1) The project ECU Art Goes Hi-Def involved purchasing two high definition video cameras and one high definition video editor for student use in the Video Art courses in the School of Art & Design. A dedicated room was made available for the editor giving the students 24/7 access to the equipment. The video editing suite has benefited Art students from all programs including the new Animation/Interaction Design Concentration as well as students from the School of Communication and Broadcasting and the Biology Department.

2) Courses that have benefited from this project are ART 3080 Introduction to Video Art and ART 3081 Intermediate Video Art. Ten students have benefited from the project, to date.

3) Evidence as to benefits to our student’s educational experience are immediately only found in the improved quality of their work plus the fact that their portfolios now include High Definition video work. Long-term benefits will only be determined by the kind of jobs the students are able to secure upon graduating. The project has not been in place long enough to provide much evidence in this realm.

4) Our unit has not needed to spend any resources to maintain the project as of yet. The project is in great need of additional cameras in the next year or two both for maintaining the project for the anticipated student enrollment, and further for upgrading the project in anticipation of increased student popularity for the courses.

5) No, I don’t think I would do anything differently and I do plan on applying for the grant again when funds are available.

6) The only advice I would offer colleagues interested in applying for this grant would be to plan and research equipment compatibility thoroughly. I think our project was able to get up and running as quickly as it did because of preliminary research regarding the high-tech equipment.

7) Two unanticipated problems were encountered. First an important component was not able to be ordered with the grant. The item cost several thousand dollars less with our specified vendor (a major trusted, industry leader) than with any other vendor. Upon trying to order the item, after receiving the grant, the purchasing dept. learned that the state of NC no longer allows business with this vendor. The nearest price quote from any other vendor put the item beyond the limits of our budget. Unfortunately this issue could not be resolved. We hope to fund this item with a future grant.

8) The main direction for expanding this project involves acquiring additional cameras to expand the number of students that can work with this equipment. The response from the students has been great and interest is expected to grow.