Executive summary:
The College of Journalism and Mass Communications is committed to collaborative decision-making and strategic resource management to fulfill our mission of nurturing curious and creative minds to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape.
The budget development process at the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications is characterized by a collaborative approach, with active involvement from faculty and staff through the executive committee. This inclusive process fosters careful deliberation, adjustments, and the creation of a budget that aligns with the college's strategic priorities while ensuring transparency and participation in decision-making. Both the budgeting and budget-cutting processes embrace collaboration, allowing for meaningful contributions from stakeholders and the collective development of financial plans.
The college has a diverse range of funding sources, including state-aided funds, revolving/auxiliary funds, sponsored program funds, and foundation funds. While state-aided funds constitute the largest portion of the budget and cover essential expenses such as salaries and benefits, the college also benefits from self-generated revenue, grants, and philanthropic donations. The presence of a significant endowment further enhances the resources available to support the college's strategic priorities and ongoing endeavors.
Despite having smaller institution-provided resources (state-aided funding) compared to similar units on campus, the college has shown exceptional operational efficiency and success in key areas. With significant growth in first-time freshmen, an impressive retention rate, and a high four-year graduation rate, the CoJMC has surpassed other colleges on campus. Moreover, the college's FTE-to-SCH ratios, particularly for faculty, staff, and graduate assistants, highlight its commitment to delivering strong outcomes while maintaining a lean operational structure. The CoJMC serves as a model of operational excellence and demonstrates the impact that can be achieved with strategic resource management.
The college prioritizes experiential education and provides dedicated facilities to support hands-on learning. With 39,238 square feet of dedicated space across two buildings, the college offers classrooms, collaborative spaces, media facilities (including audio studios, television studios and editing bays), equipment checkout rooms and the Experience Lab to support its media outlets and agencies. The college also provides technology support through dedicated staff members who manage computer systems, studio facilities and equipment inventory to ensure smooth operations.
The college has identified its most urgent needs for resources, which include additional faculty and funds to support strategic priorities. These priorities are aligned with our strategic plan and include experiential learning, research and graduate programs, research and creative activity, ethical journalism, industry challenges, diversity and inclusion, lifelong learning and community engagement. The college has launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign to address these needs and established a committee to work with potential donors and the University of Nebraska Foundation.
By engaging faculty and staff, diversifying funding sources, demonstrating operational efficiency, providing state-of-the-art facilities, and addressing urgent resource needs, the college remains committed to its mission and excels in preparing students for careers in journalism and mass communications.
Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Complete and insert in this section Table 10, “Budget.” If necessary, provide a supplementary explanation.
|
Budget |
FY 21 |
FY 22 |
FY 23 |
|
Administrative Salaries |
$339,345 |
$341,823 |
$390,717 |
|
Teaching Salaries (full-time) |
$2,607,776 |
$2,760,086 |
$2,878,229 |
|
Teaching Salaries (part-time) |
$476,840 |
$157,306 |
$272,215 |
|
Managerial and Clerical Salaries |
$607,338 |
$666,130 |
$674,654 |
|
Equipment |
$150,000 |
$150,000 |
$150,000 |
|
Equipment Maintenance* |
$- |
$- |
$- |
|
Supplies |
$407,807 |
$395,146 |
$241,893 |
|
Library Resources |
$- |
$- |
$- |
|
Databases, online information services |
$- |
$- |
$- |
|
Travel |
$12,000 |
$- |
$- |
|
Research |
$- |
$- |
$- |
|
Other** |
$1,002,327 |
$1,036,683 |
$1,128,007 |
|
Total |
$5,603,433 |
$5,507,174 |
$5,735,715 |
*Equipment maintenance is included in the equipment budget.
**Other includes employee benefits.
2. Describe the process through which the unit develops its budget, including preparation of the budget request and spending plan, review and approval, and the role of faculty in the process.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln utilizes an incremental budgeting process, building upon the previous year's budget allocations as a starting point and making incremental adjustments. Routine incremental adjustments include merit-based salary increases and reallocation of existing funds to align with evolving college priorities.
Each spring, the college receives funds specifically designated for salary increases for existing faculty and staff. This allocation allows for adjustments to individual salaries. The funds are calculated as a percentage of the total of faculty and staff budget lines occupied by employees on April 1 each year. The calculation does not include any vacant lines or pool lines used to support temporary instructors, graduate assistants, student workers or operating expenses.
The funds are distributed to employees by awarding annual salary increases. This process serves as the primary recurring method for budget increases within the college. However, other adjustments to the budget are made through the reallocation of existing funds, enabling support for changing college priorities.
The most significant changes to the budget typically occur due to the reallocation of faculty and staff positions following the departure of existing employees. Not all funds are retained in the college upon the departure of employees. The college retains all funds on staff budget lines. However, when faculty depart the college, 15% of their faculty line reverts to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor to fund campus-wide hiring priorities. The remaining funds are retained by the college to be reallocated to future hires.
This reallocation process is guided by a strategic hiring plan that considers industry needs, college operational requirements and strategic priorities. To initiate the strategic hiring plan, the dean prepares a comprehensive assessment and a hiring proposal that addresses the college’s needs and priorities. The plan is then presented to the college's executive committee, which consists of college administration, elected faculty representatives from each major and an elected staff member. The executive committee provides valuable feedback and input on the strategic hiring plan.
Based on the feedback received, the dean refines the strategic hiring plan and presents it again to the executive committee for approval. This iterative process ensures that the plan aligns with the collective vision of the college and undergoes necessary adjustments. The approved strategic hiring plan is presented at an all-college meeting, promoting transparency and awareness within the entire college community. The finalized plan is then submitted to the Executive Vice Chancellor for final approval, ensuring alignment with broader institutional goals and resource allocation considerations.
In addition to the strategic hiring plan, the budgeting process also includes provisions for budget cuts. The college underwent budget cuts in 2020 and again in 2023. The 2020 budget cuts were implemented across three years, while the 2023 budget cuts were implemented during the 2023 fiscal year.
The dean prepares a proposal based on guidance from the university administration. Both the 2020 and 2023 budget cuts were horizontal cuts, with each campus unit required to cut the same percentage of its budget. The college’s proposal is reviewed by the executive committee for feedback, and the dean refines it accordingly. The refined proposal is then returned to the executive committee for approval. Once approved, the proposal is presented at an all-college meeting to communicate the budget cuts to the entire college community.
Subsequently, the proposal is submitted to the Executive Vice Chancellor for consolidation with other units. The consolidated proposal is then reviewed and approved by the Academic Planning Committee, a campus-wide elected faculty body. Upon approval by the Academic Planning Committee, the consolidated budget proposal is finally submitted to the Chancellor.
Overall, the budget development process at the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications is collaborative, with faculty and staff actively participating in the executive committee. This inclusive process allows for careful deliberation, adjustments and the development of a budget that aligns with the college's strategic priorities while addressing financial realities. The budget-cutting process follows a similar pattern, ensuring transparency and participation in decision-making.
3. Describe the adequacy of resources for the unit and the sources of revenue for those resources (university funds, fees, private funding, other). Describe how the unit will supplement its annual budget from other sources or reallocate resources to reach its strategic goals.
The college’s budget is funded from several different sources of funding, each with its own rules regarding expenditure. At a high level, the college’s budget can be considered in four parts:
- State-aided funds: State-aided funds are composed of tuition funds and state appropriations
- Revolving/Auxiliary funds: Funds earned through the sale of goods or services or student fees
- Sponsored Program funds: Funds allocated to the college through internal or external grant-making agencies
- Foundation funds: Funds donated to the college through philanthropy
State-aided Funds
The largest portion of the college’s budget comes from state-aided funds. The college employs its state-aided budget to cover salary and benefits for faculty, staff, graduate assistants, student workers and some core operating expenses. During fiscal year 2023, the college’s state-aided budget totaled $5,735,715. Ninety-three percent of the state-aided budget was allocated to supporting salaries and benefits for college employees.
|
Budget |
Budget |
% of Budget |
|
Administration Salaries |
$390,717 |
6.81% |
|
Faculty Salaries |
$3,071,798 |
53.56% |
|
Graduate Assistant Salaries |
$78,646 |
1.37% |
|
Staff Salaries |
$637,441 |
11.11% |
|
Student Salaries |
$37,213 |
0.65% |
|
Benefits |
$1,128,007 |
19.67% |
|
Operating |
$391,893 |
6.83% |
|
Grand Total |
$5,735,715 |
100.00% |
The college continues to maintain a high faculty and staff-to-student ratio. See question 4 below for further detail. Due to limited resources, the college is unable to hire additional full-time faculty and staff and relies heavily on the use of temporary instructors to meet student demand for courses.
Revolving/Auxiliary Funds
Revolving and Auxiliary funds provide a much smaller proportion of the college’s resources. Revolving and auxiliary funds are self-generating accounts, where revenue is generated from college activities. Some key examples of revolving and auxiliary funds include Jacht Agency, student tech fees and course/lab fees. Unlike state-aided funds, which can be applied to any expense college-wide, revolving and auxiliary funds are generally expended to support the program that generated the funds. Revenues earned by the Jacht Agency are expended to support Jacht.
|
Revolving Funds |
FY 2023 |
|
General Revolving* |
$26,551 |
|
Graduate Assistant Agreements |
$6,300 |
|
Jacht Agency |
$51,049 |
|
Lab Fees |
$28,565 |
|
Media Training |
$7,402 |
|
Public Insight Lab |
$18,115 |
|
Student Competitions |
$62,723 |
|
Teaching Support Grants |
$8,513 |
|
Tech Fees |
$59,095 |
|
Ticket Sales |
$736 |
|
Grand Total |
$219,050 |
General Revolving funds support internal transfers from other campus units and student payments for activities supported by the college.
Graduate assistant agreements are partnerships with external partners that allow graduate assistants to gain real-world experience working in media and communication roles.
Jacht Agency is a student-led advertising and public relations agency that provides services for businesses, nonprofits and government agencies in Nebraska.
Lab fees are collected from students to support their educational experience. The college has two lab fees. Both fees are $40 per student. The fee in the capstone ADPR Campaigns class supports activities that implement campaigns developed by students and covers the printing of plan books. The fee in the ADPR Competitions class covers the purchase of survey research data.
Media Trainings are agreements between the college, other campus units or external partners for CoJMC faculty to provide media training workshops.
The Public Insight Lab provides access to social media data collected using Sprinklr software that supports research projects across the UNL campus.
Student competition funds collect the proceeds from participation in student competitions, such as the Hearst Journalism Awards. Proceeds are used to support continued student participation in competitions, including entry fees and award banquet tickets.
Teaching support grants are funds provided by the UNL Center for Transformative Teaching to support faculty members’ work to innovate their teaching and curriculum development in the college.
Technology fees are collected from students according to a formula approved by the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska. Technology fees support the purchase of cameras, video cameras, lights and other equipment available to students through the CoJMC Checkout Room.
Ticket sales are the proceeds of entry fees to various CoJMC-sponsored events.
Sponsored Program Funds
Sponsored program funds come from grants or contracts awarded to the college from internal or external grant-making agencies. Sponsored program funds are generally the most restricted funds in the college. Not only do they have to be spent on the project to which the funds were awarded, but they also must be spent according to the budget submitted as part of the application. Additionally, these funds are generally time-bound and must be expended by a specified deadline or returned to the funder.
In FY 23, the college had four sponsored projects. Two were funded internally by UNL and two were externally funded. The projects are:
- Online News Association Food Trucks Grant - $30,829 (Waite)
- Layman Understanding Grant - $ 10,000 (Wang)
- Cooper Foundation – Community Storytelling Grant - $28,000 (Veil)
- University Research Council - $10,000 (Jones)
Foundation Funds
Foundation funds are donations made to the University of Nebraska Foundation by alumni, industry partners and others to support the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Donors give contributions to “funds” established at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Each “fund” is governed by specific rules that determine how the funds can be used. Donors can give to general funds that are available for broad-based expenses or to specific funds that are detailed in how the money can be used. Donations can be made to existing funds, or donors can establish new funds tailored to their giving preferences. The college currently has 217 funds at its discretion. Some funds can be used for a variety of purposes. Others must be used for very specific purposes. For example, the Lester A. Walker Scholarship fund can only be used to provide scholarships to students from the Fremont, Nebraska, area media market.
Foundation funds can further be considered in seven groups:
- Capital Improvement: Funds that support the college’s physical infrastructure
- Discretionary: Funds that can be used to support any college priority
- Faculty and Staff Support: Professorships and other funds that directly benefit faculty activities
- Multiple Uses: Funds that allow for a variety of uses but are not completely discretionary
- Primary Funds: Endowments whose interest feeds multiple funds with specified uses
- Student Support: Scholarships and other funds that directly benefit students
- Programmatic and Project Support: Funds that support specific college projects
|
Fund Use |
Funds |
|
Capital Improvement |
7 |
|
Discretionary |
27 |
|
Faculty and Staff Support |
9 |
|
Multiple Uses |
8 |
|
Primary Fund |
5 |
|
Programmatic and Project Support |
32 |
|
Student Support |
129 |
|
Grand Total |
217 |
There are three types of foundation funds. Expendable funds are funds that do not generate interest. Once the available funding is spent, it will not be replaced unless future contributions are received. In endowed funds, the initial donation is invested to earn interest. The annual interest is available for expenditure by the college. Each year available funds to spend from the foundation include unused funds from the prior year, interest from endowments and new donations received. Most of the college’s foundation funds are endowed. Quasi-endowed funds are funds where a portion of the initial contribution is invested to create an endowment and a portion is immediately available to spend.
|
Fund Type |
Funds |
|
Expendable |
73 |
|
Permanent Endowment |
140 |
|
Quasi-Endowment |
4 |
|
Grand Total |
217 |
The overall size of the college’s endowment (comprising all the college’s endowed funds) is $25,331,260. These invested funds will continue to accrue interest to support future college endeavors.
|
Use Code |
Total Market Value |
Estimated Annual Interest |
|
Capital Improvement |
$53,536 |
$2,261 |
|
Discretionary |
$2,103,281 |
$88,827 |
|
Faculty and Staff Support |
$6,647,033 |
$280,721 |
|
Multiple Uses |
$3,044,051 |
$128,558 |
|
Primary Fund |
$3,555,281 |
$150,149 |
|
Programmatic and Project Support |
$1,499,993 |
$63,349 |
|
Student Support |
$8,428,086 |
$355,747 |
|
Grand Total |
$25,331,260 |
$1,069,612 |
Fundraising efforts in recent years have proven successful in helping to support the college’s strategic priorities.
4. Describe how the resources provided by the institution compare with the resources for similar units on your campus.
The college’s institution-provided resources are smaller than for similar units on campus. Despite this challenge, the college has demonstrated remarkable operational efficiency, outpacing UNL colleges in several key areas of success. With a 16.3% growth in first-time freshmen and a retention rate of 87.7%, the CoJMC is setting the bar for student success. The college also boasts a four-year graduation rate of 61.6%, It enrolled 4.8% of the student body, and produced 3.7% of student credit hours last year. Despite having the second smallest state-aided budget, second-fewest faculty and fewest staff per student credit hour produced, the CoJMC is making the most of its resources, delivering strong results while maintaining a lean operational structure.
The college has demonstrated success in the fundamental metrics of recruitment, retention and graduation. In fall 2022, the college led the campus in incoming freshman recruitment, with a 16.3% increase over fall 2021. During the same period, the campus saw a 2% decline in incoming freshmen.
The college’s retention rate of 87.7% is the highest on campus and is 6.2% greater than the campus-wide retention rate of 81.5%. The college also has the highest four-year graduation rate at 61.6%. CoJMC’s graduation rate is 13.7% greater than the campus-wide graduation rate of 47.9%.
In addition to leading the campus in recruitment, retention and graduation rates, the college enrolls, educates and graduates a greater proportion of students than its budget or faculty size would suggest.
In fall 2022, CoJMC majors accounted for 4.39% of overall campus enrollment, enrolling more students than the Hixon-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, the College of Architecture and the College of Law.
|
College |
Fall 2022 Enrollment |
% of Total |
|
College of Business |
4328 |
18.76% |
|
College of Arts & Sciences |
4101 |
17.78% |
|
College of Education & Human Sciences |
3369 |
14.61% |
|
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources |
3348 |
14.51% |
|
College of Engineering |
2860 |
12.40% |
|
Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center |
1630 |
7.07% |
|
College of Journalism & Mass Communications |
1010 |
4.38% |
|
Hixson-Lied Fine & Performing Arts |
927 |
4.02% |
|
College of Architecture |
581 |
2.52% |
|
College of Law |
442 |
1.92% |
|
Graduate Studies |
378 |
1.64% |
|
Intercampus and Visitors |
92 |
0.40% |
|
Grand Total |
23066 |
100.00% |
In AY21-22, the CoJMC majors accounted for 5.6% of all undergraduate and graduate degrees conferred by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
|
College |
Bachelors |
Masters |
Grad Cert. |
6 YR Spc |
Doctoral |
Professional |
Total |
% of Total |
|
College of Arts & Sciences |
964 |
138 |
6 |
0 |
84 |
|
1192 |
20.6% |
|
College of Business |
857 |
242 |
56 |
0 |
8 |
|
1163 |
20.1% |
|
College of Education & Human Sciences |
654 |
248 |
4 |
4 |
52 |
9 |
971 |
16.8% |
|
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources |
612 |
147 |
4 |
0 |
74 |
|
837 |
14.5% |
|
College of Engineering |
582 |
157 |
0 |
0 |
71 |
|
810 |
14.0% |
|
College of Journalism & Mass Communications |
280 |
28 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
|
323 |
5.6% |
|
Hixson-Lied Fine & Performing Arts |
164 |
28 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
|
208 |
3.6% |
|
College of Law |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
143 |
143 |
2.5% |
|
College of Architecture |
73 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
58 |
138 |
2.4% |
|
Grand Total |
4186 |
995 |
85 |
4 |
305 |
210 |
5785 |
100.0% |
In AY 22-23, the campus produced a total of 558,110 student credit hours. CoJMC produced 3.8%, or 21,103 credit hours, more than the College of Architecture and the College of Law.
Given the college’s success in recruitment, retention and graduation, we would expect that the size of the campus investment in the college and the number of individuals it employs would be approximate to the proportion of students it enrolls, educates and graduates. However, data demonstrates that both the size of the college’s budget and its number of employees are much smaller than its outcomes would suggest.
In fall 2022, the nine academic colleges employed a total of 4,323.47 full-time equivalency (FTE) across faculty, staff, administrators, other (primarily graduate assistants) and student workers. The CoJMC’s total FTE was 80.22, or 1.86% of the total.
In FY 2022, the university invested $198,109,138 in state-aided budget supporting the academic colleges. Just 2.87% ($5,691,806) of that investment was allocated to the CoJMC.
Our college outperforms its size in every metric. An examination of our FTE and budget of the number of student credit hours we produce in FY 22, clearly demonstrates that the college is one of the most operationally efficient units on campus.
Our overall FTE-to-SCH ratio demonstrates that we produce more SCH per employee than six other colleges. Our FTE to SCH Ratio is 228.4 to 1, meaning for every 1 FTE, we produce 260.7 SCH. This is 136% greater than the campus average of 168.
While we have the third highest overall FTE-to-SCH ratio, an examination of ratios by employee group demonstrates that employees with the most direct impact on student success – faculty, staff and graduate assistants – have even higher ratios to SCH.
Faculty includes all faculty types, professors, professors of practice, lecturers and lecturer/ts. The average faculty-to-SCH ratio on campus is 401.2 to one. The college’s ratio of 515.4 is 128% greater than the campus average and the second-highest ratio among the academic colleges.
CoJMC has the highest staff-to-SCH ratio on campus, meaning we have fewer staff per student credit hour produced than any other college. The average staff FTE-to-SCH ratio is 843.3 to one. Our college’s ratio is more than double this average at 1,742.8 to one.
Graduate assistants and post docs are grouped into other. These employees provide instructional capacity in many units on campus. Our college again holds the highest ratio on campus at 3,557 to one for other employees compared to SCH, which is 2.7 times higher than the campus average of 1,323 to one.
On average, the university invests $527.01 in the academic colleges for every student credit hour produced. The College of Journalism and Mass Communication received the lowest level of investment on campus, receiving just $327.61 for every student credit hour.
The College of Journalism and Mass Communications stands out as a leader in operational efficiency and student success. Despite having a smaller budget and fewer faculty and staff compared to other colleges on campus, the college has demonstrated remarkable growth in first-time freshman enrollment, high retention and graduation rates and a greater proportion of student enrollment, education and graduation compared to its resources. The college's FTE-to-SCH ratios, particularly for faculty, staff and graduate assistants, are well above the campus average and demonstrate the college's commitment to delivering strong results with a lean operational structure. The College of Journalism and Mass Communications serves as a model for excellence in higher education and a testament to the impact that can be achieved through strategic resource management.
5. Describe the unit’s classrooms, offices, computer labs or other building spaces, as well as technology support services. If the unit administers university media or student publications, include a description of equipment and facilities devoted to those operations.
The College of Journalism and Mass Communications seeks to be a national leader in experiential education and, aligned with our mantra that students Do From Day One, we have dedicated our facilities to support hands-on learning.
The college has 39,238 square feet of dedicated space across two buildings, Andersen Hall and the Lincoln Children’s Museum. Andersen Hall has been the college's home since 2001 and houses all faculty and staff offices. In 2021, the college leased 9,464 square feet of otherwise vacant space on the third floor of the Lincoln Children’s Museum to support the advertising and public relations-related Experience Lab programs and competition teams, including:
- Jacht
- Buoy
- Heartland Pulse
- Production House
- National Student Advertising Competition Team
- Bateman Case Study Competition Team
The space on the third floor of the Lincoln Children’s Museum is known as The Agency.
The vast majority, 89.4%, of the college’s space is dedicated to the direct support of faculty, staff and students. The remaining 10.6% is dedicated to support functions such as storage, lobbies and lounges.
Classrooms
The college has 19 classrooms ranging in capacity from 16 to 49 students, including conference and lecture style, to accommodate skills and midsize classes. Andersen Hall also houses a 120-person general purpose lecture hall available for courses from across campus. Classrooms are designed in a variety of styles, from conference style to lecture style, to accommodate a variety of teaching formats.
Collaborative Spaces
The college has 17 collaborative spaces to accommodate student work. Collaborative spaces range from small five- to six-person meeting rooms to support small group work, to larger lounges to support student groups of varying sizes.
Media Facilities
The college has a variety of media facilities to support the general curriculum and the Experience Lab’s media outlets and agencies.
Audio Studios
The college’s audio studios support students in the communication design program as well as students working for 90.3 KRNU and Unlimited Sports. In addition to the audio studios, The Agency also houses an audio booth, known as the Tardis, that supports recording needs in our Experience Lab programs, including
- Jacht: A student-run advertising agency focusing on business and government organizations
- Buoy: A student-run advertising agency focusing on mission-driven and nonprofit organizations
- Heartland Pulse: A student-run content marketing firm focused on how to live, love and play in Nebraska
- Production House: A student-run media production agency focusing on photography, videography and livestreaming
Our student-run radio station, 90.3 KRNU, has two control rooms for student broadcasts. The main studio in room 201 serves our FM radio station, KRNU, and its web stream. It contains a mid-sized digital audio board with microphone inputs for a host and up to six guests. Students use this room for live “on air” broadcasts and recording audio projects for later broadcasts or classwork. The routing equipment feeds audio signals to and from all our audio booths and is also in this room.
The second control room is in room 205. This is where students produce live sports and music programming for our second web stream, KRNU2. The college has two sets of remote equipment that students use to feed live sports broadcasts to this control room. There is also an audio mixer with microphone inputs for a host and two guests.
Two smaller audio booths connected to KRNU’s main studio are in rooms 248 and 249. These rooms are used for individual student news broadcasts and sportscasts, along with other student audio projects.
Students can also produce programming and audio projects in rooms 206, 207 and 208. These audio studios have mixing consoles and recording equipment for a host and two guests.
Podcast Studio
The podcast studio supports 90.3 KRNU and can be used by all majors in the college. It has an audio mixer with four microphones and headsets. There is also a small video switcher and a pair of PTZ cameras for students who wish to livestream or have video on their podcast.
Television Studios
The college houses two television studios. The third-floor television studio is used by the college’s broadcasting courses to hone students’ television and video production skills. There are three studio cameras with teleprompters, a Tricaster production switcher and an audio mixer for student productions.
In 2021, the college renovated the second floor of Andersen Hall to create the Don and Lorena Meier Studio. This state-of-the-art television studio is the home of Nebraska Nightly and the Nebraska News Service. It features three sets – a news desk, a green screen set and a lifestyle set. Aligned with our strategic goal to make learning visible across the college, the studio features an overhead balcony that allows potential students, parents and guests of the college to observe studio activities.
Also in 2021, the college renovated the former location of the second-floor television studio to create a classroom with streaming capabilities. Now known as the Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab, this space provides opportunities for students in Unlimited Sports to advance their media production, streaming and play-by-play skills. The Unlimited Sports Lab has a compact video switcher with four PTZ cameras, a camera control device and audio inputs for students to livestream and record programming.
In addition, we have a livestreaming “flypack” that can be used for remote productions. It’s a rolling single rack with a production switcher, audio mixer and PTZ cameras that enable students to livestream events and productions from remote locations with little setup time.
Editing Bays
Located in The Agency, the college has five editing bays available to support video production in the college. The editing bays include a tower PC running Adobe Creative Cloud and large wide-view monitors for student editing projects.
Perry Photo Studio
Located in The Agency, the Perry Photo Studio provides dedicated space for photography and video interview production. The space includes a full green screen wall, photo backdrops and access to cameras, lenses and lighting equipment through the equipment checkout room.
Checkout Rooms
To support the college’s need for media production equipment, the college houses two equipment checkout rooms, one in Andersen Hall and another in The Agency. Access to checkout room equipment is provided free of charge to all college majors, students enrolled in CoJMC courses, faculty and staff. Equipment available for checkout includes DSLR cameras, mirrorless cameras, video cameras, tripods, lights, gimbles and more.
Information about equipment available in the checkout room, is made available to all students through a Canvas page that can be embedded in all courses. For detailed information about all available equipment, click here.
Experience Lab
The Experience Lab accounts for 24.6% of the overall square footage (10,493 square feet) broken out into four spaces. As detailed above, The Agency, the Don and Lorena Meier Television Studio, the Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab and the KRNU Audio Studios are all dedicated to supporting the college’s seven media outlets and agencies.
Offices
The college has 58 offices available for use by faculty and staff. Each full-time faculty and staff member has a dedicated office. Additionally, the college provides each faculty and staff member with a laptop (choice of PC or Mac), two monitors, keyboard and mouse. Faculty and staff computers are leased and are on a four-year replacement cycle to ensure employees have the resources needed to be successful. In addition to hardware, a variety of software is available to all faculty and staff through university-level enterprise agreements, including Adobe Creative Cloud and Qualtrics survey software.
Technology Support
Three dedicated staff members support the college’s technology. Through an agreement with UNL Information Technology Services, a full-time computer support associate is assigned to the college. Steve Blum is responsible for managing the college’s computers, networking and other IT needs. He develops plans for computer purchases, including replacement cycles, manages classroom technology and troubleshoots technology challenges.
The college’s technical director, Jamie Wenz, oversees the college’s television and audio studio facilities. He plans for renovation and upgrades, manages equipment replacements, troubleshoots technology challenges and supports classes using these facilities.
The college’s checkout room manager, Susan Oestmann, oversees the college’s equipment inventory and the operation of the checkout rooms. In consultation with the college’s technology and infrastructure committee, she plans for equipment purchases, maintains a complete equipment inventory and ensures the smooth operation of the checkout room, making equipment available to faculty, staff and students.
6. Describe the unit’s most urgent needs for resources, if any, and the plan to address these needs.
The college’s most urgent needs for resources include additional faculty to serve our students and funds to support the college’s strategic priorities.
In the 2016 site team report, the ACEJMC site team noted that the college’s budget was weak in comparison to other units on campus since college budgets are based on past budgets and do not adjust for increased enrollments or changes in enrollment patterns. The university’s budget methodology has not changed since the college was reaccredited in 2017. Dean Veil did negotiate for four additional faculty lines as part of her hiring package in 2020. However, the budget cuts instituted in 2020 and 2023 have eroded these gains, and the college continues to be challenged with a shortage of full-time faculty.
The university has given serious consideration to the implementation of an incentive-based budget model that would allow for greater alignment of university funding to changing enrollment trends. The planned implementation of the new budget model was first delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and then delayed again by the announcement that Chancellor Ronnie Green would retire on June 30, 2023.
Despite these delays, the university has continued with plans to implement an incentive-based model in future years. The timeline of the implementation has not been announced.
In November 2022, the University of Nebraska Foundation launched a five-year comprehensive fundraising campaign to address campus resource needs. As part of the launch, the college developed an outline of resource needs totaling $14.7 million that aligns with and supports the college’s strategic priorities.
To support Aim 1 of the strategic plan, “Launch a college-wide experiential learning lab,” the college has identified $4 million in funding needs. The needs include:
- $1.2 million to support the lease of The Agency space that supports Experience Lab programs Heartland, Buoy and Production House.
- $1 million to support the purchase of technology and software for media production by Experience Lab programs
- $250,000 to provide scholarships to Experience Lab student leaders
- $1 million to support Experience Lab faculty liaisons, allowing them to spend additional time dedicated to the program
- $450,000 to support materials, services and travel opportunities for students enrolled in the Experience Lab
To support Aim 2, “Advance the field by bridging research and practice in our graduate programs,” the college has identified $2.2 million in funding needs, including:
- $1 million to create endowed professorships in advertising and public relations, advance our research portfolio and support a proposed Ph.D. program in the college
- $1.2 million to support additional graduate assistantships
To support Aim 3, “Emphasize and prioritize research and creative activity across the college,” the college has identified $300,000 in funding needs, including:
- $50,000 to support a shared faculty member with university honors programs that will allow us to challenge our most academically advanced students
- $250,000 to support global engagement and study abroad opportunities
To support Aim 4, “Embrace and protect the ethical pursuit of truth to uphold democracy,” the college has identified $3.8 million in funding needs, including:
- $800,000 to support the construction of a state-of-the-art integrated television studio and newsroom
- $3 million to establish endowed professorships in depth reporting and photojournalism
To support Aim 5, “Help solve challenges critical to our industries,” the college has identified $1.2 million in funding needs, including:
- $1 million to establish a professorship in media production
- $200,000 to support the college’s National Student Advertising Competition Team and Bateman Case Study Competition Team
To support Aim 6, “Prioritize community building that recognizes, respects and celebrates diversity,” the college needs $3 million to provide additional scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, expanding access to a CoJMC education.
To support Aim 7, “Establish a culture of life-long learning and professional development,” the college needs $250,000 in funds to support participation in trainings and conferences that advance teaching, research and creative activity.
To support Aim 8, “Create a robust alumni, donor and community engagement program,” the college needs $50,000 to support travel for students and faculty to major media markets.
To support these fundraising goals, the college has established a comprehensive campaign committee composed of alumni who represent a broad swath of the college’s constituencies. For a list of committee members, please see Standard 8.
Over the next five years, the college will work with the committee and the University of Nebraska Foundation to identify potential donors and build relationships that allow the college to align donor interests with college needs.