2010 - Public Relations Society of America
2010 - Public Relations Society of America
2010 - Public Relations Society of America
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Trends evident in K-12 education, the impact <strong>of</strong> digital technology on writing skills, and<br />
financial pressures in higher education all suggest that regardless <strong>of</strong> institution type, more and<br />
more underprepared students will be turning up at the university gates. Tougher standards, on<br />
their own, may only result in smaller programs filled with students who still need help with basic<br />
writing skills. Based on the results <strong>of</strong> this study, a more balanced approach between rigor and<br />
remediation is advised.<br />
Reviewing RQ4, it is evident that faculty believe their programs have achieved no more<br />
than a moderate amount <strong>of</strong> success with any measures listed in the survey. The highest mean<br />
rating <strong>of</strong> 3.22 ( language skills exam with a basic class for low scorers) is hardly encouraging,<br />
and the cluster <strong>of</strong> mean scores near 3.0 (“neutral) for all items illustrates faculty members’ mixed<br />
feelings toward any measures they have tried. The fact that nearly two-thirds <strong>of</strong> the open-ended<br />
responses for this item indicated failure rather than success is further cause for concern among<br />
program planners. It is notable that the top two measures utilized – a basic writing class for all<br />
students and minimum GPA – garnered the lowest mean scores in terms <strong>of</strong> perceived success.<br />
Results relevant to RQ5 highlight a major finding <strong>of</strong> this study. All respondents,<br />
regardless <strong>of</strong> academic unit, Carnegie classification, or ACEJMC accreditation gave students<br />
similar ratings in writing pr<strong>of</strong>iciency. All respondents also indicated they are dealing with many<br />
similar writing-related issues and trying many <strong>of</strong> the same measures with mixed success. Given<br />
that all respondents appear to be fighting similar instructional battles with similar results, future<br />
studies might explore the best combinations <strong>of</strong> measures that could be pursued to everyone’s best<br />
advantage.<br />
On a more optimistic note, faculty in ACEJMC-accredited programs noted lack <strong>of</strong> quality<br />
work in student media as less <strong>of</strong> an issue than their counterparts in unaccredited programs. This<br />
might be explained by Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction in ACEJMC’s accrediting<br />
standards. This standard states, “Students may take up to three semester courses (or their<br />
equivalent) at a media outlet owned and operated by the institution where full-time faculty are in<br />
charge and where the primary function <strong>of</strong> the media outlet is to instruct students.” ACEJMC<br />
adds, “The Council urges journalism and mass communications programs to advise students to<br />
acquire appropriately supervised experience in campus media and pr<strong>of</strong>essional internships.” In<br />
other words, careful supervision <strong>of</strong> campus media by full-time faculty, as required by ACEJMC,<br />
appears to improve the quality <strong>of</strong> work in student media.<br />
Trends in Open-Ended Responses<br />
Among the 97 respondents who answered the open-ended question on measures they<br />
would like to see their academic unit use, by far the largest number (32%, n = 31) indicated they<br />
would like to implement a language skills exam, either with a minimum grade required for<br />
program entrance or with a basic class required for low-scoring students. “I think it is effective in<br />
not only assessing student writing skill, but in getting students to realize our expectations in<br />
those areas,” wrote one respondent. Four respondents wrote that they would like to expand the<br />
language skills exam to include an essay. “Some students do very well on parts <strong>of</strong> speech,<br />
punctuation, or grammar, but can’t write clear sentences,” added another. “I’d like to eliminate<br />
sections on spelling and most <strong>of</strong> the parts <strong>of</strong> speech. You can look up spelling.”<br />
Respondents noted several barriers to implementing language skills exams at their<br />
institutions, ranging from time and staff shortages to faculty resistance and institutional culture.<br />
“Most <strong>of</strong> my colleagues believe administration <strong>of</strong> the exam would be a nightmare if we don’t<br />
have the staff to handle it,” noted one respondent. Another wrote, “A minimum skills entrance<br />
test would probably be helpful, but it wouldn’t fit the institutional ethos <strong>of</strong> nurturing marginal<br />
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