1982-1983 SENATE DOCUMENT #19 APC DOCUMENT #18 CATALOG REVISION IN COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM I. Rationale for each requested change is provided on the attached sheets and corresponds to the lettering in the left column. Because the changes here are extensive, we are requesting that all material on pp. 77-79 of the 1982-83 catalog be replaced with the following: A. COMMUNICATIONS (COMM) The major in Communications offered through the Department of Literature provides students an opportunity to study the art, process and function of human communication. Emphasis is placed on students' attaining a broad understanding of communication theory and graceful writing style through combining insights from both the social sciences and humanities. The required curriculum grows out of a philosophical conviction that communications studies should not be limited to technical training, but must be deeply rooted in the liberal arts. Students will be involved in literature and other disciplines almost as much as in communication courses. Students who complete the program will not be limited to a specific trade but will be broadly educated individuals prepared for employment in management, politics, the arts, advertising, government, radio, television, and print journalism -- or for further study at the graduate level. B. COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR I. Required courses in the major -- 36 hours, distributed as follows: 24 hours in Communications including Communication 221, 305, 401, 405; 3 hours in Comm 395, 396, and/or 397 plus 9 hours elected from Communications; 12 hours in Literature with at least three hours from courses numbered above 300. C.II. Required courses outside the major -- 24 hours including Psychology 100; Economics 201; either Art 100 or Art 225 and 3 credit hours in Political Science selected from a departmentally approved list; 12 hours of a concentration in a single field designed to meet the student's needs (when approved by the program director). Page 2 D.III. Foreign language requirement -- competency on the intermediate level in a classical or modern foreign language. E.IV. Other departmental requirements -- a Demonstration of Competency Examination. F. COMMUNICATIONS MINOR Required courses in the minor--19 hours, distributed as follows: 13 hours in Communications including Communications 221, 405, either 401 or 305 and either 395, 396, or 397 plus 3 hours elected in Communications; 6 hours selected from Literature courses. G. 105 Mass Media and Society (3) A study of the structure and function of mass communications in society; covers inter-relationship of print, radio, television, and film, including their potential as propaganda. Rights, responsibilities, characteristics and factors influencing the media. H. 221 Newswriting (3) Newsgathering and writing; interviewing; straight news formula, feature article and opinion piece. Prerequisite: Freshman composition requirement; ability to type. I. 265 Science and Technical Writing (3) Principles and procedures in technical, scientific, and report writing; development of proposals, abstracts, and reports of technical data; emphasis on concise expression of research results. Prerequisite: Freshman composition requirement. J. 269 Communication for Management (3) A study of managerial communication designed to help the student use language as a management tool. Prerequisite: Freshman composition requirement. K. 260 Magazine Article Writing (3) Planning and gathering material, writing and marketing articles for specialized and general interest publications. L. 305 History of American Media (3) History and development of traditions, practices and technology in American newspapers, magazines, radio and television including a study of the "great names" and their accomplishments. Page 3 M. 321 Editing (3) Rewriting and editing; graphics; headline writing; the role and responsibilities of the editor in newspaper, magazine, book publishing and broadcasting. Prerequisite: Comm 221 N. 331 Broadcast Journalism (3) Writing and reporting for radio/television news; basic studies in the history of broadcast journalism; the relationship between images and words. Prerequisite: Comm 221 O. 341 Advertising and Public Relations (3) Copy writing for advertising and promotion in both print and electronic media. Prerequisite for management majors: Management 140, 200, and 350; or permission of the instructor. P. 351 Photojournalism (3) Photographic skills, editorial considerations, and relationships between story and photo; extensive writing and photograhy assignments. Prerequisites: Comm 221, Art 225; or permission of the instructor; access to a camera. Q. 361 Advanced News Writing (3) Field practice in news gathering and writing, covering news beats including courts and local governments and other news sources. Emphasis on accuracy, clarity and comprehensiveness of reporting. Prerequisite: Comm 221 R. 395 Newspaper Workshop (1) Work experience in campus publications under professional guidance. May be repeated for up to 3 credits. 396 Radio Workshop (1) Work experience at campus radio station under professional guidance. May be repeated for up to 3 credits. 397 TV Workshop (1) Work experience at on-campus TV facility under professional guidance. May be repeated for up to 3 credits. Page 4 S. 401 Communications Law and Ethics (3) A study of the legal sanctions and constitutional freedoms affecting the print and broadcasting media. An inquiry into the responsibilities of the media and discussion of specific ethical problems. T. 405 Communication Theories (3) A survey of theories of human communication behavior related to the mass media. Characteristics of mass audience and media channels; application of the theories to create more effective communication. U. 451 Professional Internship (3) Students with 3.0 gpa or better within the major may apply for a professional internship in either print or electronic media. Prerequisite: permission of the Program Director. V. 171-3, 271-3, 371-3, 471-3 Special Topics in Communications (1-3) Courses not otherwise included in the catalog listing but for which there will be special needs. May be repeated as subject matter changes. RATIONALE: Because the Communications program was created without benefit of an on-campus faculty member with qualified credentials in communications, we recognized from the beginning that whoever was hired as the first Communications Program Director would and should find it necessary to review and recommend changes in the very first year of the major. The preceding proposals are made in that light, and with the belief that for the benefit of students, any major restructuring should be accomplished at one time rather than piece-mealing changes over a number of years. The purposed changes do not affect the desired balance between liberal arts and professionally oriented course work. Although six hours of additional requirements have been added to the major, the overall balance includes 24 hours in traditional liberal arts, 24 total hours in Communications and 12 hours of interdisciplinary courses outside the major -- again in traditional liberal arts areas. A. CATALOG STATEMENT A few editorial changes have been made. Substance and and philosophy have not been changed. Page 5 B. COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR, PART I Required total hours in the major has been increased from 34 to 36. Comm 221 - (Writing and Reporting for Publication) has been moved from an elective position into the first required course and been renamed, "Newswriting". Because this program emphasized writing skills, it seems only logical that a writing course should be required. The skills learned in this course are also essential for effective progress through higher level courses. Comm 305 - (History of American Media) is the only newly created course among the required courses. History of the media was originally "worked into" a number of other courses in a fragmented fashion. The department feels that a cohesive, formally developed history of media is important to students in the field. This type of course is also a normal and standard requirement in other communications programs. Comm 401 - (Communications Law) has been expanded to include the study of ethics (Communication Law and Ethics). Comm 405 - (Communication Theory) is a more intensive and focused version of Comm 201 (Intro to Comm). We have raised it from an introductory level course because of the difficulty and complexity of the subject. It serves better as a course which draws together and abstracts the various kinds of introduction to the subject at the Freshman or Sophomore level. 395 Newspaper Workshop/396 Radio Workshop/397 TV Workshop. Each of these 1-hour workshops provides a student with on-camus experience before seeking an off-campus internship. The only change has been to split Radio and TV into separate workshops for more clear transcript identification. The previously required Comm 301 (Mass Media and Society) has been moved to an elective offered at the 100 level because it is more appropriate to a general audience and should be made available to non-majors. The requirement for nine hours of electives remains the same. The requirement for 15 hours of literature courses has been reduced to 12 hours in order to strengthen the number of required courses in communications. Page 6 C. PART II, REQUIRED COURSES OUTSIDE THE MAJOR The requirement for Computer Sciences 141 has been replaced with a new requirement for either Art 100 or Art 225. After more reflection, it is our feeling that although students in communications need general understanding of computers, such experience should be on word processing machines. An ability to create computer programs is subsidiary. On the other hand, almost all communications involves some sort of visual presentation of material (whether on the printed page or through photography, film, or television). Hence a basic knowledge of spatial relationships is essential. A new requirement in Political Science has been added because so very many of the students entering the communications field will be dealing with some form of governmental structure or political system. D. PART II, FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT Unchanged. E. PART IV. OTHER DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS Unchanged. F. COMMUNICATIONS MINOR A proposed minor of 19 hours falls within the university guideline for minors and offers students an opportunity to supplement almost any other major in the university with a valuable background. G. 105 MASS MEDIA AND SOCIETY (3) This course has been moved to the 100 level (from the formerly numbered 305) and the language in the course description has been made more specific. H. 221 NEWSWRITING (3) The title has been changed to more accurately reflect the content; wording has been made more specific. I. 265 SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL WRITING (3) Unchanged. J. 269 COMMUNICATION FOR MANAGEMENT (3) Unchanged. Page 7 K. 260 MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING (3) This is a new course intended to fill a gap in the original program. It is self-evident that magazines are a major portion of the communications media. This course will give specific attention to the writing of feature stories, essays, and articles. It is expected to draw enrollment from the community as well as from majors in Communications, Literature, and Creative Writing. L. 305 HISTORY OF AMERICAN MEDIA (3) This is a new course providing majors with a detailed and thorough background of developments and traditions in communications. Broadcasting and Print are integrated here, unlike offerings on other campuses, in order to stress the relationship. M. 321 EDITING (3) Language has been tightened and focused to reflect the specifics of the course. N. 331 BROADCAST JOURNALISM (3) Prerequisites have been reduced to Comm 221 because of above changes in the requirements for major, and because the previous number of prerequisites did not seem necessary. O. 341 ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (3) The prerequisite for Communications Majors has been eliminated to be consistent with other changes in the program. P. 351 PHOTOJOURNALISM (3) Art 225 has been added as a prerequisite and the course elevated to the Junior level. By requiring students to take Art 225 first, this course can function at a more advanced level and will not need to duplicate or overlap introductory photographic instruction already offered. Q. 361 ADVANCED NEWS WRITING (3) This course will offer students field experience; interviews will be conducted in the community instead of on-campus. Students will gain experience with advanced reporting skills; topics will be in-depth and more complicated than in Comm 221. Page 8 R. 395, 396, 397 WORKSHOPS Titles have been made more specific to clarify transcripts. S. 401 COMMUNICATIONS LAW AND ETHICS (3) The title and wording have been made more specific to emphasize the actual content of the course. T. 405 COMMUNICATION THEORIES This is an extensively upgraded version of the previous Communications 201. Discussion of theory will emphasize how it applies to the practical acts of communication such as writing and editing. U. 451 PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIP (3) The prerequisite has changed from permission of the Department Chairman to Permission of the Program Director. V. 171-3 etc. Unchanged.