• A strong record of compliance with the College of Communication/School of Journalism Outcome Expectations
• High standards of admission
• A 92 percent retention rate between the freshman and sophomore years
• Students who graduate on time (4.08 years)
• Continuous assessment at numerous points of the curriculum (especially in the core)
• An improving record of providing capstone courses
• A good record of graduate employment (81 percent within eight months of graduation)
• A strong record of graduate satisfaction
• Consistent external assessment of program quality

The overall goal of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism—broadly stated—is to provide thorough professional training in journalism and communications within the context of a liberal and cultural education. Journalism today requires its practitioners to be educated culturally and trained professionally. Blending the liberal arts with professional courses, Ohio University journalism students take approximately three-fourths of their courses outside the professional school.

More specifically, the school subscribes to the College of Communication Outcome Expectations: (1) skills in speaking, writing and computing; (2) breadth of knowledge; (3) critical thinking, gathering and analysis of information; and (5) completion of an internship or practicum.

Within the past year, two additional requirements have been added to the school’s General Requirements as a result of assessment practices that identified weaknesses in student background in meeting the college Outcome Expectations: (1) Interpersonal Communication 103, "Public Speaking," has been added to strengthen student speaking skills. (2) Computer Science 120, "Computer Literacy," has been added to strengthen student understanding of process and software and better prepare them for subsequent classes involving use of computers.

Assessment in the School of Journalism begins before students enroll for their first class. About eight years ago, the determination was made that the school needed more effective control over its enrollment. With the permission of the dean and the provost, a system was developed in an effort to reduce the school’s size and to admit the most qualified scholars. Currently, this is comprised of two steps. The first, administered by the Office of Admission, requires that a successful candidate be in the top 15 percent of her or his high school graduating class and have an ACT score of at least 25 or an SAT score of at least 1140. Students who are not admitted via this process have the additional option of requesting reconsideration by presenting a portfolio of professional work. Decisions as a result of this second step are made by the director of the School of Journalism.

More than 700 applications for the 1997 freshman class were evaluated in anticipation of a class of approximately 200. In addition, a similar process was conducted for prospective transfer students. More than 100 transfer applications resulted in acceptance of 41 students this year.

The goal is to seek applicants with the greatest likelihood of success. The success of this effort is measured annually by analysis of results of the university’s Office of Institutional Research study of departmental retention rates. The school’s retention rate, according to these annual studies have averaged 92 percent over the past five years. The specific yearly breakdown is as follows:

Percentage of Retention from Freshman to Sophomore Years

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

92% 93% 90% 91% 92%

Another study by Institutional Research likewise indicates that the School of Journalism has developed an overall plan of assessment that facilitates student success. Latest figures indicates that the school ranks third in the average time in which students graduate (based on 1989 freshmen).

Linguistics 4.00 years

Dance 4.06 years

Journalism 4.08 years

At the very heart of the School of Journalism’s program of student assessment is advising. Each student meets with his or her adviser, all of whom are full-time faculty, at least once a quarter for formal advising; and most students take full advantage of the invitation to meet more frequently with their advisers and/or meet with other faculty members related to their professional discipline.

Three specially trained faculty members—this year, including the director of the school—meet regularly with freshmen to help them develop academic programs and assist in development of career goals. At the beginning of their sophomore year, students are assigned an adviser from their professional disciplines.

In all cases, it is the goal of the adviser to help the student gain an understanding of her or his professional goals as well as academic and professional strengths and weaknesses. That having been done, the advisers work with students in development of an academic program that helps enhance strengths and overcome weaknesses and is directed toward professional goals.

Students who wish to change their sequence of study are encouraged to meet first with faculty members in that sequence and to take entry classes before effecting such a change. However, any student who requests an adviser change for any reason is accommodated, often following a conversation with the director or other staff member to determine the reason for the change.

When opportunities arise (such as during Communication Week, for example), students meet and talk in small groups or one-on-one with professionals in their disciplines. Last year, many students were given an all-day opportunity to make appointments and participate in mock interview sessions with a group of 13 visiting professionals.

As is the case in all university programs, student progress is most frequently assessed through Ohio University’s standard grading system. Based on course expectations, faculty members establish standards and then provide frequent feedback to students of the degree to which they meet these standards. One constant component of this system in the School of Journalism—based on the college goal of skills in writing, critical thinking, gathering and analysis of information—is that, by policy, every class is a writing class. As a result, all student work is assessed in part on writing skill and in part on assignment content.

But the school’s effort to measure student progress goes well beyond normal grading. The goal is to strengthen faculty understanding of the performance of individual students so that steps may be taken—through glasswork and through advising—to help students overcome weaknesses and highlight strengths.

Within the curriculum, the most telling examples are found in the requirement that students must earn a C or better in each of the six classes in the curriculum core. The core is comprised of individual skills and knowledge, in accord with the college/school goals, that the faculty believes to be essential of all college-educated persons, particularly those in journalism. In addition to their specific journalistic content, these classes are of particular relevance to the College of Communication/School of Journalism list of expected outcomes. They are designed to help both the students and their advisers gain a fundamental grasp of the students’ basic abilities and progress.

Advisers carefully monitor student progress through this core and recommend appropriate action when problems are confronted. While most students succeed on the first effort in a given class, it remains a faculty goal that students who have specific types of problems may be counseled at a time that is appropriate to their success in the school. This is one of the reasons four of the six classes are taken at the freshman or sophomore level.

Success on first effort 90%

Success on second effort 5%

Success on third effort 3%

Transfer to another major 2%

Perhaps the ultimate form of student assessment is comprised of capstone classes that allow students opportunities to put all forms of professional training and academic background together as a demonstration of their level of performance. This is true in four of the school’s five sequences.

• Advertising students are required to take a class that involves development of a total media advertising campaign. They develop a strategy involving both creative and management responsibilities. They develop a full media plan. They then present this campaign in a public setting as if attempting to sell it to a client. In addition, many advertising students work on the advertising staff of the school’s quarterly magazine, "Southeast Ohio."
• Broadcast News students are required to spend at least one (and often two) quarters working on the five-nights-a-week half-hour television program over Athens Community TV ("ACTV-7 News"). In this class, students rotate among all appropriate responsibilities for a standard news show. Thus, all students gain some experience in serving as a news anchor, doing sports, doing weather, operating the teleprompter, etc. Many of these students gain additional experience through coursework or volunteer work at WOUB radio or television.
• Magazine Journalism students are required to spend one or two quarters working as staff members on the school’s quarterly publication, "Southeast Ohio." Under faculty supervision, they fulfill all responsibilities related to magazine publishing—audience analysis, planning of content, researching and writing articles, editing, layout, graphics and design. Because the class often is repeated, students may gain a breadth of background, including service as a senior editor.

• News Editorial students at present have no similar opportunity, although the majority do work on the campus independent daily, "The Post." However, a formal proposal—titled "The Total Journalist"—has been approved by the faculty. Within recent months, this school has been granted $388,000 for a three-year pilot project of this program. A search for a nationally known editor is being conducted to provide leadership for this project.

The goal in each of these cases is to provide students with opportunities to serve in realistic ways to further their training and to demonstrate their abilities to function effectively and professionally upon graduation. Faculty advisers carefully monitor and critique all student work and work with individual students who demonstrate particular needs.

The College of Communication/School of Journalism list of expected outcomes is specific in its requirement that all students complete an internship or practicum. Likewise, from all sources—the school’s Professional Advisory Board and the national Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, for example—recommendations have been made that the school expand the service it provides students in their efforts to achieve this goal and ultimately to gain employment. While the most desirable action, employment of a full-time Student Services Coordinator—has not been taken, numerous smaller steps have been designed by the faculty to help meet this need.

• Internships with a professional organization, with adviser approval and including completion of a formal evaluation form by their supervisors within the internship organization. These evaluations at times are discussed with the supervisors and become part of the students’ permanent records. Opportunities for some of these internships are developed by the students and approved by the faculty; others are developed by the school (including at least six international opportunities) and students compete for selection.
• By enrolling in one of several practical experience classes offered by the school (including work at the "Athens Messenger," on "Southeast Ohio" magazine or "ACTV-7 News," for example). Students who utilize one or more of these professional experience classes are under faculty supervision and are graded in the normal manner.

As means of assisting students in gaining internships or employment, the school organizes a regular series of interview opportunities on campus. Professional organizations are invited and a schedule is established. Continuous assessment takes place through faculty contact with he interviewers. Over the years, some 85 percent of the interviewing organizations return the next year, an important demonstration that they are satisfied with the students they hire an interns or employees.

Two other means of informing students of internship and employment opportunities have been developed: (1) publication of an internal school newsletter, with regular emphasis on a section titled "Get a Job" and (2) opportunities to interact with professionals in mock job interviews during Communication Week.

While employment of graduated students ranks below the school’s effort to provide students with comprehensive opportunities to develop their social perspectives and professional skills, it nevertheless provides a meaningful assessment of the school’s program.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that the school has a good record of placement success. Faculty members attending national conferences and traveling around Ohio quickly learn that Ohio University students are more successful than many of these from other universities. Prospective employers seek out Ohio University journalism graduates, often contacting the school as specific parts of their searches.

More meaningful, however, is the fact that placement information provided by the Office of Institutional Research indicates that:

• 81 percent of journalism graduates are employed within eight months of graduation
• 65 percent within three months
• and 53 percent within two months
• approximately 88 percent of this employment seems to involve some form of communication

The School of Journalism is proud of its loyal alumni, many of whom remain in contact with the school, seek our graduates when they achieve levels in which they have hiring responsibilities and tend to speak very highly of the quality of their education.

According to the Office of Institutional Research’s 1977 report, alumni in the most recent study were satisfied with the program they received in the School of Journalism. Employment success and alumni’s evaluation of the education they received provides a constant source of assessment information to the school. Specifically:

The Ability To: OU Effective:

Think Analytically 95%

Apply Major 93%

Acquire New Skills and Understanding 94%

Write Well 99%

Communicate Orally 94%

Evaluate and Choose Between Alternatives 88%

Formulate Creative Ideas and Solutions 92%

Ability to Convey Meaning 87%

Cope With Complex Moral and Ethical Issues 81%

Place Problems in Historical, Cultural and Philosophical Perspective 81%

Sensitivity to Feelings and Perceptions of Others 76%

While reputation is not necessarily synonymous with quality, what others believe to be the case nevertheless provides a form of quality assessment. Journalism at Ohio University has consistently benefited from the perceptions of those outside of this institution. For example:

• Most recently, the school’s graduate program was ranked nationally in the top ten in a survey conducted by U.S. News and World Report (seventh in print journalism, seventh in public relations and ninth in broadcast news).
• In a report of a survey sponsored by the Freedom Forum and conducted by Betty Medsger of San Francisco State University, Ohio University is used as an example of quality in contrast to what was labeled "the declining state of journalism education."
• The school has twice been cited as a Center of Excellence by the Ohio Board of Regents.
• The school was named one of the 10 top programs nationally by the Associated Press Managing Editors.
• When the Radio-Television News Directors Association presents student scholarships during its national convention in September, Ohio University will be the only university in the nation to be represented by more than one student recipient (three, including the top undergraduate award and the top graduate student award).

The School of Journalism’s Advisory Board is comprised of 10 persons representing the school’s various constituencies:

• Andrew Alexander, deputy bureau chief, Cox Newspapers, Washington
• G. Kenner Bush, publisher, The Athens Messenger
• Judith G. Clabes, president and CEO, Scripps Howard Foundation
• Marla Drutz, WXYZ-TV, Detroit
• Jane Edelstein, former president/CEO, Plain Dealer New Media
• Laura Gongos, senior vice president, Burston-Marsteller, Pittsburgh
• James Hill, vice president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
• Sue Porter, editor, Scripps Howard News
• J. Robert Routt, vice president, E.W. Scripps Co.
• Dan Thomasson, vice president/news, Scripps Howard

The board’s function is to advise the school in all realms of its operation, with particular emphasis on curriculum, professional needs and industry trends. In addition to meeting with faculty and administrators, the board meets with undergraduate and graduate student at least once

every two years and prepares a report, including recommendations, based on those conversations. Among changes made by the school as a result of these recommendations are:

• a dramatic expansion of the number of hours the school’s computer laboratories are available to students
• addition of public speaking to the curriculum
• assignment of a graduate student to do daily and weekly critiques of the campus newspaper
• efforts to improve the quality of editing instruction

• development of closer relationships and more opportunities for students at WOUB
• regularly sponsored programs for students on how to find jobs and how to succeed in the professional world

In a broader sense, the board’s written reports are shared with faculty members and are included as background for development of the school’s short-range and long-range planning sessions.

The school has been accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for many years, most recently in 1995. For its seven-year evaluation, the council has established 12 criteria that are designed to provide the basis for its comprehensive evaluation of professional journalistic programs. Further and importantly, "the council embraces the values of a liberal arts and sciences curriculum as the essential foundation for a professional journalism and mass communication education."

Although the site visitation team for the 1995 evaluation judged the school to exceed the requirements of all 12 standards, several recommendations were made for improvement. As a direct result of these recommendations, the school has taken several specific actions that have impact on assessment. These include:

• providing greater flexibility in the public relations sequence
• conducting of a review of the school’s technical curricula
• four female faculty members have been added in public relations and broadcast news
• expansion of the number of faculty members involved in theses and dissertations
• upgrading of the school’s DOS computer laboratories

Consistent assessment of program quality as it relates to individual students and of student performance provides a dynamic that separates good from mediocre and excellent from good. Such assessment of student performance must be accomplished throughout the student’s career and must be defined as guidance to attaining academic and professional success.

The School of Journalism at Ohio University embraces all opportunities to utilize both forms. And its students, faculty and alumni are proud of the result of that continuing effort.

That having been said, however, it is clear that the school could do a better educational job and improve its performance with the college/school outcomes assessment list through several means:

1. Add a student services coordinator to the staff. This person would be responsible for the internship and placement programs. Part of that responsibility, however, would be to assess student needs and provide formal and informal instruction and guidance. This was listed as a goal last year, but it has not been accomplished, although some help will soon be provided when the College of Communication adds such a person to its staff.
1. . Explore ways to develop a cooperative education program as a means of furthering both educational background and professional competencies of journalism students
1. Continue to work with the Telecommunications Center to find ways to increase opportunities for more journalism students to gain additional benefit through participation with WOUB.
1. Implement the "Total Journalist" program. This comprehensive class will be designed to provide opportunities for students to integrate their learning in a professional context. Such a class will serve as the capstone experience for news-editorial students. More than that, however, it could be expanded to serve all students in the school. A recent grant from the Knight Foundation will facilitate development of this program.
1. Conduct a full evaluation of the school’s curriculum to determine if it is best meeting the needs of journalism students.