CURRICULUM PROPOSAL
OZARKA COLLEGE
Course Title / Basic News writingCIP Code / JOUR2003 [ACTS does not have this course in its system, so the course will have to be added to each articulation agreement.]
Contact Person(s) / Joanna Fulbright
Effective date of proposal / 03-01-2008
Proposal Summary / (Provide a general description of the proposed curriculum change or development)
The English Department will develop and offer a three hour elective entitled “Basic News writing.” The class could be offered once every other year.
The class should have a prerequisite addendum: Composition I or permission of the instructor should be required.
Need for the proposal / (Provide data on student interest, job availability, corporate demands, and employment projections. Focus on need in North Central Arkansas: is there sufficient demand, etc.)
Student Interest: Some students have expressed interest in taking this course as a viable local job opportunity for those with an interest in writing.
Public School Interest: To receive an endorsement to teach Journalism in the public schools, the following classes are required by Teacher Licensure (Feb. 2008) (see Appendix B).
· Survey of mass media and society,
· Techniques of writing for the mass media,
· Application of news writing and editing,
· Photo journalism for news and magazine publications.
To receive the endorsement, teachers must complete a program at one of the three ADE-approved site (UALR, U of A, and ASU).
According to Dr. Mary Jane Bradley, ASU chair of Professional Education Programs, as long as the course closely matches their own course description, they would accept the course toward the endorsement. Dr. Bradley said there was a limit to the number of courses they could accept. They would certainly accept one. If we later wish to offer another, we will have to check to see if they will allow two out-of-system classes to transfer.
According to Dr. Rob Lamm of ASU, who is in charge of accepting transfer courses for this degree, they only have to require nine credits for the endorsement, (Advanced Composition, Desktop Publishing, and EITHER Photography OR News writing) but he thinks they will accept transferred work towards the endorsement as long as a student gets at least one of the three classes from ASU. Anecdotally, he recalls a student once had all three courses upon transferring to ASU but Dr. Bradley would not approve the endorsement since none of the classes were taken at ASU.
According to Melissa Jacks at ADE licensure, currently teachers can get an “approval” to teach journalism classes, requiring only six credits of journalism. She stated that if a teacher came to them with three hours from us and three hours from another university, they would probably approve the teacher.
Providing even one of these courses would mean one less course that an area teacher would have to drive to a four-year institution to take, saving both gas and tuition.
Community Interest: This would increase the skills of the pool of area applicants searching for employment. When asked, representatives from area newspapers stated the following:
Stone County Leader: “A lot of young people apply in the summer, and our publisher and editor would love to see them come in with some of the skills they already need.”
Areawide Media: “If you teach them AP style, yes. Absolutely. When I get an area college student, especially an English major, I feel as if I have to turn them upside-down. It would save me lots and lots of time in training.”
The White River Current: “Yes, there is a need. We’re always looking for reporters.”
The Batesville Guard: “Yes. In fact, we have a summer internship program that’s quite popular. Once we got a new employee, a college student, whose first news story was written in first person. Things we take for granted that students would know, well, they don’t always know. A news writing course certainly couldn’t hurt.”
Pacesetting Times: “Oh, yes, I do think there’s a need. I’ve got some good people working for me, but they can’t get the classes at the four-year universities. I think a lot of people are already working in that capacity [as a reporter], and they are doing okay, but they want to learn more.”
Transfer Interest: In a telephone conversation with Dr. Joel Gambill, chair of the Department of Journalism at Arkansas State University, Dr. Gambill indicated strong interest in a community college offering up to twelve hours of electives that would prepare students to transfer to a four-year college in pursuit of a journalism degree. He indicated that if students took more courses at the community college, they would be more likely to continue taking courses after transferring. He was strongly supportive of the idea and highly recommended Ms. Edie Nicholson as a potential adjunct instructor.
Future Intentions: If this course has a high enough enrollment, we may later request to offer JOUR 2673: Desktop Publishing and Publication Design, where news publishing and publication design will be taught using journalism desktop publishing software packages like QuarkExpress or Aldus Pagemaker.
Curriculum outline / (Include prerequisites, course description, syllabus, suggested textbook, etc.)
See Appendix A: Attached syllabus. The proposal also will consider guidelines for accreditation for journalism programs, as established by The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, as further insurance of ease of transferability to accredited Journalism programs. In keeping with these guidelines, the course should be capped at 18 students.
Faculty needed for proposal / Edie Nicholson, a staff writer at the Stone County Leader, would teach the course as an adjunct. Ms. Nicholson holds an M.A. in Journalism and Communication.
Description of resources / (Present library resources including relevant holdings; current instructional facilities including classrooms, instructional equipment and technology, and laboratories, etc.)
Any of our current computer labs would be sufficient for this course. There would not be a need to purchase any additional software.
Costs associated with the activity / (New administrative costs; cost, if any, of additional faculty; new library resources and cost; new facilities and costs; distance delivery costs, if applicable; and any other costs associated with the proposal. If no new costs, explain.)
The only additional cost would be the cost of the adjunct faculty member’s salary.
Source of funding (if needed) / Institutional Funds or, if needed, an increase in the English Department’s budget.
Similar activities in colleges within a 50 mile range / Lyon-- JRN 203 NEWS WRITING / 3 credits. An introduction to basic news and news-feature writing with practical experience. Style and form of media news writing included.
UACCB—none
ASUMH—none
Williams Baptist -- JL 1113 Basic News Writing: A study of the basic methods of news writing for the modern newspaper. Fall, even.
JL 1123 News Reporting : A study and practical application of the fundamentals of news gathering, utilizing the techniques of news writing attained in Basic News Writing. Prerequisite: JL 1113. Spring, odd.
ASU– JOUR2003, Newswriting. Course includes attention to news style and grammar. Word processing skills required. Prerequisite, C or better in ENG 1003. Cross listed as RTV 2003. Fall, Spring, Summer.
UCA-- 2300 BEGINNING REPORTING A required course for mass communication majors with an emphasis in broadcast journalism, online journalism, or print journalism. Learn news gathering and reporting skills. Involves writing and editing of various types of news stories for publication. Lecture/Production. Prerequisite: WRTG 1320. Fall, spring.
APPROVAL SIGNATURES
Curriculum Committee / Date: ______
Chairperson Signature: ______
Administrative Council / Date: ______
Chairperson Signature: ______
Board of Trustees / Date
ADHE Submission / Date:
ADHE Letter of Notification / Date:
Assessment Methods
Implementation Date / Date:
(Add to Curriculum Committee Calendar)
Report back to Curriculum Committee / Date:
(Based on assessment measurements including course evaluation of instructions following the first offering of the curriculum.) (Add to Curriculum Committee Calendar)
Recommended Revisions / Date:
Appendix A
News Writing
JOUR 2003-001
(based on a syllabus from Arkansas State University, an ACEJMC-accredited program)
Instructor:
Phone:
Email:
Day/Time:
Classroom:
Office Hours:
Textbooks and Materials (possibilities: The instructor would have the freedom to select a text).
Rich, Carole, Writing and Reporting News, 5th ed (required)
The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (required).
Kessler & McDonald, When Words Collide.
Recommended: Jump drive
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course is designed to teach the fundamentals of news writing for print, web, and public relations. Learning emphasis will be placed on news style and the structuring/organization of news stories. Upon completion of this course you will be able to demonstrate a rudimentary capability to
· write a readable, coherent news story under fairly stringent time limitations;
· use proper news style for print, broadcast, web and public relations;
· understand the roles of fairness, accuracy and objectivity in news writing; and
· customize news stories for diverse audiences across multi-media platforms.
COURSE ORGANIZATION:
LOGISTICS
Class periods will consist primarily of lecture. Some in-class quizzes/exams will require you to go to a computer lab, log in to My.Ozarka, download an assignment, type a response, and submit the assignment (via My.Ozarka) before class is over. Because meeting deadlines is a primary consideration for a reporter, promptness and dependability in handling assignments and in-class attendance will be important in your successfully completing this course.
For some exams, you will be required to go to the computer lab and log in to My.Ozarka to print an assignment. Assignments you print will require you to use standard newspaper copyediting marking to correct errors. You will submit these assignments to the instructor in class or via pony express.
Stories and assignments are due at the assigned time. Late papers will receive deductions if they are accepted at all. All classwork/homework MUST BE TYPED. Computers are available on campus. If you doubt your typing ability, check with the instructor. You should be able to type 30 words/minute.
Copy will be graded on the basis of you have actually typed, not what you “intended” to write. There is no place in news writing for fuzzy, ambiguous, or ungrammatical writing. Stories should be clear, concise, thorough and—perhaps most importantly—interesting and accurate.
THINK!
Because the mass media place great emphasis on accuracy and due to the serious consequences of publishing incorrect information you must check and question every fact and detail that appears in your assignments…QUESTION EVERYTHING.
Do not accept spelling in class exercises as being necessarily correct. Use regular size (8 ½ X 11) paper for typing stories and assignments. Paper will be provided for in-class work. Neatness is a factor. Do not re-type or erase copy for perfection, but make legible copy corrections with a pencil according to the Associated Press Stylebook using copyediting marks.
You are expected to bring the Associated Press Stylebook with you to class each day. A PENCIL IS REQUIRED for copyediting assignments. By the end of the third week you should have mastered the copyediting symbols and be generally familiar with the contents of the stylebook and its organization.
PREPARATION
Prepare for class by reading the assigned chapters in your text prior to attending class. You will have quizzes that will test your reading skills.
Read the local newspaper and a major daily such as the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Read them critically and analytically. From them you can learn to do many things well, and regrettably, find many examples of inferior news writing. Watch local AND national broadcast news programs every day. Pay attention to the story mix and time allotment in each medium. Find at least two online news sources and check them every day for content. You will be quizzed frequently over your knowledge of local, state, and national current events.
CLASS ATTENDANCE:
It is the responsibility of all students to attend class.
While the ultimate decision about class attendance is up to you, please consider that you are preparing for a job in which timeliness is everything. An article about an event that the public considers “old news” will not improve your newspaper’s circulation and will ultimately jeopardize your job. Since the classroom should prepare you for the real world, the following policies will be in place:
(1) in class assignments generally may not be made up…
(2) homework or out-of-class assignments generally may not be made up…
(3) assignments (homework and out-of-class) will be accepted only on the due date at the appropriate time and there will be assignments and/or homework virtually every day in class…
(4) missed work counts as a zero or no credit for the assignment and will be averaged into total points to compute percentage grade…
If You “Must Miss”… then … see me in advance to see what arrangements, if any, can be made. Should you miss a class, contact me prior to the next scheduled class…if you expect to be able to make up the work assignments. This allows me to grade the assignment and turn it back to you at the same time I turn it back to the rest of the class for the assignment critique. “PRIOR TO THE NEXT CLASS” is not 30 minutes before that class begins! Make-up work may not be turned in during the final week of the semester.
GRADES/GRADING:
Each student is expected to COMPLETE ALL class work, both in-class projects and assignments. Assignments will be given specific point values that will be totaled and divided by total points possible to produce a student’s average at the end of the semester. I advise students to keep a record of all assignments. You can check your grade at any time by dividing the points accumulated by the total points possible and comparing that percentage with the scale given below.
Final grades will follow these percentage breakdowns:
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = Less than 60% of total points accumulated
These “approximate” point values can be obtained during the semester in the following way/categories:
• In-Class Writing Assignments 25%
• Out-of-Class Writing/Homework Assignments 25 %
• Miscellaneous Tests/Quizzes
chapter tests, current events, writing & style quizzes 20%
• Mid-term 15%
• Final Exam 15%
[50% of your grade is based on writing; 50% on tests]