Nexus in Digital Entertainment, Esports, and Game Development

X2023-2024 Undergraduate New Program Request

completed

What can I do next?

View the Proposal

  • View changes to the proposal by clicking the Discussion tab and selecting "Show current with markup" on the User Tracking dropdown.
  • View current comments concerning this proposal by clicking the Discussion tab.
  • View the history of the proposal by clicking the Workflow Status tab.
  • View the signatures the proposal has collected by clicking the Signatures tab.
  • View the files associated with the proposal by clicking the Files tab.
  • Compare the proposal with related proposal by clicking the Proposal Lookup tab.
General Information
Next

  • Welcome to the University of West Georgia's curriculum management system. 

    Please TURN ON the help text before starting this proposal by clicking  next to the print icon directly above this message. 

    Your PIN is required to complete this process. For help on accessing your PIN, please visit here.

    The link to the shared governance procedures provides updates on how things are routed through the committees. Please visit  UWG Shared Governance Procedures for Modifications to Academic Degrees and Programs for more information.

    If you have any questions, please email curriculog@westga.edu.

  • Desired Effective Semester*
    Scroll to the bottom of the list and choose either Fall, Spring, or Summer.
    Desired Effective Year*
  • Program Type*
  • If embedded, please list the parent program.
Routing Information
Next

  • Routes cannot be changed after a proposal is launched. 

    Please be sure all fields are filled out correctly prior to launch. If a routing error is made it can result in the proposal being rejected and a new proposal will be required. 

    Please refer to this document for additional information: UWG Shared Governance Procedures for Modifications to Academic Degrees and Programs.

    If there are any questions or concerns regarding the routing of your proposal please contact curriculog@westga.edu.

  • School/ Department*
  • Is this a School of Nursing or School of Communication, Film and Media course?*
    Is this a College of Education Program?*
  • Is the addition/change related to core, honors, or XIDS courses?*
  • Is this an Accelerated Bachelors to Masters program related proposal?*
Program Information
Next
  • Program Type*
  • Program Name*
    Nexus in Digital Entertainment, Esports, and Game Development
    Nexus in Digital Entertainment, Esports, and Game Development
    Example: Elementary Education, B.S.
  • Degree Type*
  • Program Description*
    The Digital Entertainment, Esports and Game Development Nexus will give students a broad understanding of the digital entertainment aspects of the market sector. Academic institutions, along with practitioners have embraced Esports' commercial, educational, and research potential as a sport. Students will deepen their knowledge and practice in action-oriented curricula designed to meet the needs of the increasingly competitive gaming industry. That knowledge and practice also apply to the career path in Esports. In order to support the process, UWG provides Esports-focused curricula to deliver unique features within the Esports industry. This Nexus degree is based on content in digital entertainment, Esports, and game development. The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) launched the specific courses within the proposed Nexus Degree in 2021. The GFA is a collaboration between the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. GFA has now certified over 10,000 students who were trained on Antman, Thor, Godzilla, Spiderman, Walking Dead, Insatiable, Zombieland 2, The Originals, Ozark over 100 major Feature film and TV productions. This same approach to workforce development via industry partnerships is now being applied to Digital Media, Gaming and Esports (Harris, 2021). The Nexus in Digital Entertainment, Esports and Game Development will have the flexibility to be applied to many bachelors degrees at UWG giving students multiple pathways for degree completion. This could include Bachelors degrees in Computing, Interdisciplinary Studies, Marketing, Mass Communication, and Sport Management. The three, six-credit hours courses (GFA 1500, GFA 3510, and GFA 3520) in digital entertainment, Esports, and game development provide students with high-impact experiences through the partnership with GFA, and industry partners (Skillshot Media). The Nexus degree will allow students to gain an Associates Degree and a valuable GFA Certification in an effort to be equipped and employable after just two years of course work. All credit hours can be applied to multiple Bachelors degrees at UWG and students will be encouraged to pursue a Bachelors Degree in their area of interest after completing the Nexus degree. Program Location : Carrollton Campus and Skillshot Media - 2470 Lindbergh Ln NE, Atlanta, GA 30324
  • Program Location*
  • Status*
    Select Active-Visible unless the Registrars Office has notified you to do otherwise.
  • How will the proposed program be delivered?*
Curriculum Information
Next

  • Select Program below, unless creating an Shared Core. 

    A Shared Core is a group of courses shared by multiple entitites. For example, Music has a variety of tracks but all tracks share the same core.

  • Type of Program*

  • PROGRAM CURRICULUM

    This section allows departments to create the curriculum schema for the program which will feed directly to the catalog. Please click here for a video demonstration on how to build your program curriculum.

    Follow these steps to propose courses to the new program curriculum. 

    Step 1

    In order to build or edit a program, you must first add all courses to be included in the program of study through the view curriculum courses tab

    • If this new program proposal includes the UWG undergraduate General Education Curriculum, scroll to the top of this form and click on the  icon to import the "University of West Georgia General Education Requirements."
    • For courses already in the catalog, click on "Import Course" and find the courses needed.
    •  For new coursesgoing through a Curriculog Approval Process click on "Add Course"-- a box will open asking you for the Prefix, Course Number and Course Title.

    NOTE: A New Course Request proposal must also be submitted along with the New Program Proposal if the course is new. 

    Step 2

    Next, to add cores (sections of the program of study, e.g., Semester 1, Semester 2, etc.) click on  "View Curriculum Schema." Click add core and title it appropriately. When you click on "Add Courses" it will bring up the list of courses available from Step 1. Select the courses you wish to add. For removing courses click on the  and proceed.


  • Prospective Curriculum*
Justification and Assessment
Next
  • Rationale*
    According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development (2019), Esports contribute more than $750 million annually to the state's economy. The growth of this industry has created workforce demands that make it imperative there are enough college graduates to fill the job openings in this industry. Additionally, Georgia is one of only a few states Esports is a sanctioned high school competition creating a sustainable pipeline of students with interest, and enthusiasm about the major. The Systems intent in creating the nexus degree was to provide students with career-oriented academic options. The proposed Nexus in Digital Entertainment, Esports, and Game Development will increase the number of innovative, career-oriented degree programs in the System that prepare students to succeed in a high-demand industry. Additionally, the Nexus degree will allow students to gain an Associates Degree and a valuable GFA Certification in an effort to be equipped and employable after just two years of coursework. This degree could also provide a synergistic pathway for students in our related degree programs (Bachelors degrees in Computing, Interdisciplinary Studies, Marketing, Mass Communication, and Sport Management). Lastly, students will also have opportunities to continue gaining knowledge and experiences in our related graduate programs in Digital and Social Media Communication and Sport Management. Each course offered through the Georgia Film Consortium has a set of course-level learning outcomes. GFC faculty provide the first step of course-level learning outcome evaluation through a system in which selected outcomes are assessed as exceeds expectations, meets expectations, or did not meet expectations, in addition to the numerical student grade. Areas identified for improvement via course outcomes by GFC faculty or affiliate institutions (via program coordinators) will be documented and acted upon, usually as course-specific improvements. This data is also used to inform the process of major course revisions (hands-on assessments, readings, multimedia, etc.), and these results will be provided to each affiliate institution for inclusion in general education assessment activities. GFA gathers feedback from the GFC Academic Advisory Council for improvement based on course outcome learning assessments results and other data touch points. The AACs feedback is provided to GFA Instructional Designers and the faculty Subject Matter Experts. The provided suggestions are incorporated into course redesign. The target range for meeting the standard is 70% (Exceeds 90+%, Meets 70-89%, Does not Meet <70%)
    Max 400 characters. Please provide an overview of the need for this program.
  • Program Learning Outcomes - Please provide PLOs in a numbered list format.*

    1. Demonstrate professional skills in the fields of digital entertainment, esports, and game development.

    2. Demonstrate knowledge of digital entertainment industry standards, organizational structure, professional equipment, and event procedures.

    3. Demonstrate knowledge of digital entertainment industry competencies and work habits including standard procedures and protocols.

    For examples of Program Learning Outcomes see https://www.westga.edu/administration/vpaa/iea/assessment_resources.php

  • SACSCOC Substantive Change 

    Please review SACSCOC Substantive Change Considerations for Curriculum Changes
    Send questions to kgwaltney@westga.edu.

  • Check all that apply to this program*
  • SACSCOC Comments
    To submit new tracks/concentrations together with a new program, list them here. For instance, "New Tracks/Concentrations: name 1, name 2, name 3....

  • REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS

    ATTACH the the following required documentsl by navigating to the Proposal Toolbox and clicking  in the top right corner.

    1.) USGBOR One Step Proposal

    The one-step new academic program proposal combines elements of the previous two-stage process into "one-step" for a more accelerated review of final, new program proposals submitted by university system institutions. The one-step proposal requires institutions to provide prioritized academic programs that demonstrate a clear need (and separately demand) for the areas served by the college or university. Programs may be directly tied to state economic development efforts, other initiatives, and may follow disciplinary changes and norms. The one-step new academic program proposal requires that institutions provide evidence that the proposed degree and/or major meets various needs and does not warrant unnecessary program duplication.

    2.) Program Map and/or Program Sheet

    For advising purposes, all new programs must include program map. Please download the program map template from here, and upload.

    3.) Academic Assessment Plan/Reporting

    All new major programs must include an assessment plan. Stand-alone minors must have an assessment plan as well.  A stand-alone minor is a minor that can be earned in a program that does not offer an undergraduates degree with a major in that discipline (for example, a student can earn a minor in Africana Studies but cannot complete a bachelor's degree with a major in Africana Studies). Minors in a discipline where a corresponding major is offered, are not required to include an assessment plan.

    Please download the Academic Assessment Plan/Reporting template and attach to this proposal.

    4.) Curriculum Map Assessment

    Please download the Curriculum and Assessment Map template and attach to this proposal.

  • USGBOR One Step Proposal*
  • Program Map*
  • Assessment Plan*
  • Curriculum and Assessment Map*

  • LAUNCH proposal by clicking  in the top left corner. DO NOT implement proposed changes before the proposal has been completely approved through the faculty governance process. 

  • FINAL TASK: After launching the proposal, you must make a decision on your proposal. Select the  icon in the Proposal Toolbox to make your decision.

  • User Tracking

    Help: Show Original: This option displays the proposal as it appeared at launch. No markup will be visible on the form. There will be no differentiation between fields that contain imported content and content that was created or selected by the originator by hand.

    Help: Show Current: This option displays the proposal as it appears currently. No markup will be visible on the form. There will be no differentiation between fields that contain imported content and content that was created or selected by the originator by hand.

    Help: Show Current with Markup: This option displays the proposal with all of its current content marked to show different editors. Text fields that include imported content are indicated by a blue highlight, and may also include additional changes within, indicated by each editor’s unique color. Fields containing selects, checkboxes, radio buttons, or widgets (such as the curriculum) provide an activity log above the field, indicating each editor’s selection and unique color.

    Comments

    You have not saved your changes to all the assessment fields you edited. You have the following options:

    • Click "Save All Changes" now to save every change you made
    • Click "Abandon Changes" to destroy all unsaved changes
    • Click "Cancel" to continue working on assessments and save each field individually

    What would you like to do?

      You must be logged in, in order to approve.

      Please upload the form that you just printed and signed.

      This will be used as your signature to sign this proposal upon approval.


      Listed below are the symbols and colors utilized in Curriculum:

      • = has not made a decision
      • = approved
      • = rejected
      • = held
      • = suspended
      • = cancelled
      • = multiple decisions
      • = task
      • = mine
      • = stuck
      • = urgent, out of date import source
      x

      #{title}

      #{text}

      x
      warning

      #{title}

      #{text}

      x
      warning

      #{title}

      #{text}