A comparison of selected residential and non-residential public two-year college music programs' fulfillment of NASM guidelines for specific aspects of music in general education

The purpose of this study was to compare specific aspects of music in general education between selected residential and non-residential public two-year colleges in the United States. The comparison was made by conducting a nationwide mail survey to see how well each college fulfills ten guidelines for specific aspects of music education for the non-major. These guidelines were determined by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) for music departments in higher education. A stratified random sample consisted of 140 colleges.One-hundred fifteen music educators completed surveys. In order to determine if a significant difference existed between residential and non-residential colleges, a two-way factorial analysis of variance was performed on the groups with region and group as factors. The analysis was carried out for each question of the survey. Respondents were given the option of making comments after each question. These qualitative data were compiled and compared for similarities and differences.Many similarities were discovered between the two groups. A significant difference (p<.05) was found between the groups regarding the involvement of the music department in institutional admissions and counseling processes used to convey opportunities for student participation in music studies and activities.School of MusicThesis (D.A.