Question:
I am researching low residency Master in Fine Arts programs with an emphasisin fiction. I want a program which would offer supportive guidance inindependant learning, as I am new to this type of education. My main goal isto learn as much as possible about the craft of writing and, hopefully, todiscover a community of writers to share my work with. Yet, I am alsointerested in using this MFA to teach at a community college or four yearuniversity. I am concerned that my distance learning masters degree might notbe respected by mainstream academia. I would like to hear from anyone withadvise on low residency MFA's
Answer:
The primary Creative Writing program at V.C. is an M.F.A., not an M.A.One can get an M.A. in Creative Writing, but that would be through theGraduate Program, not the M.F.A. program.
[There are several low-residency programs at V.C., all of which areseparate - the M.A. Program (in which one can major in any field), theM.F.A. in Writing, the M.F.A. in Visual Art, the M.F.A. in PerformanceArt, the Master of Art Therapy, New College, and the Adult DegreeProgram (which has both weekend and cycle options). NorwichUniversity, which was establishedd in 1819 and is accredited by the NewEngland Association, has over 2,000 students on two campuses, and theV.C. campus in Montpelier is now devoted to adult and low-residencystudents. According to an update released this week, the universityawarded 666 degrees during the period of June 1997 through May 1998: 42A.S., 78 B.A., 140 B.S. - all residential; 72 B.A. in the ADO cycle, 99B.A. in the ADP weekend option, 103 M.A. (Graduate Program), 18M.A.Th., 58 M.F.A. Writing, and 35 M.F.A. Visual Art. The M.F.A.Performance Art and New College programs are new and have not yet had agraduating class.]
Several years ago, the M.A. program was one that did not grant partialcredit, nor did they issue a transcript until the program wascompleted. At that time, though one registered by the quarter, it wasa 30-semester hour degree, and the program was viewed as one cohesiveunit - there was no partial credit given. Thus, if you only did partof the program or dropped out before completion, you would havereceived neither credit nor a transcript.
Even then, had you completed the program and developed a transcript (asall transcripts in the M.A. program are cooperatively developed by thestudent, to which evaluations by both the core faculty advisor andfield faculty advisor were added). My own transcript, for example,reflects a total of 30 credits, but the credits are not broken down ona course-by-course basis. Today, the M.A. program is based on specificsemester hour credits that lead to a 36-credit degree, and moststudents spend three 6-month semesters in the program.
As for the liaison between the office and you, that is something thatyou have to create yourself. The primary contact, of course, is notwith any particular office at the college, but with your core facultyadvisor. I can tell you, however, that on administrative matters Ikept in regular contact with offices ranging from the registrar to thebursar and never had a problem with any of them.
Thus, I doubt that the college "has no record that you ever existed."If you are talking about the registrar's office, that's quite possible- after all, you did not graduate, so you have no transcript, and thereis no way of reporting your progress based on a partial enrollment.However, I'm sure that there are other departments that *do* have arecord of your enrollment in the program.
The bottom line is simple: In *any* nontraditional degree program, andat any degree level, the ultimate responsibility for ensuring thatthings are the way they should be rests with the student. I have neverheard of any program in which someone's records don't get screwed up atone time or another - hell, a common complaint at The Union Instututeis that the dean's office is missing one peer day report (out of tenthat are submitted by each learner), thus delaying the process at theend of the program.
The solution to this is quite simple: Students in a nontraditionalprogram should do a self-audit of their work, including theirsubmission of required documents, on a regular basis throughout theirprograms. More important, you should keep copies of *everything* - allpapers, evaluations, tuition payment records, ad infinitum, ad nauseam,because you will always find at least one incompetent yahoo in everycollege and university in which you enroll in your lifetime. (It's oneof Murphy's laws.)
I have found 99 times out of 100 (give-or-take) that when anadministrative problem exists between a student and school, it'sbecause the student did not keep the proper records or did not fulfillhis or her responsibility in ensuring that the terms and conditions ofthe program were met.
As for me, I had no administrative problem with Vermont Collegewhatsoever. In fact, I paid my tuition on an accelerated basis since Idid my program in 12 months (keep in mind that it was a 30-creditprogram at the time) and didn't want to owe them anything when Icompleted my work. At no time did they lose records, nor at any timedid they not know who I was nor treat me like an anonymous number.Believe me, if they did, I would not recommend them today, and Irecommend their programs highly - V.C. is one of the few schools I"veseen that really does foster a sense of community among its studentbody in the low-residency graduate programs.
