The performance jury is the equivalent of a final exam for the applied area(s) of semester study. Juries in the major applied areas, required of music majors and minors, are held during the week of final exams. Scheduling is done by individual sign-up.
All applied music students must take a jury examination at the end of each semester. Students may be exempted from jury examinations only if they have performed a recital that semester in fulfillment of degree requirements.
Approximately 10 days prior to exams, sign-up sheets are posted on the appropriate applied faculty doors (usually the head of the area, such as brass, woodwinds, voice, etc.). Specific content and length of each student’s jury is determined by the applied area. A panel of area faculty members serves as the evaluating group; each member registers a grade for the performance and the results are averaged together. The final jury grade is weighed as one third of the current semester’s final applied studio grade.
Failure to meet expected standards in a jury can result in probationary status for one semester at the end of which significant improvement must be demonstrated. If standards are not sufficiently met, dismissal from the applied area and reduction or elimination of scholarship support are considered by the appropriate area faculty member.