College of Communications Reaccredited, Praised for Diversity Efforts
June 12, 2001
University Park, Pa. - The College of Communications has been reaccredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), receiving a special commendation for its strong diversity efforts.
ACEJMC voted unanimously at its annual spring meeting in Portland, Ore., concurring with recommendations for reaccreditation made earlier by the national Accrediting Committee and site-visit team.
The next review for the College-which encompasses the departments of Advertising/Public Relations, Film-Video and Media Studies, Journalism, and Telecommunications-will be during the 2006-2007 academic year.
The College was judged to be in compliance with all 12 of the accrediting council's review standards: governance/administration; budget; curriculum; student records/advising; instruction/evaluation; full-time/part-time faculty; internships/work experience; equipment/facilities; scholarship, research, creative, and professional activities; public service; graduates/alumni; and diversity.
In summarizing the strengths of the College, the site-visit team cited "exemplary commitment, practices and accomplishment on all dimensions of diversity-student recruitment and retention, faculty recruitment and retention and curricular development."
Noting that the College's minority enrollment of 13.1 percent is more than the campus-wide average, the report called attention to outstanding freshman-to-sophomore retention rates of the College's students of color (more than 90 percent during the past eight years); the doubling of the number of full-time minority faculty members since the 1995 review; the doubling of minority student enrollment since the last review; and an effective Office of Multicultural Affairs.
The report, which said that the College "has a model program to enhance diversity," cited the discussion of diversity issues in more than 60 different course sections.
Additional strengths noted in the report included: a commitment to effective teaching and student learning; comprehensive and diverse public service, ranging from the high-school level through student activities, service learning, and community involvement to mid-career and professional workshops and programs; effective and creative relations with graduates, which result in loyal alumni eager to help the College by mentoring and placing students and donating funds; remarkable collegiality between tenured and tenure-track faculty and lecturers; and extensive staff support in human resources, development, alumni and public relations, diversity, placement, and facilities and technology.
ACEJMC is the agency formally recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education for accrediting professional education programs in journalism and mass communications institutions of higher learning.
ACEJMC conducts voluntary reviews of programs, awarding accredited status to those that meets its standards. The Council currently accredits 108 programs in the United States and outside the country.
The structure for evaluating and accrediting journalism and mass communications programs was established in 1945.
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