The media studies emphasis is designed to develop students who possess a strong liberal arts background to enter the ever-converging media industry by providing them with hands-on experience in radio and television broadcasting, as well as print journalism. Students are guided by a dedicated and diverse faculty with the proper mix of academic and professional backgrounds to ensure excellence in teaching and advising. Media studies faculty are actively involved in research and professional involvement that contributes to advancing the body of information available in the fields of broadcasting, journalism and media studies.
To understand and improve student learning, the Communication Faculty will meet at the end of each academic year, using course objectives and content to evaluate the extent of the learning that takes place. The assessment procedure is as follows:
- The faculty reviews course goals and essential learning objectives relating to course syllabi.
- The faculty reviews experiential learning opportunities to ensure they are to-date with current industry standards.
- The faculty reviews and discusses the assessment data to identify how to use the data to improve student learning.
- If necessary, the faculty makes recommendations about how the course can be improved.
- The department chair will review the impact of the recommendations.
ELO 2.0: Communication
Students develop and express ideas and will be able to do so in a variety of ways, namely in writing, by speaking, visually, kinesthetically, through design or aurally.
ELO 3.0: Critical Thinking
Students demonstrate disciplined processes of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.
ELO 5.0: Digital Literacy
Students strategically and responsibly employ appropriate technologies to explore, create, collaborate, and organize in a digital context.
ELO 10.0: Integrative Learning
Students make connections among ideas and experiences and can synthesize and transfer their learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus.
The Communication Department provides simulations and applications of real world job preparation through service learning and civic engagement. The department offers experiential learning through the University Journal campus newspaper, Thunder 91 Radio, SUU News online, and SUTV.
- Knowledge acquisition and skills development
– Provide students with an historical grounding in the field of communication and media studies in order to ensure they have a foundation for studying the contemporary world and are aware of the importance of history in any field of studies.
– Provide students with an ethical and critical framework within the field of communication and media studies that fosters the development of critical thinking skills, a social consciousness and global awareness.
- Personalized learning environment
– Faculty offer a personalized learning environment for both face-to-face and online students with a targeted curriculum that helps students understand how a particular course can contribute to their specific career interests.
- Placement in media organizations or transition into MAPC
– Provide students with content mastery that will allow for intellectual development, the honing of critical thinking skills, creative and imaginative uses of form and technology, and career preparedness.
– Students will demonstrate the ability to write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for scholarly research as well as the communication professions, audiences and purposes they serve.
– Students will demonstrate an understanding of current media technologies and their capabilities, limitations and implications from multiple perspectives, including that of producer, participant and audience.
– Students make connections among ideas and experiences and can synthesize and transfer their learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus.
Hayden Coombs 