2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

esponses were then totaled for each category, set against an ideal score (indicating the highest
possible number attainable for that category), and then assigned an “integration score” as a
percentage of the available total. Here, 0 = low integration, .5 = medium integration, and 1 =
high integration. T-tests and analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences.
Descriptive statistics, t-tests and analysis of variance were used to investigate RQ1-4. An
alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests.
Results
RQ1: What is the level and nature of curricular integration in university degree programs,
courses and course topics?
Taken as a whole, data indicated that institutions surveyed (n = 114) have achieved
“medium integration,” with a mean integration score of .61 across all degree programs courses
and course topics. However, data indicated that all institutions surveyed tend toward “high
integration” within courses integrating advertising and public relations, with an overall
integration score of .83.
Within the “undergraduate degrees” and “graduate degrees” sections of the survey, total
respondents scored in the “medium integration” range, with overall integration scores of .53 and
.46 respectively.
Within the “common communication courses” and “course topics” sections, overall
respondents scored above “medium integration” with scores of .70 and .64 respectively. Overall
respondents scored as “medium integration” within the “common business courses” section of
the survey, achieving an overall integration score of .50.
An ANOVA test of integration scores revealed no significant differences between any of
the categories.
RQ2: How do institutional factors predict the level and nature of curricular integration in
university degree programs, courses, and course topics?
To address RQ2, institutional factors including public versus private status, Carnegie
Basic Classification, Carnegie Enrollment Profile, ACEJMC accreditation status, academic unit,
and enrollment were examined.
Regardless of institutional factors, none of the respondents earned scores beyond the
“medium integration” level for undergraduate or graduate degrees. Mean undergraduate degree
scores ranged from .43 to .54, while mean graduate degree scores ran slightly lower, from .36 to
.53.
Regardless of institutional factors, respondents all scored somewhat higher, between the
“medium integration” and “high integration” levels, for common communication courses and
course topics. Mean scores ranged from .60 to .77. Regardless of institutional factors,
respondents all scored as “medium integration” for common business courses, where mean
scores ranged from .43 to .63.
However, scores tending toward “high integration” were evident across all institutions for
courses integrating advertising and public relations. Here, mean integration scores ran between
.78 and .97.
T-tests and ANOVA tests revealed no significant differences between any of the groups
for degrees, courses or course topics.
Mean curricular integration scores for all institutions are summarized in Table 1.
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