended the program.

A canvass was conducted of the New York City region degree-granting institutions.  Ten responses were received of no comment or that the proposed program would have no impact on existing institutions.

Background Information

              NYSID is authorized to confer the Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.), Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degrees on students successfully completing registered programs.  It offers programs in Interior Design.

              NYSID seeks to offer a program in the History of the Interior and the Decorative Arts leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.  It would be the College’s first B.A. program in the Fine Arts.

              The proposed program was designed as an undergraduate liberal arts degree program in art history with a focus on the interior environment.  It will require students to complete 120 credits, including 75 credits in the major, an internship and a senior project.  It is expected that the majority of students enrolled in the proposed program would be traditional-age college students who would matriculate directly from high school. The proposed program will not lead to licensure for Interior Design.    

              The Department has determined that the proposed program meets the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. A recommendation on an amendment to the NYSID charter to add the authority to award the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree appears separately on the Regents agenda.

Recommendation

              It is recommended that the Board of Regents authorize New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) to offer the History of the Interior and the Decorative Arts program leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.

Timetable for Implementation

              If the Board authorizes New York School of Interior Design to offer the History of the Interior and the Decorative Arts program leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, the Department will register the proposed program and NYSID will proceed to recruit and enroll students in it.