SCHOOLOFCOMMUNICATIONS HOWARDUNIVERSITY CURRICULUMCOMMITTEEPROPOSAL BUILDINGABESTINCLASSCOMMUNICATIONSPROGRAM Tomakeplainitsambitionstomovetonewheights,HowardUniversitys SchoolofCommunicationsshouldincorporatelanguageintoitsmissionstatement thataddresseswhattheschooldoes,whatitsvaluesareandhowitachievesthose goals.ThisisoneoftherecommendationsoftheCurriculumCommitteeasoutlined inthismemoandaccompanyingcharts. Themissionstatement,forexample,couldsay:TheSchooleducates,trains andconductsresearch.ItvaluesFirstAmendmentfreedoms,accuracy,ethics, understandingofamulticulturalsociety,creativityandindependence.Itbuildsa giftedfacultythathelpsstudentsgraduatewithproficienciesinwriting,research andcriticalthinkingskills.

kills.HowardSchoolofCommunicationsgraduatespossessthe competenciesspelledoutbytheAccreditingCouncilforEducationinJournalismand MassCommunication. TheSchoolofCommunicationscancapitalizeoncurrentstrengthsandtake advantageofnewopportunitiestobecomebestinclassinanumberofspecialties. AmongitsstrengthsareitslocationintheNationsCapital,afulltimeandadjunct facultyofskilled,experiencedprofessionalsandgraduateswhoenjoysuccessful careersintheirchosenfield.Amongtheopportunitiesareplansforanewfacility connectedtothecommunityandequippedwithcuttingedgetechnology,a burgeoningdigitalmediaindustryinneedofexpertiseinmetricsandanalysisanda societythatisgrowingmorediverseandmorecomplex. Toachievethesegoals,theCurriculumCommitteeproposesfourbasic changes.Thechangesareoutlinedintheaccompanyingcharts.Starsinthecharts indicateprogramsthatcouldbecomebestinclass. 1. ESTABLISHACOREUNDERGRADUATECURRICULUM ThecommitteefeltthattheentirestudentbodyoftheSchooloughttoshare thesharebasiccompetenciesforprofessionalcommunicatorsinthe21stCentury. Wefeltthatfourcorecourseswouldserveallstudentswellastheyadvanceinto theirareasofspecialty. ThecourseslistedintheUndergraduateCoreCurriculumdirectlyaddress fourcorecompetenciesoftheACEJMC:Law,Ethics,WritingandCommunications InstitutionsandHistory.Wehavestructuredtheremainderoftheundergraduate curriculuminawaythatwouldallowmultipleopportunitiestoaddresstheother 1

eightACEJMCcompetencies:MulticulturalDiversityintheUnitedStates,Visual Communication,GlobalDiversity,Critical/CreativeThinking,InformationGathering, Editing,Technology,andMath/Statistics.Inaddition,theentireundergraduate curriculumwouldbeinfusedwithvaluesassociatedwiththisSchool:openattitudes towardcuttingedgetechnologiesandsocialadaptationsofmedia,andacollective desiretoutilizemediatobuildcommunitiesandgivevoicetotheunderrepresented populationsofthenationandtheworld. 2.CREATEACONVERGENCEOFSEQUENCESTOREDUCEOVERLAPAND REDUNDANCY Thecommitteeisproposingareductionfromfourundergraduatemajorsto two:StrategicCommunicationandJournalism.StrategicCommunicationwould incorporateAdvertisingandPublicRelationsand(today)wouldaccountforone thirdoftheSchoolsenrollment.JournalismwouldincorporatePrint/Online, Broadcast,TelevisionProduction,Telecommunications,andRadioAudio Production.ForeitherJournalismorStrategicCommunication,studentswouldtake fourrequiredcourses. LegalCommunicationscoursesinthecurrentDepartmentofCommunication andCulturewouldbeincorporatedintoStrategicCommunication.TheDepartment ofCommunicationSciencesandDisordershasalreadybeenreorganizedasa graduateprogram. WithinthenewJournalismmajor,studentscouldchooseamongthreetracks: Online/PrintJournalism,BroadcastJournalism,orDigitalMediaProduction.Within thenewStrategicCommunicationmajor,studentscouldchoosefromtwotracks: PublicRelationsandAdvertising.Aftercompletingthefourrequiredcourses(in eitherJournalismorStrategicCommunication),thestudentswouldbeallowed fluidenrollmentprivilegesamongthevarioustrackswithintheirmajor,toenable themtodesigntheirowncoursesofstudyaccordingtotheirowninterests. However,eachstudent,regardlessofmajororinterestswithinthemajor,would havetotakeacapstonecourseandaninternship.Studentswouldtakecoursesin editingandinvisualcommunicationadaptedfortheirmajor. Totakeadvantageofcertainunique,andmarketable,featuresoftheSchools facilitiesandfaculty,wealsoproposeamenuofelectivesthatwouldbeavailableto studentsofeithermajor.WefeeltheseBlendedElectiveAreaswouldstrengthen theunderstandingsandthemarketabilityofanystudent,regardlessofmajor. TheseElectiveAreasareMediaAnalysisandAnalytics,Multiculturalism&Media, andGraphicDesignandProduction.Someoftheseareasarebetterdevelopedatthe SchoolofCommunicationthanothers;weurgetheSchooltodevelopteachingtalent andresourcesinthesethreeareas,aswellasothersthatthefacultyfeelare importantandfeasible.ThefacultymightalsoconsiderusingtheseElectiveAreas aslaunchingpadsforinterdisciplinarycertificateprogramswithotherunitsat Howard.Asoneexample,studentsinterestedinMediaAnalysisandAnalyticscould 2

takeacomplementofappropriatecoursesinthebusinessschool,foracertificatein MediaBusiness. Thustheundergraduatewouldconsistof36credithours:15intheSchool widecore,12foreitherJournalismorStrategicCommunication(withthecapstone andinternshipincludedinthat12),andnineinanareaofdeeperspecialization. 3.CREATEAPROFESSIONALMASTERSPROGRAM TodifferentiateHowardUniversitysSchoolofCommunications,the Committeeproposesthecreationofaspecializedmastersprogram.Suchaprogram wouldtakeadvantageofHowardslocationinWashington,whichisbothanurban centerandtheseatofgovernment.TheprogramwouldallowHowardtoutilize talentedfacultywithawealthofprofessionalexperience.Theprogramwoulddraw onthestrengthsofotherschoolswithintheuniversitysuchastheSchoolof Business,theSchoolofMedicine,SchoolofEducationandtheLawSchool. Studentswouldgainvaluableandmarketableskills,developcriticalthinking andhaverichopportunitiesforhandsonexperienceintheworkplace.Theywould acquireexpertiseinsoughtafterfieldsasjournalistsorstrategiccommunicators. Byplacingcoursesinspecializedlearninginthemastersprogram,theSchoolcan simplifyandstreamlinetheundergraduateprogramwhileallowingstudentstodive deepinspecificandcomplexsubjectareasatthemasterslevel. Weareproposingacorecurriculumforallmastersstudentsconsistingof threecourses:MultimediaStorytelling,ResearchMethodsinCommunications,and CommunicationLawandEthics.Alsomirroringtheundergraduateconcept,the mastersstudentswouldchooseapathineitherStrategicCommunicationor Journalismeachcontainingfourrequiredcourses.Becausemostprofessional mastersstudentsinJournalism/MassCommunicationearnedbachelorsdegreesin nonjournalismareas,wefeelthatbasiccoursework,althoughatahigher intellectuallevelandanacceleratedpace,wouldbenecessary. Uponcompletionofthethreecoursesofthecoreandfourcoursesrequired ineithertrack(JournalismorStrategicCommunication),thestudentswouldbefree tousetheremaining15creditstogainexpertiseinoneormoreofthese specializations: MediaEntrepreneurship:InconjunctionwiththeSchoolofBusiness, studentswouldprepareforpositionsinsmallbusinessleadershipandwould developtheskillsneededanalytics,businessplancreation,venturecapital solicitation,etc.tolaunchtheirownenterprises. Publishing:InconjunctionwiththeimpendingmodernizationoftheHoward UniversityPress,thisprogramwouldprovidetrainingininnovative technologiesandbusinessstrategiesthepublishingofbooksandother literaryworks. 3

DigitalMediaProduction:Totakeadvantageofanexistingstrengthinthe SOCandinconjunctionwiththeFineArtsandComputerScience departments,studentswoulddevelopcuttingedgetechniquesforthe deliveryofmediacontent,andhelptodevelopnewapplicationsof technologyformediadelivery. Legal/PublicAffairs/GovernmentCommunications:Inconjunctionwith theLawSchool,studentswouldacquiretheknowledgeandskillsneededfor communicationsingovernment,law,publicpolicy,politicsandlobbying. Education:InconjunctionwiththeSchoolofEducation,studentswould prepareforpositionsineducationaljournalismornonprofitinstitutions focusingoneducation. Health/Medicine:InconjunctionwiththeSchoolsofMedicineandHealth Sciences,studentswouldacquiretheknowledgeandskillsneedfor communicationsinhealth,medicineandscience.

Ineachofthesemastersspecializations,therewouldbelearning opportunitiesforbothStrategicCommunicationandJournalismstudents,sideby side.Forexample,somePublicAffairsstudentswouldbeinterestedincovering governmentasjournalists;otherswouldbemoreinterestedinbecominga communicationsspecialistforanadvocacygroupworkingtoinfluencepolicy. 4.CREATEAMEDIA/NEWSLITERACYCOURSEASAREQUIREMENTFORALL COMMUNICATIONSSTUDENTSANDASERVICECOURSEFORTHEUNIVERSITY TheintroductorycourseforCommunicationstudentsisMedia/News Literacy.Thiscoursewouldgivestudentsthefoundationandcriticalthinkingskills neededtobesmartconsumersandcreatorsofinformationonallplatforms. Studentswouldlearnhowtodiscernverifiedinformationandhowtodistinguishit fromgossip,rumor,spinandopinion. WhilethecourseisrequiredforallCommunicationstudents,thecommittee recommendsthatitalsobeofferedtoallHowardstudents.Thishighly recommendedelectivewouldequipstudentstoevaluateallmediaandtoencourage themtobecomewellinformedcitizensandvoters. One place to look for resources is the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University. Among those borrowing no cost materials are Northwestern, Syracuse, University of Missouri, Colby College, Emory University, University of Southern California, California State Fullerton, University of Idaho, University of Montana, Florida Gulf Coast and Florida International. The course will assist students in finding reliable information and recognize differences between news and propaganda, fact and opinion, fairness and bias. Equally as important, the course will assess the impact of information technologies and spell out the challenges and responsibilities of living in the digital age. 4

In addition to Howards faculty and graduate students, the School can tap into an impressive wealth of journalistic, public affairs and digital communications talent. Moreover, by elevating media/news literacy on campus, the School can leverage its expertise through high-profile professional partnerships and connections with local high schools.