SELF-STUDY REPORT Prepared for the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism & Mass Communications Site visit February, 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature page ......................................................................................................................1 Part I: General Information .....................................................................................2 Part II: Supplementary Information .........................................................................8 Standard 1. Mission, Governance & Administration .................................19 Standard 2. Curriculum & Instruction .......................................................32 Standard 3. Diversity & Inclusiveness .......................................................48 Standard 4. Full-Time & Part-Time Faculty ..............................................73 Standard 5. Scholarship: Research, Creative & Professional Activity ......91 Standard 6. Student Services ....................................................................101 Standard 7. Resources, Facilities & Equipment .......................................110 Standard 8. Professional & Public Service ..............................................116 Standard 9. Assessment of Learning Outcomes ......................................123 SELF-STUDY REPORT FOR ACCREDITATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS Submitted to the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Name of Institution: California State University, Chico Name of Unit: Department of Journalism & Public Relations Address: Department of Journalism & PR, CSU-Chico, Chico, CA 95929-0600 Date of Scheduled Accrediting Visit: Feb. 14-17, 2016 We hereby submit the following report as required by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications for the purpose of an accreditation review. Journalism/mass communications administrator: Name: Susan M. Wiesinger Title: Chair, Department of Journalism & Public Relations Signature: ______________________________________________________ Administrator to whom administrator reports: Name: Angela Trethewey Title: Dean, College of Communication & Education Signature: ______________________________________________________ PART I GENERAL INFORMATION This general information section will be included in its entirety in the site team’s report, and it must present the most current information available. Before the site visit, the unit should review its responses to the questions below (especially 12–20) and update them as necessary. The unit then should print a copy of this updated section for each team member when they arrive on campus. A digital copy in Word document format of the updated responses also must be provided to the team chair to be included in the digital team report sent to the ACEJMC office. In addition, if any significant changes not covered in this section have occurred since the original self-study report was submitted, the unit should describe and document those changes and present this new material to the team when members arrive. Name of Institution: California State University, Chico Name of Unit: Department of Journalism & Public Relations Year of Visit: 2016 1. Check regional association by which the institution now is accredited. ___ Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools ___ New England Association of Schools and Colleges ___ North Central Association of Colleges and Schools ___ Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges ___ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools _X_ Western Association of Schools and Colleges (If the unit seeking accreditation is located outside the United States, provide the name(s) of the appropriate recognition or accreditation entities.) 2. Indicate the institution’s type of control; check more than one if necessary. ___ Private _X_ Public ___ Other (specify) DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM & PR, CSU–CHICO PAGE 2 3. Provide assurance that the institution has legal authorization to provide education beyond the secondary level in your state. It is not necessary to include entire authorizing documents. Public institutions may cite legislative acts; private institutions may cite charters or other authorizing documents. The California State University is the world’s largest comprehensive higher education system, with 23 unique campuses serving more than 450,000 students with 45,000 employees statewide. The individual universities were brought together as a system by the Donohoe Higher Education Act of 1960. 4. Has the journalism/mass communication unit been evaluated previously by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications? _X_ Yes, last accredting visit 2009 ___ No 5. When was the unit or sequences within the unit first accredited by ACEJMC? 1997 6. Attach a copy of the unit’s mission statement. Statement should give date of adoption and/or last revision. We seek to foster a dynamic, high quality learning environment that builds on classroom learning and faculty engagement in ways that help students achieve personal goals, along with grants, scholarships, internships and jobs. The Chico State Department of Journalism & PR offers a structured, rigorous program that provides students with faculty interaction, engagement, feedback and learning. We want our students to be prepared to learn, grow, make mistakes and thrive, both in the classroom and through professional journalism experiences. We are committed to the achievement and success of our students; to fostering diversity and personal growth; and to professional standards and independence. (Revised 2011) 7. What are the type and length of terms? Semesters of 16 weeks Summer sessions varies: three to 12 weeks Intersessions: three weeks (Note: Journalism rarely offers summer or intersession classes. These classes must be self-supporting and departments do not receive funding to offer them or budget credit for students enrolled in them.) DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM & PR, CSU–CHICO PAGE 3 8. Check the programs offered in journalism/mass communications: _X_ Bachelor’s degree ___ Master’s degree ___ Ph.D. degree 9. List the specific degrees being reviewed by ACEJMC. The Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with options in News and Public Relations 10. Credit hours required by the university for an undergraduate degree: 120 semester hours 11. Give the number of credit hours students may earn for internship experience. Specify semester-hour or quarter-hour credit. Up to three credit hours per semester for formal onsite internships. Total number of internship units in degree cannot exceed three units. These internships are approved and supervised by the department chair. Note: All students are requied to complete internship-level work in option-capstone labs. • Students in the News option must spend at least one semester working on the program's award-winning, student-run news organization, The Orion. They may earn up to seven units overall for work across multiple semesters for The Orion (two semesters as two-unit practicum; one semester as three-unit newsroom leadership/management). The Orion is supervised by the News option professional-in-residence. • Students in the PR option must spend at least one semester in a supervised onsite internship for a non-profit organization in Butte County or one semester working for the program's student-managed PR agency, Tehama Group Communications. They may earn up to four units overall. Onsite PR internships and TGC are supervised by the PR option professional-in-residence. • Students in News are enouraged to apply for non-management jobs with Tehama Group Communications and students in PR are encouraged to apply for non- management jobs with The Orion. DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM & PR, CSU–CHICO PAGE 4 12. List each professional journalism or mass communications sequence or specialty offered and give the name of the person in charge. Name of Sequence or Specialty Person in Charge News Susan M. Wiesinger, in consultation with Mark Plenke, professional-in-residence Public Relations Susan M. Wiesinger, in consultation with Debra Johnson, Professional-in-residence 13. Number of full-time students enrolled in the institution: 16,251 (fall 2014, full-time equivalent) 14. Number of undergraduate majors in the unit, by sequence and total (if the unit has pre-major students, list them as a single total): NAME OF SEQUENCE OR UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS SPECIALTY (POST-CENSUS FALL 2015) News 91 Public Relations 161 Undeclared option 0 TOTAL 252 DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM & PR, CSU–CHICO PAGE 5 15. Number of students in each section of all skills courses (newswriting, reporting, editing, photography, advertising copy, broadcast news, public relations writing, etc.). List enrollment by section for the term during which the visit will occur and the preceding term. Attach separate pages if necessary. Include a separate list for online skills courses, which also must meet the 20-1 ratio. (*The Council has ruled that campaigns courses are exempt from the 20-1 ratio.) CLASS FALL 2015 SPRING 2016 J260 Writing for Mass Media Section 1 19 20 Section 2 20 20 Section 3 17 Not offered J321 Public Affairs Reporting 17 20 J325 Magazine Writing 20 20 J327 News Editing 20 20 Section 1 Section 2 Not offered 20 J341 Writing for PR 20 Section 1 17 Section 2 18 20 J351 PR Publications 19 20 J353 Photojournalism 20 18 Section 1 Section 2 19 Not offered J451 Digital Media Innovation 20 20 J453 Advanced photojournalism Not offered 20 16. Total expenditures planned by the unit for the 2015–2016