Transcript
Richland is supposed to be the first two years, but Derrick Logozzo and Melissa Logan routinely stick students in Fundamentals of Music Theory, which is not on any music degree plan and adds an extra full year to their time at Richland. Freshman and Sophomores take Music Theory 1-4 and the accompanying ear training everywhere else on the planet as Fundamentals won't transfer and rockets the students toward out of state tuition as it is 6 wasted credit hours. Students at real music schools don't end up with more than 100 hours in their first two years nor do they take dozens of hours that are not on their degree plans as they don't want to pay out of state tuition at their 4 year Texas state university. Richland is a disastrous start for anyone that needs to transfer and finish a degree. For folks like me that started at Richland, left with a vocal scholarship and then completed a music degree it is no better. I got kicked out of my own choir there. Older students and community members have disappeared from the choir with the new director Melissa Logan running the program right into the ground.Music at Richland College... equals excellence. Richland College is a great place to learn and perform with the best. We are the first two years, of a four-year music degree experience, and we have a place for everyone in our music department. Music majors, music minors, as well as students who just want to learn and perform.
(Xylophone music playing)
The music majors are held hostage with mountains of credit hours that will never transfer and put in danger of out of state tuition and losing financial aid to keep the music department chairs filled.Richland College is centrally located near world-class performance venues, in central Dallas, Texas, such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Dallas Wind Symphony, and Fair Park Music Hall.
There are approximately 20,000 students enrolled at Richland, through a series of on-campus, as well as distance learning courses, in virtually every academic discipline, making Richland one of the largest two-year colleges in the U.S.
For more than 30 years, Richland College, of the Dallas County Community College District, has focused on teaching, learning, and community building, on its 243-acre campus. Students at Richland are internationally and ethnically diverse, speaking more than 90 first languages.
(Woodwind and brass music playing)
Richland isn't affordable when it is putting students in dozens of hours that won't transfer and puts the student in out of state tuition or losing financial aid when they transfer due to exceeding the 150% maximum. The records show that armies of students come through and many accrue well over 100 credit hours, but as Derrick Logozzo and Melissa Logan don't follow the degree plan and put students in few core classes, they don't graduate with the 60 hours Associates Degree as they haven't even got anywhere near the 32 core class hours to get that Associate's in Music.As a two-year college, Richland offers the Associate Degree in Music, which we view as affordable quality... as we like to say, "low tuition for high-quality experience." The Richland Music Department has high transfer ability to most any public or private university.
The success stories are few and far between. That is obvious from the records posted here.Recent music graduates have attended Berkeley, UNT, SMU, and Juilliard, as transfer students.
Recent graduates are also conductors, educators, performers, and retailers in all areas of the music field. Richland College has established these successes through many connections over the years, with various music professionals and university professors, nationwide.
That Fundamentals of Theory is great for community members, but no music major or potential music major should ever have been placed in that class this is not on any music degree plan.The Richland College Music Department has very unique course offerings, such as, Digital Music Composition, Jazz Improvisation, Music Technology courses, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Fusion Percussion Ensemble, as well as Steel Band.
Richland also has six levels of music theory -- from developmental -- to advanced.
Jazz Improvisation needs make as it is advertised and students come in expecting to get that course.
Richland is the only college in DCCCD with a Steel Band I believe, but only 1 member was someone outside of the Richland Music Department, so it needs to be promoted much better by the district.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble isn't taught by a jazz person and there are no voice instructors that specialize in jazz and pop.
Music Technology Courses are offered at Cedar Valley. Richland only has 2 of the numerous courses offered and cannot award any certificate or enough training for anyone to seek employment in that field and this fraudulent promotion of a program that doesn't exist at Richland and Derrick Logozzo luring in students wanting to pursue that needs to stop! DCCCD Richland College Music Advising Derrick Logozzo / Melissa Logan Out of State Tuition Nightmare
The jazz combos have a capacity of 15 when that should be limited to around 8 and make with 4 students as those should be trios, quartets and quintets etc. The chamber strings, brass, woodwinds and other groups are way too large as well. They should be capped at 10 and make with 5 enrolled as they are promoted offerings.You can enjoy smaller classes in many areas that affords the individual student more personalized attention, to development and various needs.
There are no conducting classes and never should be as only 66 hours will transfer and those are junior level or higher courses.The Richland College Music Department is a very balanced department, with equally strong areas in instrumental and vocal music, as well as music theory & literature, and methods courses. Richland also provides music education and conducting course components, that prepare students wishing to specialize in those musical fields -- at four-year institutions.
Richland has only been able to have so many ensembles because Derrick Logozzo routinely puts students in 4 ensembles each for multiple semesters when only 4 total will transfer to a 4 year university. The program is going to have to be carefully evaluated and restructured to ensure students no longer accrue excess hours and that there are adequate practice rooms and facilities to properly support such a program.Students study and perform in over 17 different ensembles, in all areas of music: symphonic, commercial, jazz, pop, world, and choral. Richland has strong symphonic ensembles, not usually found at two-year institutions, nationwide, such as wind symphony, chamber singers, and string orchestra.
There are no piano ensembles. There is no small choir doing challenging music. If Richland wants to attract students to participate in these groups, then real changes are going to have to be made.The Richland Music Department also provides a great chamber music experience, with chamber strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, and piano groups that focus on specialized literature, particularly without the use of a conductor. Richland provides consistent quality performing opportunities in our daytime recital concert series, as well as our evening concert series, occurring each semester.
500 music students plus armies of adjuncts can't share 11 general practice rooms and the 4 percussion practice rooms.Our music department has over 500 enrollments in music... in over 100 different music courses, each semester, with all-state and professional-level students, as well as students interested in all areas of the music field.
Richland has only 11 general practice rooms for armies of adjuncts and students to share. There are only two large ensemble halls with 18 ensembles. Richland needs to make dozens more practice rooms available and other changes to make this program what has been promised.Richland College has spacious facilities and a newly renovated performance hall, with state-of-the-art technology in lighting and recording. We have a technology lab, recording lab, and a piano lab, with the latest technology in ear training software, notation software, and Pro Tools software.
How much collaboration has there really been???Richland's intermedia group fosters unique collaborations, between music students and projects in the theater and video game departments.
Only 1 audio class is available out of a whole long course sequence. Anyone wanting to pursue that kind of work needs to go to Cedar Valley!Our students get hands-on experience, recording live musicians, on stage, in our hall. From the set up, through the session and mix, to the final master, the students control the project.
Students who end up with gobs of excess hours and give up after 3 or 4 years and don't finish an Associate's Degree or transfer haven't saved any money. Students that end up in out of state tuition at a 4 year State university are not saving any money as financial aid will not cover that. Some are so overloaded with hours that they may lose financial aid at the 4 year state university due to exceeding the 150% maximum.(Choir singing) Richland has a music scholarship program that awards ensemble participation scholarships, as well as awards for music majors that can cover from ten to fifty percent of one's tuition for a semester. Richland is usually less than one-quarter of the cost per semester, or year, than the cost for most four-year colleges, and saves students a tremendous amount of funds for their future schooling.
https://realscam.com/f16/dcccd-richl...tml#post127619
https://realscam.com/f16/dcccd-richl...tml#post127625
The adjuncts absolutely are the finest in the country. The problems in the department are the department head and choral director as the documents and student records posted here clearly demonstrate.(Jazz music playing with piano, percussion, bass, and guitar)
Richland College has four full-time faculty -- two of which are administrators, and over 20 adjunct professors, who are well-known performers, clinicians, and authors in various fields of music.
Richland music advisors do not put students in classes that Freshman and Sophomores at real schools would take. The advisors load the students with dozens of hours that are not on any degree plan, won't transfer and may put them in out of state tuition and exhaust their financial aid. The department head and choral director need to go!Throughout the years, we have developed a very effective parallel to the university experience, with more breaths, since we send our students all over the U.S. and even Europe. Most of us have taught in both, universities, and community colleges, so we realize the effectiveness of continuity and preparation for upper-level studies.
We have an outstanding program in every area, from music theory, to technology, with an exceptional faculty support for all studies. It is our intent that each student will have an indelible experience that will go with them through the remainder of their college education.
(Jazz choir singing)
Richland College Administration wrote on July 11th:The Richland Music Department provides advising and registration for music majors, minors, and any student enrolling in a music class, within the Music Department. This provides the most accurate guidance for the music students, regarding their courses, and of course their careers.
(Percussion jazz band playing music, with a bass player)
And, for the record almost all the students that come in to take a music class end up becoming music majors. Derrick Logozzo and Melissa Logan are not talking career opportunites and how these students are going to eat, but just piling them with music classes and cheering them on with no thought to the welfare of the students in question. Piano proficiency is required of all music majors and is a tremendous commitment. Students must attain a very high level of expertise on their principal instruments which requires 3 hours minimum a day of practice and a very strong background coming in. These students should be in Career Services and the Transfer Center getting information from colleges they are considering before they ever register for a single music class so that they know what they are getting into before Logozzo and Logan sign them up for piles of music classes that may lead absolutely nowhere.Music faculty will not register students for music or core classes. Guided Pathway advisors will be available for students to be advised for core classes prior to enrolling in music classes. Students and Guided Pathway advisors will register students for music and core classes.
I came back to Richland with a music degree and got kicked out of my own choir. I see only a handful of students make it out and transferring to 4 year universities even thought the department boasts 500 students. It is time for serious evaluation of the department and positive well thought out changes to the program!Richland College provides special events for student advancement, beyond the regular curriculum, with national and regional clinicians, commissioning of new works, music festivals and competitions, run by our students to learn leadership, as well as guest performers and conductors being featured in concerts with our students.
An example of this, is our Carnival of Steel, with guest-artists: Annie Nirelle, David Rudder, and Ray Holman. Richland also provides opportunities to music students in performing groups -- to travel nationally and internationally -- to perform in major concert and clinic events. Examples would include the Texas Music Educators Convention in San Antonio, as well as the Carnival Cruise lines in Cozumel, Mexico.
(Music playing out)
We invite you, as students, parents, and directors, to become a part of the Richland College Music experience -- one of excellence that leads to the four-year degree. Come to Richland: learn and perform.
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