2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

First and foremost, students learned they don’t have to engage in traditional volunteer
work to contribute to the local community. Instead, they could give back to the community by
offering their communication knowledge and expertise. Secondly, students learned the process of
public relations planning through experience. They came face-to-face with issues related to
teamwork, the difficulties of collecting data and the realities of small budgets.
I believe working with a campus organization contributed to the success of the project.
Moreover, the client must have a clear understanding of the course and the students’ level of
knowledge. It must be emphasized that this in an introductory course; client expectations should
not be the same as clients who work with capstone campaigns classes. Therefore, it is imperative
to keep the students focused on one objective because this is a mini campaign not a
comprehensive plan. The idea is to give students a snapshot of the public relations process.
References
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Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 54, 126-142.
Beckman, M. (1997). Learning in action: Courses that complement community service.
College Teaching, 45, 72-76.
Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing service learning in higher
education. Journal of Higher Education, 67, 221-239.
Daugherty, E. (2003). Service-learning integration in a public relations program:
Pedagogy for enhanced learning. Teaching Public Relations, 58.
Hartley, M., Harkavy, I., and Benson, L. (2005). Putting down roots in the groves of
academe: The challenges of institutionalizing service-learning. In D. Butin (Ed.),
Service-Learning in Higher Education: Critical Issues and Directions.
Palgrave/St. Martin’s Press.
Hunt, T. (1988). Student is own “client” in campaigns course. Teaching Public Relations,
3.
Slater, M.D. (1991). Combining cooperative learning and individual client work in the
Public relations “capstone” course. Teaching Public Relations, 22.
Silverman, D. A. (2007). Organ donation awareness campaigns in the PR Campaigns
course. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 61(4), 411-428.
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