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FAST FORWARD Foundations Future State. Educators + Practitioners. The Commission on Public Relations Education 2017 Report on Undergraduate Education+ www.CommissionPRed.org Commission on Public Relations Education Member Organizations Arthur W. Page Center Arthur W. Page Society Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Public Relations Division Canadian Public Relations Society European Public Relations Education and Research Association Global Alliance for Public Relations Institute for Public Relations International Communication Association Public Relations Division National Black Public Relations Society National Communication Association Public Relations Division Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations PR Council PRSA Foundation Public Relations Society of America Public Relations Society of America Educators Academy Public Relations Society of America Educational Affairs Committee The Corporate Board/Society for New Communications Research Universal Accreditation Board FAST FORWARD Foundations FutureCommission on Public State. Relations Education Floor 21 Educators120 Wall Street+ New York NY 10005 Practitioners.212-460-1400 www.CommissionPRed.org The Commission on Public Relations Education 2017 Report on Undergraduate Education+ www.CommissionPRed.org Published April, 2018 FAST FORWARD Commission on Public Relations 2017 Report 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 4 About the Commission on Public Relations Education 7 Overview/Executive Summary of the Report 11 Introduction to the Report 23 Chapter 1 In The Beginning: The CPRE Industry-Educator Summit 25 Chapter 2 Introduction: Development of The CPRE Report and 2016 Omnibus Survey 37 Chapter 3 Learning Objectives 45 Chapter 4 Undergraduate Curriculum 59 Chapter 5 Ethics 65 Chapter 6 Theory 71 Chapter 7 Research 79 Chapter 8 Technology 85 Chapter 9 Academic Structure and Governance 95 Chapter 10 Educator Credentials 101 Chapter 11 Online Public Relations Education 111 Chapter 12 Program Certification and Accreditation 117 Chapter 13 Internships 123 Chapter 14 Professional and Pre-Professional Organizations 133 Chapter 15 Diversity 139 Chapter 16 Global Perspectives on Public Relations Education 149 Chapter 17 In Conclusion: Looking Forward, Fast 157 2017 Board Members Commission on Public Relations Education 163 FAST FORWARD Commission on Public Relations 2017 Report 3 FAST FORWARD: The 2017 Report on Undergraduate Public Relations Education Investments come in many shapes and sizes, and The Commission has been fortunate to have individuals and organizations support us with their time, talent, in-kind services, and financial contributions. To all, we extend our heartfelt thanks on behalf of the public relations students, educators and practitioners who will benefit from this report and the work of The Commission. Special thanks to those who invested financially in our research and this report: • Rob Flaherty, on behalf of Ketchum • Karla Gower, on behalf of The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations With • Andy Polansky, on behalf of Weber Shandwick • Oscar Suris, on behalf of Wells Fargo • Jim Weiss, on behalf of W20 • The Arthur W. Page Society Appreciation • The PRSA Foundation, whose ongoing support for The Commission is an essential part of our success. and And we are grateful for in-kind support from: • Tina McCorkindale and the Institute for Public Relations, for our spring meeting and a platform for launch of the report; Gratitude • And of course, the Public Relations Society of America. Without the ongoing support of PRSA for more than 40 years, with extensive administrative services and especially the time, counsel and assistance of Jeneen Garcia and her team, the Commission would be unable to do our work. We had a village of volunteers to bring this report to life. The chapter teams are listed at the beginning of each chapter, and kudos to each person involved. Special acknowledgement is made to: • Jean Valin and Karla Gower, former Commission co-chairs who began discussion and forged the commitment to a new report in 2013; • Judith Phair, who conducted extensive qualitative research in 2014 to lay the foundation for the report; FAST FORWARD Commission on Public Relations 2017 Report 4 • Del Galloway, former Commission co-chair, who led a team of Commission members including Sandra Duhe, John Paluszek, Maria Russell and Robert Burnside, to create and execute the highly successful CPRE Industry-Educator Summit in 2015. Del also personally raised the funds needed to produce this report. • Marcia DiStasio, immediate past co-chair of the Commission, who took over leadership of the report in 2016, developing the team of authors concept for this report, recruiting authors, produced the foundational Omnibus Survey and the structuring of the chapters; • Elizabeth Toth and Kathleen Lewton, who led the editing, creation of additional content and production of the report, development of the Commission’s new logo and website, and as 2018 co-chairs of the Commission will lead the action phase to bring the report’s recommendations to reality. o Kathy and Elizabeth have many to thank including several chapter authors who spent much extra time developing additional content and answering many pesky questions – Julie O’Neil, Sandy Duhe, John Forde, and Denise Bortree – and Karla Gower, who helped develop the history section for Dedicated to the memory of the report. We also thank our able colleagues, writer Mary Beth West, proofreader/editor Betsy Ann Plank Suzanne Elliott, graduate student Luke Capizzo, Champion of Public Relations Students and designer Edward Maichin, a team without whom there would be no report, or at best, a report with no chapter overviews, A message of gratitude and love to Betsy countless APA style and GPS errors, Ann Plank, Past President of PRSA, and unchecked facts and a plain brown paper the professional who single-handedly lived cover. the commitment to make public relations students a cornerstone of the Society, the o And our personal thanks to Jeneen Garcia. Without you . no CPRE. no PRSSA. no Commission and every organization she CEPR. You are the personal foundation for touched. A driving force behind the the industry’s support of public rela- Commission in its early years and co-author tions education. of its second report, the founder of Champions for PRSSA, and a tireless force Finally, to all educators, practitioners and practitioners-to-be: for students, she never missed an opportunity The work we do matters. Public relations practitioners to remind all of us that students are not make a difference daily, and our work makes the only the next generation of our colleagues, world a better place. Stay the course, with ethics but also our future, and our hope. as our true north, and be proud of what you do! FAST FORWARD Commission on Public Relations 2017 Report 5 FAST FORWARD Commission on Public Relations 2017 Report 6 FAST FORWARD: The 2017 Report on Undergraduate Public Relations Education The Commission on Public Relations Education is the authoritative voice on public relations education. Since its founding in 1973 by the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism, joined by co-sponsor the Public Relations Society of America, the Commission has provided recommendations on public relations education for universities and professional associations across the globe. These recommendations have been adopted and adapted to positively impact undergraduate and graduate public relations education. The Commission’s work also produces essential data and recommendations informed by research and honed by experienced practitioners and educators, and used by educators, educational administrators,students, practitioners and industry leaders. The Commission also strives to offer a The forum for advancing public relations education with a global perspective. Commission The Commission’s recommendations throughout the years have also included criteria for creation of Public on Public Relations Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapters, standards for PRSA Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) and the work of practitioner and educator Education: associations around the globe. Marking 45 Years The Commission seeks to establish benchmarks for teaching public relations that are current, research-based, sensitive to culture and language, and applicable to of Service preparing public relations students for careers in practice, research, teaching, or a combination of all three. The to the Profession Commission chooses projects from the full spectrum of activity in the education field including researching and identifying factors that help students understand the and Education expectations for a career in public relations. A Brief Historical Overview The Commission’s raison d’etre has its roots in a paper commenting on the “unsatisfactory and disparate state of public relations education in the U.S.,” delivered to the PR Division of AEJ (now AEJMC) at its 1973 meeting by industry legends J. Carroll Bateman and Professor Scott M. Cutlip. Their paper, referenced in the 1975 report, “A Design for Public Relations Education,” available on the CPRE website, is well worth a read, as is the 1973 report. FAST FORWARD Commission on Public Relations 2017 Report 7 The concerns in 1973 will sound, ironically, too familiar recommendations were put into practice, it became to us today: the lack of public relations professionals in customary to include four courses (intro to