Comparing Skills and Competencies for High School, Undergraduate, and Graduate Arts Alumni

This study investigates preliminary findings from the 2009 administration of the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), comparing alumni perceptions of institutional contributions to the development of skills and competencies across high school, undergraduate, and graduate arts training programs. Responses from 4,031 arts alumni suggest significant differences between perceived skill development contributions in the areas of artistic technique, communication skills, social skills, personal growth, research skills, and technology skills. High school alumni report significantly greater perceived institutional contributions to their development of artistic technique, communication skills, social skills, and personal growth. Graduate alumni report significantly greater perceived institutional contributions to their development of research and technological skills. Potential experiential and curricular reasons for these differences are discussed.