Student Progress and Needs Remain Important December 11, 2020
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , trackback
By Elizabeth Bates, Undergraduate Program Director
Despite the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department’s goals to assist our current students and reach prospective students have remained the same. Specifically, we offered more summer classes than ever before to help our students gain valuable skills and make progress towards graduation on time. We intend to offer approximately the same number of classes this summer.
In addition to offering more summer classes, the College of Arts & Sciences encouraged departments to offer classes in a variety of teaching formats this fall to meet the needs of students. The department answered the call and offered classes in face-to-face, hybrid and online formats.
New Classes
The department continues to plan for the needs of our students with new classes. For example, an undergraduate and graduate class in data analytics and visualization was approved. It will be offered this summer. And classes focused on social media and broadcast journalism are in planning stages.
JPR&NM Minors
As the need for effective written communication is increasingly recognized as a necessary skill for any career path, more students are seeking minors through our department in public relations, advertising, news/editorial and photography/visual media. Last spring our department met with advisors across the university to let them know about the opportunities that exist for students with a minor in our field.
The College of Arts & Sciences new core curriculum allows for students to have more elective hours to tailor their studies towards their interest and goals. This has also resulted in more students choosing to complete minors.
Student Retention and Recruitment
Student retention was another important element for the department this semester. To address retention, I reached out to students who the College of Arts & Sciences believed might need guidance to make progress towards graduation under current circumstances.
Faculty and staff, including Amber Adamson, Sharon Gripp, Bruce Gietzen, and Kevin Tankersley, and I participated in several Zoom events throughout the fall semester to meet prospective students. More of these events are scheduled for the spring semester.
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