Conference Paper
Audio Recording Education: Do we really need another program?
AES Conference: UK 26th Conference: Audio Education · Paper 14 · August 2015
Abstract
Schools create audio/recording/ music technology programs for a variety of reasons and with a variety of outcomes. The goal of any program is to serve the student. Often little or no actual due diligence has been conducted in determining the current state of the industry. The future needs of the industry as well as employer demands need to be carefully assessed in order to define student outcomes. What will the student be able to do upon graduation is more important rather than merely understanding the basics of audio recording and production. Adding to the uncertainty of new and even existing programs, there seems to be little if any verifiable research into how many graduates are able to find sustainable employment with the prospect for a long and productive career. Education is a vitally important path for students to enter any career field and needs to be structured to provide a lifelong learning and employment experience. Students trust that because a school, college or university offers courses and degrees in audio recording that there is a need for more engineers and that the school actually has the skill sets and facilities to deliver this particular education. As educators we need to be absolutely certain that the student investment in time and money is well spent. An international research initiative should to be launched that will provide hard numbers that can be used to formulate appropriate curricula and provide a uniform approach to audio education.
