DSA Assessment Plan

Department Name: Center for Student Media Assessment Plan for Academic Year: 2013-2014 Director: Matt Dulin Assessment Contact(s) (if not the director): Department Mission Grounded in professional ethics and best practices, the Center for Student Media supports and empowers student-driven Statement: expression, publishing and broadcasting.

Department Vision The Center for Student Media aspires to be a cutting-edge multi-platform laboratory that prepares collaborative, Statement: innovative and creative students for real-world leadership. 1. Establish training and quality enhancement programs for all student media groups.

2. Enhance magazine products with mobile and/or web extensions to add value and test the mobile ad market.

3. Identify and develop new revenue streams through creative services that offer new student learning opportunities and Department Goals: activate a new pool of resources for program expansion. 4. Charge a task force to review the Center’s business model and make recommendations for print strategy, advertising policies and procedures. 5.

Program or Services Being Assessed: Newspaper effectiveness Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency Purpose Goal(s) Supported (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Capture Focus groups of readers and One-time. The focus groups will To determine the best #4 student views about print non-readers (separated be completed by Oct. print strategies to reach publications and usage of groups) will be guided in 16. Report will be students and provide discussion to provide compiled by Oct. 23, the best quality of specifically to guide the qualitative data about 2013. service to readers and student staff in developing reading habits, perceptions advertisers. Ultimately, a sustainable content and preferences. the data will be used to strategy. help determine how to adapt newspaper delivery, design and content for increased reader engagement.

Program or Services Being Assessed: CSM Advertising Effectiveness/Customer Service Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency Purpose Goal (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Provide Create a survey that Data will be collected Results will be To measure customer #4, #3 an effective advertising measures client's overall in April 2014. tracked satisfaction and pinpoint service to campus and local satisfaction with: customer Cumulative Report room for improvement clients that results in high service, ad production, will be compiled in in the sales, service, levels of loyalty and less pricing, return on June 2014. production and delivery customer turnover. investment, ways to of advertising programs. improve, and interest in future advertising programs and media services. Incentivize completion of the survey by offering a service discount. Sample will include all advertisers from 2010 to current.

1 DSA Assessment Plan

Program or Services Being Assessed: The Daily Cougar - Editorial Quality and Leadership Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency Purpose Goal (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Support 1. Partner with student Daily for 3 Develop rubric by To provide structured #1 the production of a student leaders to develop a rubric consecutive weeks at Sept. 15. Begin first feedback and tracking of newspaper that adheres to based upon national college the midpoint of the scoring period in student performance as professional standards for media standards to evaluate semester. Repeated October. Present a unit, but to also give print media and journalistic the quality of a newspaper as in the spring. results to Editorial insight into the quality. a whole. Board in November. performance of 2. Adviser will apply critique Repeat in February- individual components to each day's print and web March. Final report that make up the whole. edition. Weighted values will compiled June 2014. To establish a standard be averaged to indicate to be met and embraced overall quality. The scoring by the student leaders. periods will not be announced. 3. First session's results are reported to the student editorial team to generate discussion and self-reflection on leadership, decisionmaking and teambuilding strategies that impacted their scores.

Program or Services Being Assessed: Transitions magazine Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency Purpose Goal (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: 1. Existing reports on this Needs assessment Survey will be To determine the needs #2 Acclimate new students to population will be requested will be administered administered in of freshmen and the University and for additional one time. October. Results will transfer students and encourage their research/insight. be compiled in assist in establishing a involvement in campus 2. A needs assessment survey November and learning-outcomes programs and use of will be developed and presented to the First-based editorial content campus resources through administered to a sample of Year Experience strategy for the authentic student-to- Fall 2013 freshmen and Committee to publication. student communication. transfer students. brainstorm ideas for improvements/enha ncements.

Program or Services Being Assessed: Center for Student Media - Student Learning Needs Assessment Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency Purpose Goal (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Provide Survey will be sent to all The assessment will The assessment will To determine what #1 practical skill development students who are a member be administered be distributed in kinds of learning opportunities for students of a student media once. early December. programs (workshops, involved in all three organization - The Daily guest speakers) and student media Cougar, Student Video what topics are sought organizations. Network and COOG Radio. out by our students. The survey will ask students Data will be used to to gauge their level of skill guide advisers the and perceived needs. creation of formal training programs in multiple media and leadership skillsets.

2 Center for Student Media — Assessment plan AY 2013-14 Addendum 1: Focus group strategies Moderators: TBD

1. Students will have 3-4 different publications on a table of a variety of styles and content: Study Breaks, Free Press Houston, , Houston Business Journal, ESPN Magazine, . Giving them 10-15 minutes to sift through them, the moderator then asks questions about how they read print publications: a. Do you read any of these publications currently? How often? Why? b. If not, why not? What do you like/dislike about each one? 2. Bring out copes of The Daily Cougar and ask them to review it. What do they like/dislike? a. If the group is a reader group: Why do you read? What would make you read more? Is it a habit or do you have to be reminded that it’s there? How well informed do you feel? b. Non-reader group: what is it about this that does not appeal to you? Would a different format or design change your mind? What kind of stories would attract you? c. Pitch some story ideas that the newspaper could cover, what topics would you want to know more about? d. What if the newspaper were only once a week? What if there was no student newspaper? 3. What would make the newspaper “cool”? 4. How do you prefer to get information? 5. How do you prefer to spend downtime?