2/17/00
AUBURN JOURNALISM CLEARS FIRST REACCREDITATION HURDLE
AUBURN -- Auburn University's Department of Journalism is in compliance with 12 standards of excellence in journalism teaching, the first step in obtaining reaccreditation from the National Council of Journalism and Mass Communications.
The department has been notified of the high rating following an on-site review team visit earlier in the year, said Jack Simms, interim head of the Department of Journalism.
"This report is tantamount to getting reaccreditation," he said. "It is certainly important for Auburn to be accredited because it keeps our department in high standing, both for our students and faculty.
"It opens doors for our students because they can say the program is among the elite in education journalism. We would hope that accreditation means better qualified students to go into the marketplace and compete for the top jobs."
The on-site review team, headed by Richard Cole, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also noted seven strengths of the department, including "a dedicated, hard-working, committed faculty with strong professional credentials; outstanding classroom teaching throughout the department and strong relations with alumni who are dedicated and loyal to the department."
The team also noted "very good ties with the profession and with the Alabama Press Association; a remarkable 100 percent placement record of graduates; and a excellent internship program and excellent working relationship with the award-winning student newspaper on campus, The Auburn Plainsman."
In addition, the on-site team said the department "fulfills it's two-fold mission excellently: 'to guide students toward an understanding of the role of journalism in a free, diverse society, and to educate students in the basic skills and ethical principles essential to clear communication.'"
Other team members were Jo-Ann Albers, director of the Department of Journalism and Broadcast at Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green, and Mark Trahant, a columnist for the Seattle Times .
The 12 standards for excellence include governance and administration, budget, curriculum, student records and advising, instruction, faculty, internship and work experience, equipment and facilities, faculty scholarship, public service, graduates and alumni and minority and female representation.
The team's report will be submitted in March to the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. If accepted, the committee's report will be forwarded to the National Council on Journalism and Mass Communication for final reaccreditation vote.
The department won its first full accreditation in 1995, the first time it had sought such distinction.
Of the 400 academic programs which offer majors in journalism or mass communications in the United States, only 110 are accredited.
AU's Department of Journalism was founded in 1974 but journalism classes and programs have been taught at AU since 1919. The department has seven faculty and 127 majors.
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CONTACT: Simms, 334/844-4607.