Communication Arts Third Year Review Written Report

Evaluation Rubric

Assessment contact person, and person preparing the report, (if different): Julie Allee

Attach 2005 and 2006 annual reports –

Attach an updated departmental assessment plan –

Describe any changes to the program’s educational goals since the last Third Year Review, and the rationale for those changes.
There were no changes to the program’s educational goals since the last Third Year Review.

Describe any assessment techniques used for measuring the Educational Goals that have been added or discontinued since the last Third Year Review, and the rationale for those changes
Distribution of Surveys – Alumni and Senior
This year the Area received an Assessment Grant in order to help pay for the printing and mailing of Alumni and Senior surveys.  Data from these surveys is to be collected later this semester with tabulation of the data to continue through Fall 2007.  Although the Alumni and Senior Student surveys have been part of the Area’s Assessment Plan for some time, due to logistical difficulties, they have not yet been done.

School-Wide Assessment Techniques
Currently, all courses in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts require faculty to administer instructor/course evaluation forms.  These forms include questions which elicit both quantitative and qualitative data that help instructors better improve both their classes and their teaching techniques.  In Fall 2006, faculty were able to select an evaluation form appropriate to their class from those provided by the School of the Arts.  

Attach any assessment instruments that have been used during the past three years, and the data collected, (or, summarized data, if that is more appropriate.)
SPCH-S400 serves as the capstone course for Speech Communication majors.  This course allows students to apply different communication theories (qualitative and quantitative), to a  student’s personal and professional life, develop, research and produce a theory of communication, resulting in a piece of scholarly research suitable for publication, and prepare students for either professional career or graduate school in a communication-related discipline.  Although there is no assessment instrument to present, and the data gained through this process cannot be summarized sufficiently here, instructor experience with student knowledge and application of that knowledge informs decisions informally through discussion at monthly Communication Arts faculty meetings. 

Communication Arts also uses Internships to assess student learning.  Currently, assessing the intern is dependent on two criteria:  the coordinator-student interaction throughout the semester and the communication between the coordinator and the interning agency.  The interning agency is consulted in the grade of the Intern both mid-semester and at the end of the Internship.  Through interaction with the student and the interning agency, the coordinator is able to gain an understanding of student ability.  In the past three years, evaluation of students by interning agencies has been very good overall.  Most supervisors have made comments that students were successful in their positions and were well prepared by their classes for the Internship.

Some of the companies that have offered internships to our Communication Arts students are REAL Services, FOX 28 Television, WNIT - Channel 34 PBS, WHME - Channel 46 LeSea Broadcasting, Big Idea Company, Family and Children’s Center, and the South Bend Tribune.  The majority of these internships are aimed at Mass Communication, though some opportunities for Public Relations students have been offered as well.  Each semester four internship positions are offered at the South Bend Tribune, one of our most common internship opportunities.  Duties of individual interns are built related to the student's talents and preferences in consultation with the interning agency.
 
The Senior and Alumni Surveys will be sent this semester.  As such, no data is currently available.  See Appendix C

The Upper Divisional Process is completed each semester by the Area faculty.  When assessing students’ performance for formal acceptance into the program, in the recent past we have either accepted each student or chose to rehear the student at a later date.  The decision to rehear has been due to a lack of sufficient classes taken in the major or because the student recently transferred to Communication Arts and has not taken enough classes for the faculty to make an informed decision about their ability to succeed in the major.

Instructor/Course evaluations are given to individual faculty members and thus no summarized data is available, though the feedback provided by students both on course evaluations as well as through advising does inform the Area’s curriculum.  See Appendix D

What analysis has been done with this data?  What conclusions has your department drawn?

In feedback from students through the advising process, it was clear that classes that have failed to meet a minimum enrollment requirement but that were required for majors (TEL-T337 Video Field Production and SPCH-S421 Speech Criticism) were causing Degree Modification Requests to be made so that students could graduate in a timely manner.  The faculty in Communication Arts believe that it is in the best interest of the program to limit changes to the curriculum as much as possible. 

In evaluating the Upper Divisional Process, it became clear that several students were not making advising appointments and as a result were reaching Senior status without having taken the courses necessary to graduate.  The School of the Arts and the area of Communication Arts have concluded that this is a problem that is rectifiable.

Faculty members analyze their own student evaluations of courses.  From discussion based in part on these evaluations, on feedback from students in advising, and from practicing professionals in the fields of Journalism and Public Relations, the Communication Arts faculty agreed that our degree programs needed to be revised and updated. 

What changes have been made to the program as a result? (Curriculum, classes offered, classes discontinued, scheduling, advising, faculty education etc. . .)    

Both TEL-T337 Video Field Production and SPCH-S421 Speech Criticism have been eliminated from the list of required classes. Students now take an additional Communication Arts elective in place of the required class.

Since several students were approaching graduation without having taken courses needed or scheduled for the next year, the School of the Arts has made advising mandatory for all students in the School of the Arts.  A hold is placed on the students’ registration and is removed only after having met with an advisor.  This insures that all students are being advised and prevents the majority of problems leading to Degree Modification Requests.

In order to provide a more coherent and competitive program, Communication Arts has proposed changes to the curriculum for our majors. These changes have been accepted and will be standard beginning Spring 2008.  With the adoption of the new curriculum, several new classes are going to be offered. 

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies (42 credit hours)
(This degree is the former Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication.)  All Communication Studies majors take a core set of courses (12 credit hours) and then select a track (area of concentration) to specialize in (30 credit hours):

Core Courses:
JOUR    C200     Introduction to Mass Communication
SPCH   S205     Introduction to Speech Communication
SPCH   S324     Persuasion
SPCH   S427     Cross Cultural Communication

Organizational Communication:
SPCH   S122     Interpersonal Communication
SPCH   S223     Business and Professional Communication
SPCH   S229     Discussion and Group Methods
SPCH   S321     Rhetoric and Modern Discourse
SPCH   S322     Advanced Interpersonal Communication
SPCH   S380     Nonverbal Communication
SPCH   S440     Organizational Communication
SPCH   S400     Senior Seminar in Speech Communication or
SPCH   S405     Human Communication Theory
2 Communication Electives (at least one must be from courses offered in Journalism or Telecommunications)

Public Relations:
JOUR    J200     Reporting, Writing, and Editing
JOUR    J210     Visual Communication
JOUR    J319     Introduction to Public Relations
JOUR    J390     Public Relations Writing (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
JOUR    J428     Public Relations Planning and Research
JOUR    J429     Public Relations Campaigns (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
SPCH   S223     Business and Professional Communication
SPCH   S400     Senior Seminar in Speech Communication or
SPCH   S405     Human Communication Theory
SPCH   S440     Organizational Communication
1 Communication Elective

Rhetorical Studies:
JOUR    J210     Visual Communication
TEL      R401     Social Action Via Mass Media (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
SPCH   S228     Argumentation and Advocacy
SPCH   S304     Communication and Social Conflict (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
SPCH   S321     Rhetoric and Modern Discourse
SPCH   S400     Senior Seminar in Speech Communication or
SPCH   S405     Human Communication Theory
SPCH   S444     Political Communication
SPCH   S450     Gender Communication
2 Communication Electives (at least one course must be from courses offered in Journalism or Telecommunications)

Bachelor of Arts in Media Communication (42 credit hours)
(This degree is the former Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication.)  All Media Communication majors take a core set of courses (18 credit hours) and then select a track (area of concentration) to specialize in (24 credit hours):

Core Courses:
JOUR    C200     Introduction to Mass Communication
JOUR    J200     Reporting, Writing, and Editing
JOUR    J300     Communication Law
JOUR    J410     Mass Media as Social Institution
SPCH   S205     Introduction to Speech Communication
TEL      T273     Media Program and Design

Electronic Media:
JOUR    J210     Visual Communication
TEL      R404     Topical Seminar in Telecommunications
TEL      T283     Introduction to Production Techniques and Practices
TEL      T336     Digital Video Production
TEL      T430     Topical Seminar in Design and Production
TEL      T434     Advanced Production Workshop
2 Communication Electives

Journalism:
JOUR    C201     Special Topics in Journalism
JOUR    J341     Newspaper Reporting
JOUR    J351     Newspaper Editing
JOUR    J401     Depth Reporting and Editing
JOUR    J413     Magazine Article Writing (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
JOUR    J405     Public Affairs Reporting (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
2 Communication Electives

Media Studies:
JOUR    J375     Race, Gender, and the Media (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
TEL      R401     Social Action Via Mass Media (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
TEL      R404     Topical Seminar in Telecommunications
TEL      T202     Globalization and the Media (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
TEL      T312     Politics in the Media (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
TEL      T416     Program Analysis and Criticism (to be adopted from Bloomington’s campus)
2 Communication Electives

Associate of Arts With a Concentration in Communication Arts (21 credit hours)
The following courses are taken from the three areas:  journalism, speech, and telecommunications.

JOUR    C200     Introduction to Mass Communication
JOUR    J200     Reporting, Writing, and Editing
SPCH   S122     Interpersonal Communication
SPCH   S205     Introduction to Speech Communication
SPCH   S223     Business and Professional Communication
TEL      T273     Media Program and Design
1 Communication Elective (300-level or above)

Minor in Communication Studies (15 credit hours)
JOUR    C200     Introduction to Mass Communication
SPCH   S122     Interpersonal Communication
SPCH   S205     Introduction to Speech Communication
SPCH   S321     Rhetoric and Modern Discourse
1 Communication Elective (300 level or above)

Minor in Media Communication (15 credit hours)
JOUR    C200     Introduction to Mass Communication
JOUR    J200     Reporting, Writing, and Editing
JOUR    J410     Mass Media as Social Institution
SPCH   S205     Introduction to Speech Communication
1 Communication Elective (300 level or above)

Minor in Interpersonal Communication (15 credit hours)
SPCH S122       Interpersonal Communication
SPCH S205       Introduction to Speech Communication
9 hours from the following:
SPCH S229       Discussion and Group Methods
SPCH S322       Advanced Interpersonal Communication
SPCH S380       Nonverbal Communication
SPCH S427       Cross Cultural Communication
SPCH S450       Gender Communication

How did assessment data and analysis support these changes? 
Student feedback, though advising, course evaluations, and discussions both inside and outside of class, have suggested that these changes are warranted. In addition, consultation with practicing industry professionals suggests that our curriculum will be more applicable and practical after the new curriculum is in place.
 
What changes does the department plan to make in the coming years to the program and to assessment techniques, and why?
The Communication faculty have agreed on the use of portfolios as a way to improve student assessment as part of the Upper Divisional process present in the School of the Arts.  After the initial criteria have been met, students will present a portfolio of work to the faculty for review.  In preparing this portfolio, the student will work with his/her academic advisor to determine the appropriate contents.  Because each track within the degree programs is unique, any additional requirements must be track-specific and will be determined in consultation with the student’s advisor.

With the future availability of Oncourse CL to our students, the use of ePortfolio, electronic portfolio software which is part of Oncourse CL will make this conversion possible.  This software will allow students to upload files, saved in a variety of formats used by Communication Arts students, into a matrix of learning goals set up by the Communication Arts faculty.  The faculty can then provide feedback on each document as well as indicate whether the learning goal has been reached or is still in progress.  Though Communication Arts originally planned to implement the use of ePortfolios in Fall 2007, the software allowing us to do so has not yet become available.  Due to the great cost of an additional software program capable of handling a similar task, Communication Arts believes it is reasonable to wait until Oncourse CL and ePortfolio are available at no additional cost to the Area, School of the Arts, or University.

How were faculty, students, administration, alumni and other groups involved in assessment?
The following are different ways Communication Arts has integrated students into their assessment activities or recognize their achievements as valuable members to the curriculum:

• Communication Arts has modified and revised the curriculum, in part due to feedback given by students to the program.  Students are consulted on an informal basis through advising, and formally through course evaluations.
• Each year, the Area recognizes a major who exemplifies the characteristics and qualities of an exemplary student and presents them with an award at the Arts Excellence Awards.  Students are nominated and voted on by the faculty.  This year the faculty have decided that two awards should be given; one award for Mass Communication and one award for Speech Communication. 

How were assessment data and results shared with faculty, students, administration and alumni?
Assessment information, including Annual Reports, are saved on the shared School of the Arts (H) drive to be accessible to all faculty in Communication Arts and the School of the Arts in general.  Communication Arts does not have a website due to technical issues according to the Associate Dean of Production in the School of the Arts.  The Area hopes to have a website capable of making information available to the Alumni and general public when the issues have been resolved.  At this time we are unsure when the issues involving our website will be resolved.

Communication Arts has developed a “newsletter” that is distributed each semester by faculty in classes and is available near the Communication Arts faculty offices for students to pick up.  This newsletter, developed by Alec Hosterman each semester, contains information about the program, classes that will be offered in the coming semesters, information about faculty members, and other short articles or reminders we feel are of value to Communication Arts students.  The newsletter is distributed around the time of advising and also serves to highlight the importance of advising. 

In one paragraph, please summarize the most important impacts of the assessment of student learning on the program.
The most evident change has been to the curriculum in Communication Arts.  Driven by a desire to offer students a competitive degree program consistent with similar programs at other institutions, as well as a degree program that is practical for the students and is well supported by future employers, the Communication Arts faculty has revised the degrees offered as well as the courses required for each concentration offered.  

Is there any other information that you would like included in this report?
The following information provides the number of active majors in both Mass and Speech Communication since 2004.  These numbers include both pre-arts and declared majors.

Graduates in the Field: Available form the Communications office

Appendix C – Senior and Alumni Surveys
Senior Survey

Name (optional):                                                                                                                     

Degree:                                                                        Track:  _                                                          

1.  From the time you entered the department until now, did the program meet your expectations? 

            If yes, then how?

            If not, then what items were not addressed?

2.  How many semesters (or years) have you been a major in Communication Arts?

3.  If applicable, what major were you prior to being in Communication Arts?

4.  If applicable, where did you transfer in from prior to IU South Bend?

5. How many semesters (or years) did it take for you to complete your degree?

6.  Have you thought about attending graduate school after completing your degree at IUSB?

            Yes                              No                   

            If yes, then where are you going to?

            If no, then why not?

7.  What will you be doing once you have graduated from IUSB?

8.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest), how would you rate the             faculty in the Communication Arts department?

9.  Did the faculty further your academic appreciation of the discipline?  If so, how?

10.  What could the Communication Arts faculty do better in helping students?

11.  What are some strengths and weaknesses of the Communication Arts department?

12.  Do you have any overall suggestions for the department?

Alumni Survey
Name:________________________________             Phone Number:  (_____)_____________            
Address:______________________________             Email Address: ___________________
_____________________________________
Current Job Title:__________________________________________________
Current employer:__________________________________________________
Work Address:____________________________________________________
Work Phone: (_____)_______________________________________________

Year of Graduation:_________________                         Major:___________________________
Concentration:____________________                         Minor:___________________________

Since graduation, have you enrolled in any graduate programs? _____Yes _____No
If yes, what program/School__________________________________________
What is your progress to date?________________________________________

If currently employed, how often do you use the skills and knowledge learned in your degree program?
Every Day                                                                                                                              Never
1                      2                      3                      4                      5                      6                      7

In general, how do you rate the quality of faculty advising that you received in your major?
Excellent                                                                                                                                 Poor
1                      2                      3                      4                      5                      6                      7

How would you rate the School’s reputation in your field for graduating well-prepared students?
Excellent                                                                                                                                 Poor
1                      2                      3                      4                      5                      6                      7

How much would you agree with the following statement: “The Communication Arts department at Indiana University South Bend has an outstanding faculty and curriculum.”
Strongly Agree                                                                                                                      Strongly Disagree
1                      2                      3                      4                      5                      6                      7

How much would you agree with the following statement: “I would recommend Communication Arts at Indiana University South Bend to a prospective student.”
Strongly Agree                                                                                                                      Strongly Disagree
1                      2                      3                      4                      5                      6                      7

How has your degree from Indiana University South Bend helped or hindered in manifesting your career goals?

Describe how you have used your degree in your career (please give examples).

What is your general assessment regarding the quality of instruction you received in the Communication Arts at Indiana University South Bend?

What and suggestions do you have for further developing the program from which you graduated in order to better serve the current and future student population?

Do you have any other comments about the quality of your education in Communication Arts or at Indiana University South Bend in general?

Appendix D – Course Evaluation Forms Available for Selection

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