Section B: Information About the Program
B-01. Statement of educational philosophy, goals of the program in PR education
Department of Communications Mission Statement
Effective ethical communications are essential for the well being of a democratic society. Thus, there is a need for persons trained in the theory and practice of informing, instructing, and persuading through communications media.
The Department of Communications educational objectives are:
1. To ensure that all majors receive a broad liberal education;
2. To provide majors with a clear understanding of the role of communications media in society;
3. To prepare majors desiring communications-related careers in the mass media, business, government and education
by educating them in depth in one of the specialized concentrations within the department.
The Department champions the Professional Values & Competencies of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Our Program, Concentration, and Course Learning Outcomes are aligned with the Professional Values & Competencies and we are working hard to make sure students understand the relevance of the PV&Cs and their application across all of our concentration subject areas.
While the Public Relations Concentration is our largest subject area by enrollment, it is not our goal simply to graduate large numbers of “public relations people.” We wish to graduate students who, as our Mission Statement says, are well-educated critical thinkers who are prepared for a variety of life and career challenges, and are especially suited for entry into the PR field. We encourage students to become thoughtful, ethical, civic-minded individuals because public relations is about being a good employer, partner, neighbor and citizen.
Toward that end, our curriculum provides PR students with a solid foundation in written and oral communication. It is essential that students are able to communicate even the most complex ideas clearly, simply, strategically, and persuasively – and that students can do so effectively in traditional and social media.
Our faculty demonstrate theory-based problem solving by integrating their research into the undergraduate classroom. In our capstone course, COMM 464, students develop ‘real world’ research-based client campaigns. In other courses, students have built literature reviews, critiqued research methods, and conducted content analysis that results in published research.
Many of our courses revolve around project-based learning. In public relations courses in particular, we place a heavy emphasis on students learning public relations by doing public relations. The Department of Communications is strongly committed to high-impact practices such as those developed in our student-run advertising and public relations agency, in our COMM WEEK class, and in our media internship.
HIP expert George Kuh recommends that every university student participate in at least two HIPs. He also recommends one of the HIPs should occur in the student’s senior year. The Department of Communications curriculum is consistent with this recommendation; COMM 101 occurs early in the student’s undergraduate experience and COMM 495 occurs at the end. There are other high-impact practices courses in between, as already noted.
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices, what they are, who has access to them, and why they matter.
Washington, DC: AAC&U.
As detailed elsewhere in this document, the Department of Communications has a long history of making exceptional co-curricular learning opportunities available to students. We work hard to connect students to the professional community through guest speakers, on-site visits to public relations agencies, and support of PRSSA and other student organization chapters aligned with our concentration areas.
California State University, Fullerton is one of the most vibrant, diverse, and affordable universities in the nation. For two years in a row, CSUF has been identified as offering the “Best Bang for the Buck” among universities in California and is in the top four nationally, according to Washington Monthly.
CSUF has one of the most diverse student bodies in higher education. In fall 2013, our student population was, in part, 35% Hispanic, 27% Caucasian, and 21% Asian/ Pacific Islander. There is no ethnic majority at CSUF. Our students represent 81 nations. More than 60% of our students come from a home where neither parent completed a college education. Because we serve such a diverse student body and community, we are continually adapting our curriculum to meet the changing needs of our students and the changing needs of the industry where they will work. An excellent example of this adaptation is the Latino Communications Initiative that is profiled elsewhere in this report.
The Department of Communications continues to make significant investments in technology to allow our students to be graduated with significant professional advantages. We are integrating our student media, and revising our curriculum to be more technologically inclusive. We continue to develop online course offerings. We are expanding elective offerings in PR to allow students more opportunities to be exposed to different facets of the field.
Our faculty work tirelessly to help students recognize that as new college graduates they will be entering a dynamic world where they must take initiative and be innovative. Today’s graduates will not thrive if they simply parrot back what they heard in class.
There is always more that can be done.
Every academic year brings new challenges to be met. We will address two significant challenges in the 2014-15 academic year and we would like to get guidance from the CEPR site visit team.
For several years we have been observing steady declines in enrollment in our Advertising Concentration. The student headcount has dropped from more than 700 in the mid-2000s to 401 in the 2013-2014 academic year. Our curricula seem inappropriately separated, while the professional world is integrated. At the same time, Advertising students have expressed their belief that entry-level jobs are hard to find. We do not believe this to be the case, and recent hiring trends in Orange County would seem to support our perception that there are plenty of entry-level jobs available. As recently as two years ago, faculty members were unwilling to consider merging the Advertising and Public Relations curriculum into a single, integrated concentration area. However, opinions seem to have changed and a majority of faculty in both concentrations now supports a single concentration for Advertising and Public Relations. We have begun initial discussion of curriculum changes. We hope to get significant input from recent graduates and area professionals so that we can perhaps have a curriculum proposal for faculty review early in the 2014-2015 year. We welcome recommendations from the CEPR site visit team.
The Department of Communications received approval from the Provost to fill eight new faculty positions (seven tenure track and one lecturer) over the next two years. The Provost stipulated, however, that each of the positions needed to be “cross-disciplinal” in focus. In response, our Search Committee developed position descriptions for Integrated Communication – to serve in both the Advertising and Public Relations curriculum areas.
We are searching for the two positions shown here in 2014. We will search for a third Integrated Communications faculty member in 2015. Generally, we face many challenges in filling faculty positions. Southern California’s high cost of living, difficult home-to-work commute, CSUF’s high teaching loads, and the CSU System’s reputation for low salaries and frequent budget cuts frustrate our work to recruit nationally prominent and well-qualified teacher-scholars. The added requirement of hiring a “cross-disciplinal” colleague adds to the complexity. We welcome input from the CEPR site visit team on this issue, as well.
We are confident that the academic program in the Department of Communications is strong, competitive, and offers exceptional opportunities for students to prepare for careers a very exceptional career field. At the same time, we welcome ideas for improvement and we look forward to recommendations from the CEPR site visit team on issues presented in this application.
Effective ethical communications are essential for the well being of a democratic society. Thus, there is a need for persons trained in the theory and practice of informing, instructing, and persuading through communications media.
The Department of Communications educational objectives are:
1. To ensure that all majors receive a broad liberal education;
2. To provide majors with a clear understanding of the role of communications media in society;
3. To prepare majors desiring communications-related careers in the mass media, business, government and education
by educating them in depth in one of the specialized concentrations within the department.
The Department champions the Professional Values & Competencies of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Our Program, Concentration, and Course Learning Outcomes are aligned with the Professional Values & Competencies and we are working hard to make sure students understand the relevance of the PV&Cs and their application across all of our concentration subject areas.
While the Public Relations Concentration is our largest subject area by enrollment, it is not our goal simply to graduate large numbers of “public relations people.” We wish to graduate students who, as our Mission Statement says, are well-educated critical thinkers who are prepared for a variety of life and career challenges, and are especially suited for entry into the PR field. We encourage students to become thoughtful, ethical, civic-minded individuals because public relations is about being a good employer, partner, neighbor and citizen.
Toward that end, our curriculum provides PR students with a solid foundation in written and oral communication. It is essential that students are able to communicate even the most complex ideas clearly, simply, strategically, and persuasively – and that students can do so effectively in traditional and social media.
Our faculty demonstrate theory-based problem solving by integrating their research into the undergraduate classroom. In our capstone course, COMM 464, students develop ‘real world’ research-based client campaigns. In other courses, students have built literature reviews, critiqued research methods, and conducted content analysis that results in published research.
Many of our courses revolve around project-based learning. In public relations courses in particular, we place a heavy emphasis on students learning public relations by doing public relations. The Department of Communications is strongly committed to high-impact practices such as those developed in our student-run advertising and public relations agency, in our COMM WEEK class, and in our media internship.
HIP expert George Kuh recommends that every university student participate in at least two HIPs. He also recommends one of the HIPs should occur in the student’s senior year. The Department of Communications curriculum is consistent with this recommendation; COMM 101 occurs early in the student’s undergraduate experience and COMM 495 occurs at the end. There are other high-impact practices courses in between, as already noted.
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices, what they are, who has access to them, and why they matter.
Washington, DC: AAC&U.
As detailed elsewhere in this document, the Department of Communications has a long history of making exceptional co-curricular learning opportunities available to students. We work hard to connect students to the professional community through guest speakers, on-site visits to public relations agencies, and support of PRSSA and other student organization chapters aligned with our concentration areas.
California State University, Fullerton is one of the most vibrant, diverse, and affordable universities in the nation. For two years in a row, CSUF has been identified as offering the “Best Bang for the Buck” among universities in California and is in the top four nationally, according to Washington Monthly.
CSUF has one of the most diverse student bodies in higher education. In fall 2013, our student population was, in part, 35% Hispanic, 27% Caucasian, and 21% Asian/ Pacific Islander. There is no ethnic majority at CSUF. Our students represent 81 nations. More than 60% of our students come from a home where neither parent completed a college education. Because we serve such a diverse student body and community, we are continually adapting our curriculum to meet the changing needs of our students and the changing needs of the industry where they will work. An excellent example of this adaptation is the Latino Communications Initiative that is profiled elsewhere in this report.
The Department of Communications continues to make significant investments in technology to allow our students to be graduated with significant professional advantages. We are integrating our student media, and revising our curriculum to be more technologically inclusive. We continue to develop online course offerings. We are expanding elective offerings in PR to allow students more opportunities to be exposed to different facets of the field.
Our faculty work tirelessly to help students recognize that as new college graduates they will be entering a dynamic world where they must take initiative and be innovative. Today’s graduates will not thrive if they simply parrot back what they heard in class.
There is always more that can be done.
Every academic year brings new challenges to be met. We will address two significant challenges in the 2014-15 academic year and we would like to get guidance from the CEPR site visit team.
For several years we have been observing steady declines in enrollment in our Advertising Concentration. The student headcount has dropped from more than 700 in the mid-2000s to 401 in the 2013-2014 academic year. Our curricula seem inappropriately separated, while the professional world is integrated. At the same time, Advertising students have expressed their belief that entry-level jobs are hard to find. We do not believe this to be the case, and recent hiring trends in Orange County would seem to support our perception that there are plenty of entry-level jobs available. As recently as two years ago, faculty members were unwilling to consider merging the Advertising and Public Relations curriculum into a single, integrated concentration area. However, opinions seem to have changed and a majority of faculty in both concentrations now supports a single concentration for Advertising and Public Relations. We have begun initial discussion of curriculum changes. We hope to get significant input from recent graduates and area professionals so that we can perhaps have a curriculum proposal for faculty review early in the 2014-2015 year. We welcome recommendations from the CEPR site visit team.
The Department of Communications received approval from the Provost to fill eight new faculty positions (seven tenure track and one lecturer) over the next two years. The Provost stipulated, however, that each of the positions needed to be “cross-disciplinal” in focus. In response, our Search Committee developed position descriptions for Integrated Communication – to serve in both the Advertising and Public Relations curriculum areas.
We are searching for the two positions shown here in 2014. We will search for a third Integrated Communications faculty member in 2015. Generally, we face many challenges in filling faculty positions. Southern California’s high cost of living, difficult home-to-work commute, CSUF’s high teaching loads, and the CSU System’s reputation for low salaries and frequent budget cuts frustrate our work to recruit nationally prominent and well-qualified teacher-scholars. The added requirement of hiring a “cross-disciplinal” colleague adds to the complexity. We welcome input from the CEPR site visit team on this issue, as well.
We are confident that the academic program in the Department of Communications is strong, competitive, and offers exceptional opportunities for students to prepare for careers a very exceptional career field. At the same time, we welcome ideas for improvement and we look forward to recommendations from the CEPR site visit team on issues presented in this application.
B-02. Assessment criteria, methods, results, summative and formative findings
Institutionally,
CSUF has made considerable headway in the past few years in developing the
culture of assessment critical to meaningful curricular and programmatic
review. Recognition of the centrality of
effective and robust assessment to the promotion of student success is embodied
both in the CSUF strategic plan and in University
Policy Statement 300.022, Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes at
California State University, Fullerton.
It should be noted that the Department of Communications assessment plan exceeds University requirements. The Office of Assessment and Educational Effectiveness (OAEE) requires undergraduate programs to have program learning outcomes that align with the CSUF learning outcomes – but the OAEE does not require individual course outcomes, and does not require the depth of development evidenced by the Department of Communications assessment plan.
Assessment criteria
The Department of Communications program for assessment of student learning was established in January 2011 and has run through one complete three-year cycle. Its second three-year cycle began in fall 2014. The assessment program is faculty-driven, and follows the guidance of Mary Allen, internationally recognized assessment expert who has consulted with us: “Every step of the assessment process is under faculty control.”
Assessment in the Public Relations Concentration occurs in COMM 362 (Public Relations Writing I) and COMM 464A/ COMM 464B (Student-Run Agency/ Public Relations Management).
As noted in Appendix B-02-A, there are learning outcomes for the core and each concentration area. The learning outcomes for public relations are shown below:
In the Public Relations Concentration, students will:
Course Learning Outcomes have been established for all COMM courses. CLOs are reflected in Appendix B-02-B.
Assessment program structure
The Department Assessment Committee gathers information to identify strengths and weaknesses in student curricular and co-curricular learning. The assessment program takes a holistic approach to assure that our students are learning what they need to demonstrate a wide range of communication competencies as well as specific competencies for their discipline. All student work used for assessment purposes is evaluated in the aggregate, and is not identified by student, instructor, or course section number.
The Assessment Committee is comprised of a chairperson and at least one faculty member from each subject concentration, and is subject to the same general rules that govern other Department of Communications committees. The ultimate authority for assessment at CSUF is the Office of Assessment and Educational Effectiveness (OAEE).
Department faculty members who teach in the core and concentration areas are responsible for providing the Assessment Committee with electronic copies of documents needed to assess student learning. These documents include, but are not necessarily be limited to:
Methods and results
The Assessment Committee uses a variety of methods to gather data that affirm student learning. Direct evidence is collected through pre- and post-testing, embedded assignments, and student portfolios. Indirect evidence is collected through summaries of student co-curricular involvement and extensive surveys of student interns and internship providers.
The scope of the entire assessment program is evidenced through Appendix B-02-C, our Assessment plan and flowchart, and Appendix B-02-D, our Curriculum Map. Appendix B-02-E is a summary of our efforts to track student co-curricular engagement across public relations and the other concentrations.
Summative and formative findings
The Department of Communications received a $2,000 CSUF grant in 2010 to develop its assessment program. The assessment program was launched in January 2011. In 2012, the Department received the CSUF “Advancement in Assessment” Award recognizing the most progress on assessment that year among all academic programs at CSUF. Along with the award, the Department and received an additional $2,000 grant.
Strong progress has been made to gauge student learning. At this early stage, most of the outcome of assessment has been to develop the processes and familiarize faculty with processes and results. However, we have made some adjustments in curriculum and pedagogy based on what we have learned. Department-wide, most faculty members are supportive of the effort, even though the Assessment Committee does the bulk of the work. In the Public Relations Concentration, all faculty members are supportive of and involved with assessment.
The sections below will focus on the assessment within the Public Relations Concentration. We are happy to provide the site visit team with summaries of assessment in the COMM core, or in courses in other concentrations, if the team wishes to review this information. Raw data are also available for review if desired.
COMM 362 - Public Relations Writing I
COMM 362 was first assessed in fall 2011. It will be assessed again in spring 2015. In this course, direct evidence was collected in support of student learning. As defined by the assessment plan, direct evidence is: “Student writing/ creative work involving the ability to describe a complex situation and apply a theory or model to solve it.” Evidence collected consisted of a news release assignment produced by students in the latter half of the course (at the midterm point or beyond).
In fall 2011, there were 118 students enrolled in COMM 362. The Assessment Committee collected 89 news releases for review.
More than three-quarters of the work (85%) documented student conceptual and writing skills that our faculty considered to be “satisfactory” or better. Almost half of the student work (49%) documented student conceptual and writing skills that our faculty considered to be “excellent” or “very good.” Overall, faculty were pleased with these results and will continue to monitor COMM 362 to see what changes are appropriate for the future. We are moving more sections of COMM 362 to an online format, and understandings of student learning gained through assessment will aid in this process.
COMM 464A and 464B - Public Relations Agency and Public Relations Campaign Management
COMM 464A and 464B courses were assessed in spring 2012 and will be assessed again in spring 2015. Direct and indirect evidence was collected in support of student learning. As defined by the assessment plan, direct evidence is: “Student writing/ creative work involving the ability to describe a complex situation and apply a theory or model to solve it.” Indirect evidence is, “Evaluation of student strengths and weaknesses by industry professionals, and by clients served by student work teams.”
In spring 2012, 120 students were enrolled in COMM 464A or COMM 464B. The Assessment Committee collected 31 portfolios, 56 reflection papers, and seven client evaluations. Evidence was randomly selected for review. These professionals participated in the review process: Cathi Douglas, Senior Director of Editorial Services, California State University, Fullerton; John Echeveste, Partner
Valencia, Perez & Echeveste Public Relations, South Pasadena, Calif.; Traci Renner, Vice President, GolinHarris, Orange County, Calif.; Pam Caldwell, Faculty Director of Internships, College of Communications, California State University, Fullerton.
The public relations faculty, which is strongly supportive of assessment, reviewed the findings. One result was that the CLOs for COMM 464A and B were amended to reflect differences between the two courses. Amendments were also made to the standard syllabus template and the COMM 464A Client Services Agreement. Overall, faculty were pleased with these results and will continue to monitor COMM 464 to see what changes are appropriate for the future. Because COMM 464 is our capstone course, the faculty members are always discussing its curriculum and pedagogy; reflection and review is an ongoing process.
It should be noted that the Department of Communications assessment plan exceeds University requirements. The Office of Assessment and Educational Effectiveness (OAEE) requires undergraduate programs to have program learning outcomes that align with the CSUF learning outcomes – but the OAEE does not require individual course outcomes, and does not require the depth of development evidenced by the Department of Communications assessment plan.
Assessment criteria
The Department of Communications program for assessment of student learning was established in January 2011 and has run through one complete three-year cycle. Its second three-year cycle began in fall 2014. The assessment program is faculty-driven, and follows the guidance of Mary Allen, internationally recognized assessment expert who has consulted with us: “Every step of the assessment process is under faculty control.”
- The program offers a path for identifying departmental
strengths and weaknesses so we can help our students improve their learning and
professional performance. The program allows us to determine whether students
are demonstrating learning of concepts and hands-on skills via program (core),
concentration, and individual course learning outcomes. Assessment is conducted
through direct measures (students demonstrate a specific outcome, showing
learning acquisition) as well as indirect measures (students’ opinion on
academic performance, students’ participation in relevant academic and professional
co-curricular activities, and professional/ employer opinions of student
performance).
- The program allows student performance to be assessed using
pre/ post tests, samples of student work that is already embedded in our
courses, or other measures that are efficient and minimally time-consuming.
- The program allows for “closing the loop” to make
improvements in curriculum and pedagogy based on what we learn through
assessment. Faculty members within the concentration areas of the courses being
assessed make “closing the loop” decisions; full supporting documentation is
developed and retained.
- The assessment program aligns University Learning Outcomes
with AEJMC’s Professional Values &
Competencies, Department of Communications Program Learning Outcomes,
Concentration Learning Outcomes, and Course Learning Outcomes. See Appendix B-02-A.
- The assessment program involves
data collection in in 16 undergraduate courses. Six of these courses are in the
core (with two more being added in 2014-2015). The remaining ten courses are in
the concentration areas.
Assessment in the Public Relations Concentration occurs in COMM 362 (Public Relations Writing I) and COMM 464A/ COMM 464B (Student-Run Agency/ Public Relations Management).
As noted in Appendix B-02-A, there are learning outcomes for the core and each concentration area. The learning outcomes for public relations are shown below:
In the Public Relations Concentration, students will:
- Demonstrate knowledge of campaign communication, along with
ability to conduct a professional-level research-based communications campaign
from start to finish.
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct a client consultation, followed
by development, administration, and evaluation of a professional communications
effort that successfully addresses specific client needs.
- Demonstrate excellence in written communication and the ability to
strategically use different media to communicate different types of informative
and persuasive messages.
Course Learning Outcomes have been established for all COMM courses. CLOs are reflected in Appendix B-02-B.
Assessment program structure
The Department Assessment Committee gathers information to identify strengths and weaknesses in student curricular and co-curricular learning. The assessment program takes a holistic approach to assure that our students are learning what they need to demonstrate a wide range of communication competencies as well as specific competencies for their discipline. All student work used for assessment purposes is evaluated in the aggregate, and is not identified by student, instructor, or course section number.
The Assessment Committee is comprised of a chairperson and at least one faculty member from each subject concentration, and is subject to the same general rules that govern other Department of Communications committees. The ultimate authority for assessment at CSUF is the Office of Assessment and Educational Effectiveness (OAEE).
Department faculty members who teach in the core and concentration areas are responsible for providing the Assessment Committee with electronic copies of documents needed to assess student learning. These documents include, but are not necessarily be limited to:
- Course syllabi for courses in which assessment will take place. (A ‘general’ syllabus is acceptable; an updated copy needs to be provided only when major revisions take place.)
- Faculty-approved pre/ posttests (as indicated in the assessment plan)
- Instructions and descriptions for any assignments used for assessment of student learning (as indicated in the assessment plan)
- Rubrics to be used to evaluate student work
- Relevant information about peer review or professional review of student work (when used in the plan as indirect measures of performance)
Methods and results
The Assessment Committee uses a variety of methods to gather data that affirm student learning. Direct evidence is collected through pre- and post-testing, embedded assignments, and student portfolios. Indirect evidence is collected through summaries of student co-curricular involvement and extensive surveys of student interns and internship providers.
The scope of the entire assessment program is evidenced through Appendix B-02-C, our Assessment plan and flowchart, and Appendix B-02-D, our Curriculum Map. Appendix B-02-E is a summary of our efforts to track student co-curricular engagement across public relations and the other concentrations.
Summative and formative findings
The Department of Communications received a $2,000 CSUF grant in 2010 to develop its assessment program. The assessment program was launched in January 2011. In 2012, the Department received the CSUF “Advancement in Assessment” Award recognizing the most progress on assessment that year among all academic programs at CSUF. Along with the award, the Department and received an additional $2,000 grant.
Strong progress has been made to gauge student learning. At this early stage, most of the outcome of assessment has been to develop the processes and familiarize faculty with processes and results. However, we have made some adjustments in curriculum and pedagogy based on what we have learned. Department-wide, most faculty members are supportive of the effort, even though the Assessment Committee does the bulk of the work. In the Public Relations Concentration, all faculty members are supportive of and involved with assessment.
The sections below will focus on the assessment within the Public Relations Concentration. We are happy to provide the site visit team with summaries of assessment in the COMM core, or in courses in other concentrations, if the team wishes to review this information. Raw data are also available for review if desired.
COMM 362 - Public Relations Writing I
COMM 362 was first assessed in fall 2011. It will be assessed again in spring 2015. In this course, direct evidence was collected in support of student learning. As defined by the assessment plan, direct evidence is: “Student writing/ creative work involving the ability to describe a complex situation and apply a theory or model to solve it.” Evidence collected consisted of a news release assignment produced by students in the latter half of the course (at the midterm point or beyond).
In fall 2011, there were 118 students enrolled in COMM 362. The Assessment Committee collected 89 news releases for review.
- News releases considered “excellent” in quality: 16, or 18%
- News releases considered “very good” in quality: 28, or 31%
- News releases considered “satisfactory” in quality: 32, or 36%
- News releases considered “substandard” in quality: 13, or 15%
More than three-quarters of the work (85%) documented student conceptual and writing skills that our faculty considered to be “satisfactory” or better. Almost half of the student work (49%) documented student conceptual and writing skills that our faculty considered to be “excellent” or “very good.” Overall, faculty were pleased with these results and will continue to monitor COMM 362 to see what changes are appropriate for the future. We are moving more sections of COMM 362 to an online format, and understandings of student learning gained through assessment will aid in this process.
COMM 464A and 464B - Public Relations Agency and Public Relations Campaign Management
COMM 464A and 464B courses were assessed in spring 2012 and will be assessed again in spring 2015. Direct and indirect evidence was collected in support of student learning. As defined by the assessment plan, direct evidence is: “Student writing/ creative work involving the ability to describe a complex situation and apply a theory or model to solve it.” Indirect evidence is, “Evaluation of student strengths and weaknesses by industry professionals, and by clients served by student work teams.”
In spring 2012, 120 students were enrolled in COMM 464A or COMM 464B. The Assessment Committee collected 31 portfolios, 56 reflection papers, and seven client evaluations. Evidence was randomly selected for review. These professionals participated in the review process: Cathi Douglas, Senior Director of Editorial Services, California State University, Fullerton; John Echeveste, Partner
Valencia, Perez & Echeveste Public Relations, South Pasadena, Calif.; Traci Renner, Vice President, GolinHarris, Orange County, Calif.; Pam Caldwell, Faculty Director of Internships, College of Communications, California State University, Fullerton.
- Portfolios considered “excellent”
in quality: 5, or 26%
- Portfolios considered “very good”
in quality: 7, or 36%
- Portfolios considered “satisfactory”
in quality: 7, or 36%
- Portfolios considered “substandard” in quality: 0
The public relations faculty, which is strongly supportive of assessment, reviewed the findings. One result was that the CLOs for COMM 464A and B were amended to reflect differences between the two courses. Amendments were also made to the standard syllabus template and the COMM 464A Client Services Agreement. Overall, faculty were pleased with these results and will continue to monitor COMM 464 to see what changes are appropriate for the future. Because COMM 464 is our capstone course, the faculty members are always discussing its curriculum and pedagogy; reflection and review is an ongoing process.
B-03. Admissions and retention criteria for the university and program
CSUF’s Office of Institutional
Research and Analytical Studies provided data on student retention for entry
years 2010, 2011, and 2012. These data show:
The Office of Institutional Research and Analytical Studies provided data on student graduation rates for 2005, 2006, and 2007. These data show:
The document Retention and Graduation Rates, Appendix B-03-A has details.
- Among all College of Communications students, 91.9% of freshmen who entered CSUF in fall 2012 were still enrolled in fall 2013.
- Among all Department of Communications majors, second-year retention averaged 88.5% across 2010, 2011, and 2012 cohort classes.
- Among Communications/ PR Concentration majors, second-year retention averaged 88.6% across those three cohort classes.
The Office of Institutional Research and Analytical Studies provided data on student graduation rates for 2005, 2006, and 2007. These data show:
- Among all first-time freshmen Communications majors, 60.8% of students across those cohort classes earned a degree within six years.
- Among Communications/ PR Concentration majors, 61% of students across those cohort classes earned a degree within six years.
- Among all Communications majors who transferred to CSUF to complete their degrees, 66.3% of students across those cohort classes earned a degree within six years.
- Among Communications/ PR Concentration majors, 68.3% of transfer students across those cohort classes earned a degree within six years.
The document Retention and Graduation Rates, Appendix B-03-A has details.
B-04. Admissions data for the last three years
The Department of Communications
does not have its own admissions unit, and has no direct control over CSUF
admissions. CSUF does not disaggregate its data, it is difficult to document
claims about admissions to the Communications program or the Public Relations
Concentration. Some general facts can be presented, however.
Data to support this section of the application came from Quick Facts About Our University, a document provided by the CSUF Office of for Institutional Research and Analytical Studies. That document is linked here.
The table below shows enrollment for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 academic years by concentration. ‘Undeclared’ represents students who had not declared a concentration.
Data to support this section of the application came from Quick Facts About Our University, a document provided by the CSUF Office of for Institutional Research and Analytical Studies. That document is linked here.
- For six of
the eight years since 2005, CSUF was the largest CSU System campus by
enrollment. In 2013, campus enrollment was 38,325.
- Since 1998,
among all of California’s public universities, CSUF has been the number
one destination for community college transfer students. In 2012-2013,
CSUF accepted 4,363 community college transfer students.
- Among new
freshmen, 58% come from homes where parents have not completed a college
degree. Among new undergraduate transfer students, 61% come from homes
where parents have not completed a college degree.
- The CSUF
Admissions Office target for 2014-2015 is 4,206 new freshmen, 5,200
undergraduate transfer students
- In fall
2013, CSUF received in excess of 41,000 freshman applications and in
excess of 22,000 applications from undergraduate transfer students. There
were 4,450 anticipated seats for each group. Admission was denied to
11,208 CSU-eligible freshmen and 7,174 CSU-eligible undergraduate transfer
students.
- The CSUF
Admissions Office expects freshman applications to continue to increase,
and expects a “surge of new undergraduate transfer applications.”
The table below shows enrollment for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 academic years by concentration. ‘Undeclared’ represents students who had not declared a concentration.
Student access to California State University, Fullerton is limited by the CSU System requirement that CSUF cap its enrollment at no more than 105% of its budgeted FTES target. CSUF simply cannot accept more students even though the need is great.
According to Edward Sullivan, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research and Analytical Studies, “admission of students for the College of Communications and Department of Communications rides the tides (of campus-wide admission) and is not purposefully affected by actions at the College or Department level.”
It is worthy of note here that, in the past two years, the University has worked actively to improve its freshman and undergraduate transfer student retention rates. An active discussion has been taking place among faculty, staff, and student body leadership. A coordinator of Student Retention Services works diligently to make sure struggling students have access to the resources they need. The CSUF student body recently approved a student success fee that will generate more than $7 million to support a variety of student success initiatives, listed briefly below and shown here.
According to Edward Sullivan, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research and Analytical Studies, “admission of students for the College of Communications and Department of Communications rides the tides (of campus-wide admission) and is not purposefully affected by actions at the College or Department level.”
It is worthy of note here that, in the past two years, the University has worked actively to improve its freshman and undergraduate transfer student retention rates. An active discussion has been taking place among faculty, staff, and student body leadership. A coordinator of Student Retention Services works diligently to make sure struggling students have access to the resources they need. The CSUF student body recently approved a student success fee that will generate more than $7 million to support a variety of student success initiatives, listed briefly below and shown here.
- Expanded academic advising
- Expanded library hours and technology access
- Upgrades to campus Wi-Fi and establishment of 24-hour IT support
- Expanded support for the CSUF Career Center
- Funding for creation of ‘one-stop’ student services centers
- Funding for expansion of the Titan Student Union
- Additional support for Disabled Student Services and Veterans Support Services
B-05. Matriculation data for the last three years
The CSUF Office of for Institutional Research and Analytical Studies maintains a website with the following linked information:
http://www.fullerton.edu/analyticalstudies/degrees_grad/degrees.html
- Degrees and graduation rates (overview)
- Degrees awarded by major and ethnicity (since 2001)
- Undergraduate degrees awarded by sex (since 1959)
- Graduate degrees awarded by sex (since 1959)
- Second major associated with Bachelor’s degrees (since 2002)
- Minors associated with Bachelor’s degrees (since 2002)
- Trends tables
http://www.fullerton.edu/analyticalstudies/degrees_grad/degrees.html