II. Standard 3: Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Executive summary:

The College of Journalism and Mass Communications has undertaken assessment of student learning on a regular basis. In recent years, UNL has provided more and more data and reporting through Tableau. As a result, reports are shared and analyzed more often. The college’s emphasis on documenting teaching effectiveness and student learning is rooted in the university’s focus on outcomes assessment in its general education program called “Achievement-Centered Education” (ACE). The college’s written assessment plan centers on the measurement and constant improvement of 10 learning objectives, including ACEJMC’s Professional Values and Competencies as well as several of the university’s ACE general education student learning outcomes. The plan has evolved over recent years due to changes in administration, faculty and staff and the extra demands on the college due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The college continues using direct and indirect assessment measures at the course, program, college and university levels and involves faculty and students, as well as alumni and professionals, in its assessment efforts. Assessment reports are shared with the faculty, who respond to the results by adjusting the curriculum, if necessary. Data and analysis are shared at the college’s fall retreat. That information is then used throughout the year to inform curricular decisions. The plan includes two direct measures (a pre- and post-test of the ACEJMC student learning outcomes, known locally as the Berens Test, and an examination of student capstone products) and four indirect measures (internship evaluation, senior exit survey, alumni survey and professional panel survey and discussion).

Since the last self-study, assessment efforts have resulted in several updates to the curriculum. Most notable is the new sports media and communication (SPMC) major. Now the fastest-growing major in the college, the program has positively impacted all the majors in the college. The process of developing the SPMC major created the opportunity for the college curriculum committee to align the structure of requirements for all majors to improve student success and the efficiency of college resources.

Closing the loop from the 2017-2018 assessment, a writing course is now required for all majors, revamped courses now infuse more data and research and new course offerings examine DEI issues in media. The journalism and broadcast news majors are more closely aligned while the broadcasting production track became broadcast media production to focus more on content creation and production for formats beyond TV and radio. A broadcasting minor was also introduced to attract students from across campus and help meet enrollment minimums so students can make progress towards their degree. These efforts set the foundation for expansion in the broadcasting space while utilizing existing resources and courses within the college.

Recent changes to the curriculum were based on assessment results from the five measures that informed supplemental reviews of specific areas to enhance student learning. Among them is the addition of new required courses in writing, social justice, data and research and professional development to address gaps in the curriculum; continued alignment of journalism and broadcast news; updates to the broadcast media production track; a new, state-of-the-art TV studio; a renovated space to house the Experience Lab and Jacht, the student-led advertising and public relations agency, at the Children’s Museum, and the Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab for producing sports media; and cutting-edge courses in AI, esports, social media, media production, sports betting and crisis response.

1. Provide a web link to the unit’s written plan for assessment of student learning outcomes. This plan must include the dates of its adoption and of implementation of its components.

CoJMC Assessment Plan

2. Provide the unit’s definition of goals for learning that students must achieve. If this definition is incorporated into the plan for assessment, a page reference will suffice.

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications requires that, irrespective of their particular specialization, all graduates should demonstrate the achievement of 10 core values and competencies. In addition, the University of Nebraska- Lincoln requires all students, regardless of major, to complete 30 hours of general education courses in its “Achievement-Centered Education” (ACE) program. The program consists of 10 student learning outcomes (three credit hours each) that were developed to help students of every major develop skills, build knowledge, exercise social responsibility and integrate and apply those capabilities.

Please see the college’s assessment plan for a list of these student learning outcomes and list of learning indicators for each. 

3. Describe the collection and reporting of data from both direct and indirect assessment measures and how the unit used its analysis of the data to improve curriculum, instruction, etc. Provide end-of-year assessment reports. If there are multiple reports from the review period, summarize the findings and make the reports available in a separate digital file.

The college utilizes six measures, two direct and four indirect, to assess student learning outcomes. The college developed its assessment plan in the spring of 2013 and implemented the plan beginning in the fall of 2014.

The measures are:

• Direct Measures
• Berens Test (a freshman pre-test and senior post-test)
• Capstone Product Review
• Indirect Measures
• Senior Exit Survey
• Internship Employer Survey
• Alumni Survey
• Industry Professional Survey and Review (added in the spring of 2023).

The timing of data collection included in the original assessment plan was amended in 2018 due to a leadership transition in the college. The timeline was amended again in 2021 due to a second leadership transition and disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the spring of 2023, the college added a fourth indirect measure, the industry professional survey and review, that was not included in the original plan to increase alumni and professional involvement in assessment.

The college collects and analyzes assessment data according to the schedule outlined in the assessment plan. Reports on the analysis’ findings are discussed at the college’s fall retreat, which is held each year in August.

The retreat discussion is used as a starting point for major and committee agendas for the year to ensure that the assessment informs discussions and decisions. The college also regularly publishes analysis from the measures and actions by the college’s committees in the Monday Morning Memo, which supplements the fall retreat discussions.

What follows is a summary of the collection and an analysis of the most recent data from two direct and four indirect assessment measures at the program level during the accrediting cycle. Each section explains how the college used key insights from the data to improve the curriculum and instruction.

Direct measure #1: The Berens Test

The Berens Test (named after former associate dean Charlyne Berens) was developed with models provided by other accredited programs, revised by faculty and approved by the college’s executive committee in the spring of 2013. Revisions to the administration of the Berens test since the last site visit have moved away from a cohort-based approach. This shift was the result of logistical challenges with data collection. In the fall of 2020, the college began administering the Berens pre and post-tests each semester. The pre-test is administered to all incoming first-year students and transfer students in JOMC 100 First Year Experience. The post-test is administered in a zero-credit hour JOMC 098 Senor Assessment course that is required for all graduating seniors.

The purpose of the Berens tests is to determine (1) whether the outgoing/graduating seniors group answered a larger proportion of the questions correctly than the first-year student group and (2) to establish a reasonable benchmark for graduating students’ achievements in the different areas.

The test asked students to answer 49 multiple-choice questions grouped into the professional values and competencies required by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The number of questions in each group of competencies ranged from four to five. The results below summarize the findings of the Berens tests since 2020. The percentage of questions answered correctly was computed. Each student group’s percentage of correct responses in each competency category was also computed.

Results

The results show that the cohort of seniors graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln scored significantly higher in all 11 groups of questions compared to the freshman.

Between the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2023, the overall percentage of questions answered correctly by first-year students is 54.0%, whereas seniors score 65.9%. This has been consistent each semester the test has been administered. Scores for first-year students have been trending slightly downward, potentially due to the residual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduating senior scores have trended upward, with a high of 66.3% in the spring of 2023.

Overall, the percent of questions answered correctly by freshmen ranged from a low of 44.6 percent in the “Understanding data and statistics” category to a high of 76.3 percent in “Ethical ways of thinking.” The percent of questions answered correctly by graduating seniors ranged from a low of 51.3 percent in the “Understanding data and statistics” category to a high of 86.1 percent in “Ethical ways of thinking.”

When analyzing the percent of change between the two cohorts, graduating seniors showed the largest percentage increase in the “Truth, accuracy and fairness” group of questions (38.8 percent difference between the first-year and senior cohort), followed by the “Freedom of expression” group of questions (26.7 percent difference), the “Engage in research and critical evaluation” (23.4 percent difference), and the “Diversity of audiences in a global age” set of questions (22.5 percent difference).

Two areas saw the lowest increase between the first-year and senior cohorts. Seniors increased in the “History and role of media in society” group of questions (9.6 percent difference) and the “Think creatively and analytically” group of questions (9.9 percent difference). The “Ethical ways for thinking” group of questions (12.8 percent difference) and the “Apply theories in presenting images and information” group of questions (12.5 percent difference) also had modest increases between groups.

Competency Area	% of Questions Answered Correctly (First-year)	% of Questions Answered Correctly (Seniors)	% Difference
Truth, accuracy and fairness (Q=5)	45.9%	63.7%	+38.8%
Freedom of expression (Q=5)	45.0%	57.0%	+26.7%
Ethical ways of thinking (Q=4)	76.3%	86.1%	+12.8%
History and role of media in society (Q=5)	60.8%	66.6%	+9.6%
Diversity of audiences in a global age (Q=4)	56.3%	69.0%	+22.5%
Write clearly and accurately (Q=5)	47.2%	54.5%	+15.5%
Use the tools of technology (Q=5)	53.7%	65.5%	+21.9%
Apply theories in presenting images and information (Q=4)	54.5%	61.3%	+12.5%
Engage in research and critical evaluation (Q=5)	46.7%	57.6%	+23.4%
Understand data and statistics (Q=4)	44.6%	51.3%	+15.0%
Think creatively and analytically (Q=4)	68.7%	75.4%	+9.9%

Key take-aways:

• Graduating seniors struggle most with understanding data and statistics, writing clearly and accurately, freedom of expression and engaging in research and critical evaluation.
• First-year students enter the program with a strong understanding of ethical ways of thinking but lack experience with understanding data and statistics and engaging in research and critical evaluation.

Actions:

Required core writing course for all majors, JOUR 200a Fundamentals of Editing and Reporting I

In 2018 a faculty task force was established to evaluate the college’s writing requirements and recommend improvements. The task force recommended creating a college-wide required writing course at the 200 level and the establishment of a follow-up writing course specific to each major. The college-wide course was based on an existing course only required for journalism majors.

The college faculty approved the requirement that all majors complete JOUR 200a Fundamentals of Editing and Reporting I on Oct. 19, 2018. A follow-up major-specific writing course already existed for all majors except broadcast majors specializing in media production. The faculty approved a requirement that all broadcast majors specializing in media production complete BRDC 260 Writing and Content Development of Media on Feb. 5, 2019.

In 2021, the college’s curriculum committee reviewed the success of these changes and made additional recommendations for improvement. As a result of these recommendations, the faculty adjusted the course to require reflection assignments on diversity in media writing and takes an exploratory approach to writing across disciplines in the college while being grounded in journalistic values and ethical decision-making.

Research courses for each major

Student deficiencies in understanding research, data and statistics were discussed during the strategic planning process in 2020-2021, and a goal to add a research requirement for all majors was included in the strategic plan approved in May 2021.

The recent results of the Berens test provided additional data to support a curriculum change. To address this deficiency, the college created new major-specific research courses during 2021-2022 and approved them in 2022-2023. The sports media and communication major, launched in 2017, already included a required data course, SPMC 350 Sports Data Visualization and Analytics and an advanced elective course, SPMC 460 Advanced Sports Data Analysis (approved by the faculty on Nov. 20, 2020). ADPR 381: Applied Research in Advertising and Public Relations was approved by the faculty as a requirement for all advertising and public relations majors on Oct. 14, 2022. On Dec. 9, 2022, the college faculty approved a requirement that journalism and broadcasting students specializing in news complete both JOUR 107 Information Gathering and JOUR 307 Data Journalism and that broadcasting students specializing in media production complete either SPMC 350 Sports Data Visualization and Analytics, ADPR 381: Applied Research in Advertising and Public Relations or JOUR 307 Data Journalism. These requirements will go into effect beginning in the fall of 2023.

Emphasis on infusing data into curriculum

To further infuse data into the curriculum and ensure students have sufficient learning opportunities the college has taken several steps.

On Feb. 5, 2019, the college faculty approved changes to the math requirement for students to ensure they complete a statistics course. As a result of this change, students must complete one of the following options: STAT 218 Intro to Statistics, CRIM 300 Applied Statistics and Data Processing in the Public Sector, ECON 215 Statistics or SOCI 206 Introduction to Social Statistics.

ADPR faculty were particularly concerned about the lack of reseearch preparation for students moving into the capstone campaign class. In 2019, the faculty revamped the content of an existing required course in advertising and public relations. ADPR 283 Advertising and Public Relations Strategy was updated to include more course content related to research and data in strategy development. These changes provide a foundation for the new requirement of ADPR 381 mentioned above. In addition, Worick Visiting Professional Diane Krajicek created a research kit for ADPR students to use in their capstone campaigns courses. It is used as a refresher of the research process to guide them in the research and strategy phases of their campaigns.

Upper-level elective special topics courses focusing on data and data analysis were also piloted. These courses complement a long-existing course ADPR 434 Digital Insights and Analytics. They include:

• ADPR 491 Special Topics: Data for Media Professionals
• ADPR 491 Special Topics: Social Media Data Mining

Special topics courses are offered on a trial basis to provide faculty members with the opportunity to experiment with new curriculum. They may be offered up to three times before being evaluated by the college’s curriculum committee and full faculty for a permanent course number. The curriculum committee will consider both of the special topics’ courses listed above in 2023-2024.

A recent evolution of the Social Media Listening and Strategy Center, highlighted in the last site team visit, is the development of the Public Insight Lab and its inclusion in the course curriculum. Classes, including ADPR 283 Advertising and Public Relations Strategy, ADPR 434 Digital Insights and Analytics and the National Student Advertising Competition team, employ data from this program for research and audience analysis.

Media literacy and history

In 2021-2022, Professors of Practice Matt Waite and Kelli Britten redesigned our introductory course JOMC 101 Principles of Mass Media, to introduce current events and issues in media. They compressed the history and issues into one week for each industry – newspapers, radio, television, advertising, public relations and media studies. Then, after the foundations were set, additional lectures were added on economics of modern media and how consolidation and the internet have affected each industry based on their history. Additional lectures have been added on the following topics:

• Ad tech’s effect on both the advertising side and the media side of industry
• Social media’s impact on how people receive information and how various actors are preying on cognitive biases to spread messages
• Impact of social media influencers
• How mis and disinformation on social media has affected democracy
• Media-driven moral panics
• Fake news and media credibility

Diversity and Inclusion

Even though diversity scores improved by 22.5% between freshmen and seniors, the college faculty approved JOMC 222 Social Justice, Human Rights and the Media as a required course for all majors on Nov. 12, 2021, to ensure students across the college have a foundational understanding of DEI.

As part of the college diversity plan (discussed in Standard 4), elective courses that incorporate DEI issues in media also continue to be developed and offered.

Direct measure #2: ACE 10 Capstone Courses

The college offers multiple capstone courses in each of the four majors. In advertising and public relations, the capstones include work at Jacht, the student-run advertising and public relations agency; participation in ADPR Campaigns or in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) or the Bateman Competition. In journalism and broadcast news, the capstone is the News Lab where students contribute to the Nebraska News Service wire service. In broadcasting media production, capstones include News Lab or joining the multimedia team at Jacht. In sports media and communication, there are two versions of the capstone, one producing content for Unlimited Sports on the Nebraska News Service website and the other a sports promotion campaign with a client. All capstones in the college are ACE 10 certified, which satisfies both UNL’s ACE 10 requirement and the college’s major capstone requirement.

At the end of the spring 2021 semester, instructors of record of the capstone courses reviewed and discussed capstone products. This was in conjunction with the ACE 10 review conducted at the university level. The assessment reviewed capstones with the following criteria:

• Extent to which students are mastering a breadth and depth of knowledge in your field?
• Extent to which students are attaining technical proficiency appropriate to your field?
• Extent to which students are able to collect, synthesize and interpret information relevant to your field?
• Ability of your students to present their work?
• How have your students meaningfully reflected on the learning outcomes relevant to your field or on their experiences?
• If students aren't acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge expected of students in your field, what has been developed or changed to improve student outcomes?

Key take-aways from the capstone assessment:

Advertising and Public Relations

• Importance of teamwork: products showed strong evidence of successful team campaigns.
• Individually for students: the strategic planning process and research process is a weak spot. Faculty do a lot of work guiding and coaching students through these steps.
• Industry review: all courses benefit from professional communication with clients. However, Jacht and competition teams benefit greatly from industry partners and advisers to give feedback and encourage revisions throughout the semester.

Journalism and Broadcast News

• Individually, students create a portfolio of work throughout the semester by developing stories published on the Nebraska News Services website.
• Students struggle with the difference between an assignment submission vs. a published piece of work. As a result, all the work goes through multiple rounds of drafts, so the product is revised from faculty input. There is a need to develop a common expectation across all majors for what is publishable content.
• Synthesis is the hardest part for students. They get the idea and collect the interviews and data well. However, they struggle when trying to develop a story from data and information that already exists. Specifically, distilling and translating data and interviews into a story is a challenge. Students tend to develop the story idea before they talk with people, instead of developing the story from the information they collect.
• News Lab was first offered during the fall 2019 semester and continues to evolve with students producing content in multiple formats on the website.

Broadcast Media Production

• Jacht provides valuable experience working with clients on production projects and has created award-winning productions. However, managing client expectations is the biggest gap. The media production students need more coaching on presenting their work and understanding professionalism with a client.
• The News Lab continues to evolve to provide media production students opportunities to build their portfolios through flexible and relevant productions, including multimedia, video, audio and studio work. Notably, faculty have approved a name change to Media Capstone. Media production students have struggled to develop the stories required for the course, which has created frustration for both the students and faculty. The Experience Labs, Nebraska Nightly and KRNU, along with the new TV Studio, have created opportunities to collaborate and build on experiences as part of the News Lab capstone experience.

Sports Media and Communication

• As a new major in 2017, continued assessment is needed as more students are taking the SPMC capstones.
• The two options, sports news and sports promotion have distinct learning outcomes and students need to understand which version they are registering for each semester.
• Sports promotion continues to be a challenge for most SPMC students who haven’t taken ADPR courses. For many of the SPMC students it maybe be the first time hearing these concepts.

Actions:

Advertising and Public Relations

• ADPR 429: In 2019-2020 Jacht has added training, structure, rubrics, research and time tracking to improve professionalism and client interaction. Faculty also built out a central hub of documents and information in Canvas. Students participate in a robust onboarding process to prepare them for the semester with designated roles and expectations. Additionally, in 2019 Jacht added DEI leadership roles to advance Jacht’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• ADPR 439: Competitions are selective programs in which student teams put their skills to the test. The National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team works with a national client each year. Six out of the past 10 years, the NSAC team has come home with the district trophy and placed in the top ranks at nationals. The CoJMC Bateman Case Competition teams have earned top-3, top-16 and top-20 national finishes in the college’s seven years of competing. In 2022, the team won first place in the national competition.
• All capstones share resources, including worksheets and tools to aid in brainstorming, research, critique, etc. Team building, bootcamp and reflections are gold standards of the capstone courses.

Journalism and Broadcast News

• As noted above, faculty approved a requirement that journalism and broadcast news majors complete JOUR 107 Information Gathering to help students work with data and gather information to inform their stories. At the same time, they approved JOUR 307 Data Journalism to address issues translating data. Reflection, sharing and portfolio development are also now included in the course. Faculty are reexamining the learning outcomes in the 300-level electives to ensure students are prepared for expectations in the capstones.

Broadcast Media Production

• Approved as a capstone option for broadcast media production students on Feb. 15, 2019, BRDC 429 Jacht Multimedia includes preproduction training to focus on storytelling, storyboarding, scripts, interview protocols, etc. Students also conduct research to understand the strategy and develop ideas before they go out and shoot.
• Faculty are currently working to revamp BRDC 269 Writing and Content Development for Media, which was first approved as a requirement for broadcast media production students on Feb. 5, 2019. The aim of the redesign is to introduce concepts like storytelling, storyboards and scripts earlier in the curriculum. There is also a focus on including more pre- and post-production for video content to build upon skills introduced in the 100-level required communication design courses. Efforts include more pre- and post-production for video content throughout the CoJMC curriculum starting in the JOMC 130 courses.
• BRDC 400 Media Lab, which was first approved as a capstone course for media production students on Oct. 19, 2019, has evolved to include multiple opportunities for media production students, including multimedia projects, podcasts, live broadcasts, explainer videos and traditional formats. Broadcasting faculty are currently considering how this course may be expanded in conjunction with the Experience Lab and the existing course format.

Sports Media and Communication

• Faculty have approved two distinct capstone courses, SPMC 450 Sports Media Capstone as the sports promotion capstone working with a client and SPMC 451 Sports Media Capstone as Unlimited Sports working on content for the Nebraska News Service. Only one capstone, SPMC 450 Sports Media Capstone, was approved with the program’s launch in the fall of 2017. The faculty approved SPMC 451 Sports Media Capstone on May 12, 2023. The establishment of a second capstone course will allow the college to differentiate between students interested in sports journalism and broadcasting and students interested in sports promotion.
• Sports media and communication faculty are also creating an assessment plan for 2023-2024 to review the major after five years. This will influence curriculum development moving forward. The sports promotion capstone has started incorporating resources, materials and assignments to help sports media and communication students understand concepts and expectations for a strategic communications plan. Discussions on addressing sports media and communication student familiarity with strategy and promotional concepts are planned for the major meetings in 2023-2024. A faculty search, specifically in sports promotion, launched in fall 2023.

Writing and Research Skills

As noted above, developing writing skills is an ongoing challenge across all capstones in the college. JOUR 200A Fundamentals of Editing and Reporting I was added as a requirement for all CoJMC majors after the last accreditation cycle. Several requirements and electives have been created in data, analytics, digital content strategy, social media and public relations for students to develop writing skills in areas related to their individual discipline. Working backward from the capstone courses, faculty-approved research courses for each major as a result of this assessment. See Standard 2 for updates to the curriculum.

Portfolio Development

In 2021-2022, the strategic planning committee established a task force to develop a portfolio requirement for all students. The task force comprises the Associate Dean for Academic Programs Adam Wagler, Academic Adviser Anne McConkey, Experience Lab Co-directors Jill Martin and Jemalyn Griffin and Career Development Specialist Natalie Becerra. The task force began with initial plans in 2022-2023 and will submit a proposal for consideration by the faculty in 2023-2024. The proposal envisions that across all majors, students will polish their portfolio using work from their capstone. The college is implementing a required portfolio assignments throughout the majors, beginning in the JOMC 130s. The goal is for every student to have a professional portfolio of work they add to, with the capstone work replacing the weakest work. Each major is finding ways to incorporate this requirement to prepare students for their careers after graduation.

Impact of the Experience Lab

Future semesters will see an evolution in student comfort level working with clients and publishing content online due to earlier hands-on experience and engagement with professionals-in-residence through the Experience Lab. Efforts are ongoing to understand the role capstones play in the curriculum if students are gaining professionally oriented, real-world experience earlier in the curriculum. See Standard 2 for updates to the curriculum.

Indirect measure #1: Internship evaluation

Between spring 2022 and spring 2023, 30 students completed internships for credit. As part of the process, both students and their supervisors were asked to complete an evaluation survey that included an assessment of ACEJMC’s 12 values and competencies.

Students:

All 30 students, some with double majors in the college, completed the survey (18 advertising and public relations, 6 sports media and communication, 4 broadcasting, 2 journalism). Most of the surveys were completed in the fall semester (12), followed by spring semesters (7, 6) then summer 22 (5). Ninety-three percent of the internships were paid. A little over half of the students indicated they worked 300 hours during the evaluation period; 20 percent worked between 200 and 299 hours and 20 percent worked between 100 and 199 hours.

The evaluations showed that all the students rated their overall work experience as “above average” (23.3 percent) or “excellent” (76.7 percent). The majority of the students rated as excellent the relationship of work to their career goals, training received, supervision received, level of assigned responsibilities and abilities used.

Supervisors:

Overall, 22 supervisors completed the form (13 advertising and public relations, 5 sports media and communication, 3 broadcasting, and 3 journalism). Most of the forms were completed in the fall semester (9), followed by summer 22 (5), and spring semester (4 each). Ninety-one percent of the internships were paid, while 9 percent were not. Forty-one percent of supervisors indicated that the students worked 300 hours during the evaluation period, followed by 32 percent of students who worked between 200 and 299 hours, and 23 percent who indicated they worked between 100 and 199 hours.

More than 72 percent of supervisors rated the student interns’ overall work performance as “above average” (9.1 percent) or “excellent” (63.6 percent). More than 86 percent of supervisors indicated they would hire the student again. These findings indicate congruency between the students’ and the supervisors’ attitudes about the internships.

Student learning outcomes:

Students were asked to rate their internship experience in the context of ACEJMC’s values and competencies by indicating the degree to which they believed they could accomplish objectives as a result of the internship (“I can do XXX.”). Supervisors were asked to rate their student intern’s ability to understand or complete the same learning indicators. The competencies were ranked from highest to lowest frequency after combining “always” and “often” for students and supervisors and then averaged.

	Total Answered
Competency Area	Always		Often		Sometimes		Seldom		Rarely		N/A
	ST	SV	ST	SV	ST	SV	ST	SV	ST	SV	ST	SV
Demonstrates respect for colleagues of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds (53).	30	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Practices professional and ethical principles (53).	30	21	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Demonstrates an understanding of the role of the profession in society (53).	28	18	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Presents data, text, and images in a professional manner (53).	26	17	4	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Understands the tools and technology required to get assigned tasks completed (53).	28	18	2	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Solves problems creatively and resourcefully (53).	27	16	3	4	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Writes correctly and clearly (52).	26	15	3	6	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Critically evaluates their own work and others’ to ensure quality work (53).	26	12	4	7	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Demonstrates respect for colleagues from different countries (49).	29	18	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Conducts research and is able to evaluate information (51).	25	12	3	7	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
Understands and applies basic numerical and statistical concepts (49).	21	9	3	9	1	0	0	1	0	0	5	0
Understands and applies First Amendment principles (48).	19	13	5	5	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
* ST: Student | SV: Supervisor

Overall, students rated the frequency with which they used each skill and area of competency higher than their supervisors. When combining the scores for “always” and “often” for each competency, the skill students practiced most in their internship was “demonstrates respect for colleagues of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” followed closely by “practicing ethical principles,” then “demonstrates an understanding of the role of the profession in society,” “presents data, text and images in a professional manner” and “understanding the tools and technology required to get the assigned work completed.” The areas least practiced in internships appear to be “conducts research and is able to evaluate information,” “applying numerical and statistical concepts” and “applying First Amendment principles.”

Actions:

Research and data literacy

The faculty would like to see students practice the application of numerical and statistical concepts more frequently. All four majors have incorporated additional data and research courses. Most recently, each major has developed or decided on a required research/data course to develop student comfort and skills in this area. See Standard 2 for information about these requirement(s) for each major.

JOMC 20 Professional Development

The faculty strongly believe that all students should have at least one internship experience before they graduate. To prepare students better for internships and first-destination full-time employment, the college developed a required zero-credit hour course called JOMC 20 Professional Development in May 2019 that students take during their sophomore year. The purpose of the course is to help students polish their skills to help them compete successfully for internships and jobs. This course continues to evolve to better serve student needs. The college’s career development specialist meets with all students enrolled in JOMC 20 to discuss objectives and meet students where they are to build plans to reach professional development goals.

Portfolio Development

Even though internships are not required, they are highly recommended. Faculty in core classes have added portfolio development assignments to their syllabi. Major meetings have included discussions on how to incorporate elements of portfolio development in elective courses so students continuously add work from classes and internships to their portfolios. These conversations are happening in conjunction with the work of the task force detailed above.

Indirect Measure #2: Senior Exit Surveys

In the spring of 2023, 175 graduating seniors completed the senior exit survey. The survey shows that respondents strongly agreed that they demonstrate respect for colleagues of different races, ethnicities, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, genders, different countries and sexual orientations (all above 85 percent). The majority of students also self-reported strongly agreeing or agreeing that the program prepared them in all ACEJMC competencies. As found through the direct measure of the Beren’s test, senior exit surveys also indicated continued work is needed surrounding research, stats, the First Amendment and media history. All scored below 65 percent in strongly agree, indicating students are less comfortable in these areas. The table below shows how students self-evaluated their ability to demonstrate each of the values and competencies:

Competency Area	SA	A	DA	SDA
I can demonstrate respect for colleagues of different race and ethnicities	88%	12%	0	0
I can demonstrate respect for colleagues of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.	87.40%	12.60%	0	0
I can demonstrate respect for colleagues of different genders	86.90%	13.10%	0	0
I can demonstrate respect for colleagues from different countries.	85.70%	13.70%	0.60%	0
I can demonstrate respect for colleagues of different sexual orientations.	84.60%	15.40%	0	0
I can demonstrate professional and ethical principles through my work, including truth, accuracy, fairness, and diversity.	77.10%	22.30%	0.60%	0
I can present data, text, and images in a professional manner.	72.60%	26.90%	0.60%	0
I can solve problems creatively, independently, and resourcefully.	70.30%	29.70%	0	0
I can write correctly and clearly in styles appropriate to the communications professions.	68.60%	30.30%	1.10%	0
I can apply tools and technology appropriate to the communications profession in which I plan to work.	66.90%	31.40%	0.60%	1.10%
I am able to critically evaluate the quality of my own work and the work of others for fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness.	66.30%	33.10%	0.60%	0
I can conduct research and am able to evaluate information.	64%	34.30%	1.10%	0.60%
I can understand and apply basic numerical and statistical concepts.	57.10%	37.70%	4.60%	0.60%
I understand and can apply First Amendment principles to my work.	50.30%	47.40%	2.30%	0
I can demonstrate an understanding of the history and the role of the professions in shaping communications.	45.70%	48%	6.30%	0

SA: strongly agree | A: agree | DA: disagree | SDA: strongly disagree

In addition to the ratings of student learning outcomes listed above, 92.5 percent (n=161) of the graduating students rated the quality of education they received at the college as “very satisfied” or “satisfied;” 6.3 percent (n=11) rated it “unsatisfied,” and 1.1 percent (n=2) said they were “very unsatisfied.”

Ninety-one percent (n=160) of the surveyed students rated the degree to which the college has prepared them for success in their chosen fields as being “very satisfied” or “satisfied;” 7.5 percent (n=13) rated it “unsatisfied,” and 0.6 percent (n=1) said they were “very unsatisfied.”

Twenty-one percent of students said they planned to go on to graduate school or pursue a professional degree program. Forty-six percent of students switched their major at some point while at UNL before graduating from the COJMC.

Students were also asked to describe their biggest successes and challenges in their major at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. A qualitative analysis of comments (n=162) revealed the following themes:

Successes

• Academic achievements: Graduating with a high GPA, receiving good grades, making the Dean's List and completing projects at a high level.
• Real-world experiences: Gaining internships, working with real clients and getting involved in organizations or agencies (e.g., Jacht Agency, NSAC).
• Skill development: Acquiring writing and technical skills (e.g., Adobe programs, video production).
• Connections and networking: Building relationships with professors, staff and students, making connections in the industry and expanding professional networks.
• Personal growth and self-discovery: Finding passions and career paths, exploring creative sides, gaining confidence and overcoming challenges.
• Publication and recognition: Having work published in various media outlets, winning awards or competitions and being recognized for achievements.
• Leadership and involvement: Holding leadership positions in organizations (e.g., PRSSA, Jacht Agency), participating in campaigns or projects and contributing to the community.
• Experiential learning and hands-on opportunities: Engaging in real-world projects, gaining practical skills and working with clients or media outlets.
• Transitioning to the industry: Securing internships or jobs, applying skills in professional settings and landing positions related to the industry.
• Personal milestones and successes: Overcoming challenges, maintaining academic progress and achieving personal goals.

Challenges

• Transitioning to college: Meeting other friends, feeling overwhelmed during freshman year and adjusting to the new environment.
• COVID-19 impact: Transitioning from in-person to hybrid or online learning, managing COVID-19 during the semester and facing challenges with remote learning.
• Academic challenges: Dealing with professors, online learning, lack of course options, difficulty in certain classes (e.g., Mass Media Law) and balancing classwork with athletics or outside commitments.
• Personal growth and exploration: Putting myself out there to learn new things, connecting with professors, getting involved in clubs or organizations and finding my place within the college.
• Professional development: Exploring different career paths, deciding what to do after college and challenges related to job prospects or specialization within the field.
• Technical skills and equipment: Learning to use new equipment, software programs (e.g., Adobe) and difficulties with technology and equipment.
• Group work dynamics: Working with unmotivated peers, challenges with group projects and issues related to collaborative work.
• Lack of resources or support: Insufficient advising, limited course options, lack of specialized classes, unsatisfactory feedback and inadequate preparation for the industry.
• Personal struggles and obstacles: Dealing with personal issues, mental health challenges, anxieties about presentations and facing interpersonal conflicts.
• Diversity and inclusivity: Concerns about the lack of diversity, challenges related to cultural representation and experiencing a sense of favoritism or unequal treatment.

What They Wished They Had Learned

• Skill gaps and desired knowledge: learn more about specific areas such as journalism and politics, photography, liability and legality in advertising and journalism, media planning and buying, design techniques, typography, Adobe programs, post-graduation preparation, graphic design and more.
• Practical application and hands-on experience: Desiring more classes with real-life scenarios, ad campaigns, in-depth tutorials, live production experience, web building, broadcasting, UI/UX, video production, photography, media pitching, marketing practices and working with equipment.
• Specialized areas of interest: Expressing interest in specific fields such as player representation, sports broadcasting, esports, data journalism, business management, marketing, AI, photography, magazine production, sports analytics and digital marketing.
• Professional skills and career readiness: Seeking more emphasis on skills like client communication, sales-based advertising, communication with sports professionals, Excel, interview skills, resume skills, AP style editing, social media, media platform creation, marketing practices, data analysis and networking.
• Curriculum suggestions: Expressing the desire for more focused classes, specialization options, comprehensive learning in specific areas, more business-related coursework, exposure to different roles and job titles, practical knowledge for job interviews and a greater emphasis on specific fields within the industry.

Actions:

Data and Research

Although a strong majority of students rated the quality of the education they received in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications as mostly “exemplary” and “above average,” a few areas received “needs improvement” ratings. One of those areas was research. A need for additional focus on research was also identified through the direct measure of the Berens test. Each major has since developed additional coursework related to data and research for students to become more comfortable with these areas. See Standard 2 for details on additional requirements.

Cutting-edge classes

Students expressed a strong interest in more specialized courses. Faculty have updated several courses and added new ones to reflect the many changes occurring in the professions. Every major has added courses to respond to industry trends. The college launched the Experience Lab where students work on real-world projects at the beginning of the curriculum. ADPR added courses in PR planning and strategy, event planning for brand activations, UX/UI design, and applied research. BRDC revised core courses and created elective courses in audio and video production to emphasize content development and creation. Advanced audio and podcasting were added along with news writing for audio and video. JOUR began incorporating solutions journalism that is now a permanent course. A sports writing and reporting course was developed that is cross listed with SPMC. Since it launched, the SPMC major has created advanced sports data and sports ethics courses. Last, many special topics have been offered exploring areas around AI, data analysis, social media data mining, Esports, live streaming and sports betting. A full list of courses is available in the Closing the Loop section below in this standard.

The Experience Lab

Students emphasized the importance of hands-on learning in their academic journey, valuing opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations. They also recognized the significance of building industry connections and developing professional skills to enhance their career prospects. Students highlighted the need to create and publish professional projects and stories and/or collaborate with clients to gain real-world experience and establish a professional reputation. They acknowledged the value of developing their portfolios as early as their first semester to showcase their abilities and stand out in the competitive job market. The creation of the Experience Lab at the college allows students to begin developing this type of work and industry connections from day one in the college. The Experience Lab requirement was enacted in the fall of 2022, so the seniors surveyed would likely not have enrolled in the Experience Lab.

Indirect Measure #3: Alumni survey

In 2021-2022, the college developed and disseminated a survey to CoJMC graduates, and 309 alumni completed the survey. All ages responded to the survey, the range included alumni in their 20s to their 70s, with around 50-60 respondents from each decade. The graduates were asked if they were working in the field in which they majored and if they felt they were prepared for the work environment in which they were now working. Questions measuring the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Student Learning Outcomes were also included. The analysis looked for trends in answers across graduating years.

Results:

Alumni overwhelmingly reported being satisfied with their preparation to engage professional and ethical principles (95.7 percent). Other outcomes scoring above 90 percent satisfaction include the First Amendment principles, role of the profession in society, solving problems, writing clearly and critically evaluating work. Areas in need of review included understanding numbers and statistics (69.9 percent), conducting research (81.4 percent), respecting colleagues with different ethnic, cultural and countries (84.3 percent) and tools and technology (82.5 percent). A review of breakouts by major, graduation decade, race and gender indicate that respecting colleagues with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds also needs attention.

Key take-aways:

• Overall, students view their time at CoJMC favorably, especially those who currently work in the field of their major.
• The CoJMC is preparing its students well, especially related to the First Amendment, role of the profession, solving problems, ethics, writing and evaluating work.
• Continued efforts are needed to address issues related to diversity, statistics and research.

Actions

Addressing outcome 9 (writing)

While not a concern according to the alumni survey, in 2017-2018, the college conducted a comprehensive review of writing courses. The report's recommendations went into effect in 2019-2020 and we should begin to see increases in responses on this measure in the 2022-2023 senior exit survey.

Addressing outcomes 5 and 12 (presenting data/images and tools/tech)

In 2019-2020, the college reviewed the communication design program. Implementation of these recommendations is ongoing.

Addressing outcomes 3 and 4 (diversity)

In 2020-2021, the college engaged in considerable discussion around issues of diversity and inclusion as part of the strategic planning process. The plan included the recommendation for all majors to complete JOMC 222: Social Justice, Human Rights and the Media as a graduation requirement.

Addressing outcomes 8 and 11 (research and stats)

In 2022-2023, faculty established or selected a required research course for each of our majors, specific to the research and data analysis skills needed in each discipline.

Addressing outcomes 1 and 2 (First Amendment and role of profession)

In spring 2023, the curriculum committee began to review the foundational course, JOMC 101 Principles of Mass Media and Communications. The assessment will propose changes to the course to further strengthen these learning outcomes.

Indirect Measure #4: Industry Professional Curriculum Review

In 2022-2023, all four majors underwent curriculum reviews by industry professionals. The elected faculty on the executive committee were asked to solicit recommendations of successful, invested alumni and industry partners from the faculty in each major. Fourteen professionals accepted the invitation to review the curriculum and were assigned a major to review based on their profession. Degree requirements and syllabi for required and established elective courses were provided to the professionals, along with a survey to provide feedback on whether the professionals felt the curriculum met the ACEJMC Learning Outcomes.

The results from the industry professionals’ surveys were compared to the senior exit survey results in the analysis. The professionals met with the Associate Dean for Academic Programs to review the group’s survey results and address any questions. A follow-up meeting including the professionals and faculty from each major was then scheduled to discuss findings and recommendations.

Industry Professional Results

Themes from the open questions

• The Fundamentals: Courses encompass a good portion of the skills used every day: writing, shooting, editing, reporting, producing, research, insights and trends, strategic planning, creative thinking/knowing how to brainstorm, novice-level design skills for presentations, how to prepare for and conduct an effective interview, legal understanding and ethics compliance.
• DEI: As communicators, we always need to understand different viewpoints and need to be well-versed on social issues and balanced representation in our work.
• Research Skills: Students need to know how to work with and analyze data and information.
• Pitching Ideas: The art of pitching ideas and stories is an important skill students should learn.
• Professional Experience: Internships, professional development and relationship building are key.
• Entrepreneurship: Curriculum on how to freelance and build your own brand or media company is needed.
• Silos: Majors should be completely blown up.
• Embrace emerging media norms: Social media strategy and content production, esports, NIL, data and analytics, multimedia and digital media.
• Emergence of AI: Students will need help navigating AI so they can exploit the good aspects and avoid the worse aspects.

Key take-aways:

• Overall, industry professionals and graduating seniors view the CoJMC’s curriculum favorably.
• The scores for the ACEJMC competencies roughly align between professionals and students. Strengths are in ethical principles, tools and tech, presenting ideas and evaluating their own work. Areas that need improvement include stats, research, freedom of expression and diversity. Although students reported feeling confident the curriculum promoted diversity, professionals indicated additional focus was needed.
• Challenges continue to emerge around digital and interactive media, including AI.

Closing the Loop

The direct and indirect assessment measures identified similar concerns. Faculty used the results from all six measures to improve the curriculum and to enhance student learning as indicated earlier in this document. Informed by assessment efforts, the college is moving forward with the following initiatives:

The Experience Lab

Students, industry professionals and alumni all emphasized rich, real-world experience as vital to student success. The college has long focused on hands-on learning in a student’s academic journey, valuing opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations. Students, alumni and industry professionals also recognized the importance of building industry connections and developing professional skills to enhance career prospects. Students highlighted the need to engage in creating professional, published projects and collaborating with clients to gain real-world experience and establish a professional reputation. They acknowledged the value of starting to develop their portfolios as early as their first semester to showcase their abilities and stand out in the competitive job market. The Experience Lab at the college allows students to begin developing this type of work and industry connections from day one in the college.

Diversity in the Curriculum

The most notable change is the additional requirement of JOMC 222 Social Justice, Human Rights and the Media for all CoJMC majors approved by the faculty on Nov. 12, 2021. This course provides a deeper, more focused exploration of diversity, equity and inclusion issues in media. However, diversity must be infused across all courses to learn, apply and reinforce knowledge. While students on average score diversity competencies high, a closer look finds more complexity from the perspective of unrepresented groups. Industry professionals pointed out that DEI topics are visible in the curriculum, but emphasized as communicators additional effort is needed to understand and incorporate diverse perspectives across all media. Continued efforts in all courses need to prepare students to be well-versed on social issues and balanced representation in all work.

Beyond the new JOMC 222 requirement, JOUR 200a Fundamentals of Editing and Reporting I (also required for all majors) was revampled to focus on inclusive language and other issues related to diversity and equity. In addition, JOUR 346 Mosaic, JOMC 422 Race, Gender and the Media, ADPR/BRDC 329/429 Jacht, ADPR 437 International/Multicultural Public Relations, ADPR 438 Global Advertising all focus on DEI issues. Guided by objectives outlined in the college’s diversity plan and training, these efforts will continue.

Research and Data Requirement

The curriculum committee worked with faculty across all majors to discuss a college-wide requirement for a 300-level data/research methods course to address continued challenges for students in this space. In spring 2022, the advertising and public relations faculty voted to require an advertising and public relations research course as part of the major. An ad-hoc committee of advertising and public relations faculty developed the new course, ADPR 381 Applied Research in Advertising and Public Relations. During the creation of the sports media and communication major, efforts included requiring a data course, SPMC 350 Sports Data Visualization and Analytics. Journalism and broadcast news has added JOUR 307 Data Journalism as a required course. Broadcast media production majors have the option to choose from ADPR, SPMC or JOUR research courses, depending on their area of interest. Assessment of the implementation of the new research requirement begins 2023-2024.

Emphasis on data and analysis

While all students must take statistics as part of the general education requirements, understanding data continues to be a struggle for students, and our industry professionals and alumni highlight this as an increasingly important skill for our graduates. Most efforts in the past were to revamp courses with more data or promote elective courses in data. In 2019, ADPR 283 was revamped to include more research and data with the strategy. Visiting professionals created research methods materials and guides for a research kit for ADPR. Some industry professionals have suggested requiring ADPR 434 Digital Insights and Analytics. Recently, additional data courses have been created, new special topics are being offered and the Public Insights Lab is creating a space to work with clients surrounding data.

The new sports media and communication major led the way by recognizing the importance of data in the profession by requiring SPMC 350 Sports Data Visualization and Analytics for sports media and communication majors. Sports media and communication faculty then created a new course, SPMC 460 Advanced Sports Data Analysis. Special topics have been developed to complement these efforts that include Data for Media Professionals and Social Media Data Mining.

To help boost the focus on data, particularly for journalism and broadcast news students, until the JOUR 307 Data Journalism requirement goes into effect, the college sent 33 students to NICAR, an annual data journalism conference hosted by the Investigative Reporters and Editors. You can read about the students’ experience here. This area will continue to evolve with the new research/data requirement mentioned above.

Growth in Newest Major, Sports Media and Communication

The college developed the sports media and communication major starting in 2017-2018. It is the fastest-growing area in the college and is the second-largest major in the college after advertising and public relations. Industry and alumni highlight the opportunities in sports media and communication. Continued assessment and development in sports media and communication courses is needed. Faculty are planning a program review in 2023-2024.

Cutting Edge Courses

Students expressed a strong interest in more specialized courses. Faculty have updated several courses and added new ones to reflect the many changes occurring in the professions:

• JOMC 197, 297, 397 The Experience Lab (approved Nov. 11, 2021)
• ADPR 350 Public Relations Planning and Strategy (approved January 18, 2019)
• ADPR 355 Event Planning for Branded Activations + Experiences (approved April 16, 2021)
• ADPR 358 UX/UI Design (approved Nov. 12, 2018)
• ADPR 381 Applied Research in Advertising and Public Relations (approved Oct. 14, 2022)
• ADPR/SPMC 464 Sports Media Relations & Promotions (approved January 27, 2017)
• BRDC 227 Audio Content Creation (updated Dec. 20, 2019)
• BRDC 260 Media Writing and Content Development (approved Feb. 15, 2019)
• BRDC 327 Advanced Audio Content Creation (approved May 12, 2022)
• BRDC 369 Advanced Videography (approved May 12, 2022)
• BRDC 427 Podcasting (approved May 12, 2022)
• BRDC 472 Broadcast News Writing for Audio (approved Sept. 21, 2018)
• BRDC 474 News Videography (approved Feb. 18, 2021)
• JOUR 305 Solutions Journalism: Covering Responses to Social Problems (approved Nov. 20, 2020)
• JOUR/SPMC 326 Sports Writing and Reporting (updated Dec. 10, 2021)
• SPMC 189H Issues and Ethics in Sports: Cheaters, Billionaires and Mega Media: American Sports in the 21st Century (approved Jan. 21, 2020)
• SPMC 460 Advanced Sports Data Analysis (approved Nov. 20, 2020)
• Many special topics exploring areas around AI, data analysis, social media data mining, Esports, live streaming, sports betting, etc.

4. Describe the involvement of journalism and mass communication professionals, including alumni, in the assessment process.

Professionals in journalism, advertising and public relations, broadcasting and sports media and communication are very much involved in the assessment process of student learning at both the course and program level. Many industry professionals teach sections and/or are professionals in residence with the Experience Lab and have direct input on course curriculum.

Professionals played an active role in the college’s strategic planning process in 2020-2021 that has guided many initiatives at the college. This includes the development of the Experience Lab, implementation of ethics panels, the establishment of the research requirement in each major, the development of a portfolio requirement for all majors and designation of JOMC 222 Social Justice, Human Rights and the Media as a required course for all majors. Professionals on the Strategic Planning Committee included:

• Greg Andersen (1997), CEO, Bailey Lauerman
• Harry Argue (1968), banking industry consultant
• Matt Boyd (1999), assistant vice president, University of Nebraska Foundation
• LaSharah Bunting (1996), director of journalism, Knight Foundation
• Chad Davis, chief innovation officer, Nebraska Public Media
• Lyle Denniston (1955), dean emeritus, Supreme Court Press Corps
• Sandy Dose (1968), senior vice president, Stifel Financial Corp.
• Deb Fiddelke (1990), chief communications and marketing officer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Chelsea Hampton (2019), doctoral student, University of Florida
• Lauryn Higgins (2018), news assistant, New York Times
• Margaret Holman (1973), president, Holman Consulting
• Steve Jordon, reporter, Omaha World-Herald (retired)
• Adam Kroft (2014), CEO, redthread
• Paula Lavigne (1998), reporter, ESPN
• Kelly Mosier (2006), director of Hudl Studios, Hudl
• Mike Reilley (1989), data journalism professor, University of Illinois-Chicago
• Tyler Thomas (2010), director of integrated content, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Allen Vaughan, general manager, Daily Nebraskan
• Lyn Wineman (1989), president and chief strategist, KidGlov
• Kellie Wostrel (2009), senior vice president and public relations director, Swanson Russell

As noted, indirect measure #4 specifically includes curriculum review by professionals. In the fall of 2022, the college put out a call for alumni to engage in curriculum review committees. The committees met in spring 2023 to provide feedback on the college’s four undergraduate majors to ensure they meet industry needs and align with the ACEJMC learning outcomes. Committee members were provided access to an overview of the college’s curriculum and all syllabi for courses in the major. They completed a survey to provide feedback on each of the programs. Committee members then met with faculty in each major to review the feedback and make recommendations for improvement. Members of the Curriculum Review Committees included:

Advertising and Public Relations

• Anna Fobair (2018), account supervisor, Ketchum
• Kelly Mosier (2006), senior director of Hudl Studios, Hudl
• Jim Vranicar (1990), COO, Signal Theory
• Tyler Riewer (2004), creative director, Charity:Water

Broadcasting

• Will Bauer (2020), Metro East reporter, St. Louis Public Radio
• Ami Graham (1993), general manager, Broadcast House
• Kristine Johnson, anchor, CBS 2 NY
• Clay Masters (2007), host/correspondent, Iowa Public Radio

Journalism

• Matthew Hansen (2003), executive editor, Flatwater Free Press
• Jane Hirt (1989), consultant, M. Harris & Co.
• Paula Lavigne (1998), investigative reporter, ESPN

Sports Media and Communication

• Sean Callahan (2003), owner/publisher, HuskersOnline
• Chris DeRuyscher (2000), senior director of ballpark entertainment, Texas Rangers
• Anthony Galvan (2009), VP of brand and communications, Hudl
• J.J. Jurgens (1998), senior writer, producer, CBS Marketing

The Experience Lab includes professionals in residence integrated into the program. Professionals work directly with students to provide mentorship and feedback on their work. Local businesses and media outlets volunteer their staff time to help mentor up-and-coming journalists and communicators in the Experience Lab. The professionals in residence for 2022-2023 were:

• Bayley Bischof, assignment manager/senior reporter, 10/11 News
• Eva Coppinger, video producer, ASA & EVA Media
• Shaun Cummins, senior technical director, KLKN-TV
• Hannah Davis (2021), marketing coordinator, Union Bank & Trust
• Erin Doernemann (2020), marketing and design specialist, Apple Roofing
• Amy Ebbeka, co-owner and creative director, Ebbeka Design
• Randy Hawthorne (1992), product manager, Nelnet
• Derek Hernandez, director of brand and content, Mentor Collective
• Amie Just, sports columnist, Lincoln Journal Star
• Mikel Lauber, director of news, 10/11 News
• Mike McKnight (1976), investigative reporter, WOWT-TV
• Austin Pistulka (2017), broadcast/digital production director, Rural Radio Association
• Mary Kay Quinlan (1972), emeritus associate professor and former associate dean, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Ryan Rothman (2017), marketing and digital media coordinator, University of Nebraska
• DeWayne Taylor, radio host, NRG media
• Mike Tobias (1986), senior producer, Nebraska Public Media
• Jon Vanderford (1993), executive producer and host, KOLN/KGIN TV
• Andrew Ward (2014), morning anchor, KLKN-TV
• Ellis Whitney, senior content producer, 10/11 News
• Matt Wynn, executive director, Nebraska Journalism Trust

In spring 2023, the college launched a dean’s advisory board to counsel the dean on the college’s priorities, strategies and goals. Board members serve three-year terms and meet quarterly to exchange ideas and provide feedback on the future of our industries. Members of the Dean’s Advisory Board include:

• Emily Doskow (2002), chief marketing officer, Leo Burnett
• Colette Stallbaumer (1992), general manager, Microsoft 365
• Angel Jennings, chair (2008), assistant managing editor, Los Angeles Times
• Jenna Johnson (2007), deputy democracy editor, the Washington Post
• Dionne Searcey, secretary (1993), reporter, the New York Times
• Paige Dimakos (2013), CEO, The Draft Network
• Ericka Galbraith (2000), coordinator producer, ESPN
• Ben Lupo, esports streamer
• Tia Newcomer (1995), CEO, CaringBridge
• Ronald Ng (1993), global chief creative officer, MRM
• Brittany Jones Cooper (2008), host/reporter, Yahoo News
• Courtney Rodgers (2007), senior vice president of business operations, Hudl
• Juan Perez (2009), education reporter, Politico
• Josh Planos (2014), VP of communications and public relations, Better Business Bureau of Omaha
• Tony Sattler (2003), executive vice president, director of experience & Insights, Swanson Russell
• LaSharah Bunting, vice chair, (1996), CEO, Online News Association

Advertising and public relations capstone courses include alumni and industry professionals as part of critiques, reviews and final presentations of student projects. In the advertising and public relations major, industry professionals assess students’ work as part of all three capstone courses (ADPR 489/889 Advertising and Public Relations Campaigns, ADPR 439 Student Competitions and ADPR 429 Jacht).

Students typically work in teams, conduct research, analyze data and create a fully integrated marketing communications campaign for a real-life client in each of these classes. At the mid-point of the semester, students are asked to present their research results and campaign plan to a panel of faculty and advertising professionals. Although the process is not formalized, students receive constructive criticism and feedback that helps to guide the strategic and creative process. This is an example of formative assessment. At the end of the semester, students present their campaign orally and in writing to the client. The client fills out a rubric, rating the presentation on a set of course objectives. In addition, clients routinely provide qualitative evaluations of the entire project after they read the student-produced plans book in depth.

Below is a listing of additional ways professionals are included in curriculum development and assessment process.

• Communications Design, required for all majors, includes adjunct faculty who are industry professionals
• Global Eyewitness included alumni and industry professionals in the revamp and ongoing review
• Capstone courses include alumni and industry professionals as part of critiques, reviews and final presentations of student projects
• Experience Lab, in addition to the professionals in residence, an external consultant led the assessment of the pilot and first official year
• The dean hosts events across the United States with alumni and industry professional to discuss current and future plans for curriculum
• The alumni newsletter provides curriculum updates and solicits feedback monthly

5. In a digital file, list the major awards won by the unit’s students in local, regional or national competitions during the review period. Limit to five a year.

To see all awards, please click here. 

6. In a digital file, list by specialty each member of the graduating class of 2019 and those graduates’ current jobs. If practical, give a total number of “unknowns” rather than including them in the list. Describe the program used to track graduates to assess their experience in the profession and to improve curriculum and instruction.

2019 Graduates (Total number of unknowns is 69)

7. Provide a matrix that aligns the student learning outcomes with the courses where they are taught and the direct or indirect measures that assess the outcomes.

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