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Report of the Academic Program Review Committee Report for the

Department of Communication: Review Period FY2007-FY2009

Report Date: May 26, 2010

Approved by CAP: June 15, 2010

I. Program Summary

The Department of Communication was formed in 1981 when the Department of Journalism and the Department of Speech and Drama (both in the College of Arts & Sciences) were merged. Shortly thereafter the interdisciplinary program in Communication (from the College of Urban Life) was moved to the department. The department initially offered three undergraduate degrees (Journalism, Speech, and Theater) and in 1987 another was added (Film/Video) and the Theater program was moved to a BIS. The department began to offer a Master of Communication degree in 1982 and this degree was later changed to an MA in Communication (with possible concentration in Mass Communication, Human Communication & Social Influence, and Film/Video and Digital Imaging). In 1999 the PhD program in Communication Studies (with emphases in Public Communication and Moving Image Studies) was established.

The Department of Communication’s mission is to “cultivate a deeper appreciation of the creative and intellectual traditions of communication” through its instruction, service, and research and creative endeavors.

Faculty, Staff, Enrollments and Service. Over the reporting period, the Department of Communication averaged 30.3 tenured/tenure-track and 7.7 non-tenure track fulltime faculty members, 8.3 part-time instructors, and 46.0 graduate teaching assistants. Currently there are 35 tenured/tenure-track faculty members (11 assistant professors and 16 associate professors and 10 professors), of which 19 are women and 16 are men, and 10 full-time non-tenure track faculty (4 female, 6 male). There are 4 minority members among the tenured/tenure-track faculty and none among the non-tenure track full-time faculty.

Total credit hours increased by 1533 cr. hrs. from FY2007 to FY2008 and by 2657 cr. hrs. from FY2008 to FY2009.

Average Annual Credit Hours (FY2007-FY2009)a

FY 2007 / FY 2008 / FY 2009 / Average / % of
Faculty Type / Total / Total
Tenure-track: / 9,086 / 8,996 / 10,575 / 9,552 / 22.0
Non tenure-track: / 14,687 / 16,933 / 17,829 / 16,483 / 38.0
PTI: / 853 / 517 / 1,099 / 823 / 1.9
GTA: / 13,158 / 10,250 / 13,463 / 12,290 / 28.3
Other / 3,666 / 6,287 / 2,674 / 4,209 / 9.7
Total / 41,450 / 42,983 / 45,640 / 43,358
% change / 3.6 / 5.8

a) from Table 5

The FY2009 credit hours for the UG Core and UG lower level showed substantial percentage increases over the respective three year averages (Table 05) while those for the UG upper level and Graduate courses showed percentage decreases (even though there absolute increases). Average credit hour generation by faculty category appears in the table below. Credit hours by course and faculty type were given for each of the requested years. The numbers indicate a heavy reliance on non-tenure track faculty, GTAs and others to teach the undergraduate major courses (71% of the hours in 2007 and 65% in 2009). Over 55% of current credit hour generation is from the undergraduate core and lower level courses. The data are summarized in the table below.

Annual Credit Hours (FY2007-FY2009)a

Undergrad. Core / Undergrad. Lower Level / Undergrad. Upper Level / Grad
Faculty Type
2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009
Tenure-track: / 478 / 323 / 995 / 375 / 165 / 108 / 4422 / 4636 / 5380 / 3811 / 3872 / 4092
Non tenure-track: / 7364 / 9273 / 10353 / 1950 / 1965 / 2688 / 5145 / 5394 / 4682 / 228 / 301 / 106
PTI: / 0 / 0 / 150 / 48 / 62 / 244 / 698 / 452 / 687 / 107 / 3 / 18
GTA: / 7144 / 5201 / 7943 / 2265 / 2148 / 2403 / 3749 / 2901 / 3117 / 0 / 0 / 0
Other / 1983 / 3300 / 426 / 48 / 959 / 198 / 1341 / 1794 / 1638 / 294 / 234 / 412
Total / 16969 / 18097 / 19867 / 4686 / 5299 / 5641 / 15355 / 15177 / 15504 / 4440 / 4410 / 4628
% of total / 40.9 / 42.1 / 43.5 / 11.3 / 12.3 / 12.4 / 37.0 / 35.3 / 34.0 / 10.7 / 10.3 / 10.1

a) from Table B-4

The department has 8 administrative staff and 4 technical support staff. There was no information provided in the self-study as to the gender or racial makeup of these 12 individuals.

Scholarly Productivity and External Funding. Over the reporting period, 24 faculty members (no non-tenure track faculty were included) reported a total of 12 books, 35 journal articles (1.5 per faculty member per 3-years) 12 books (0.5/3-years) 37 chapters (1.5/3-years), 190 conference presentations (7.9/3-years). Only faculty who were in the department all three years were included in these counts. Those reporting creative endeavors (6 faculty members) had a total of 10 plays/13films/74 screenings (average of 1.7/2.2/12.3 per faculty per 3-years), 15 invited creative projects (13 by one faculty member), and 19 presentations (averaging 3.2 per person per 3-years). There was no breakdown by year.

External funding sources have included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Department of Education, the US Department of Justice and others. The self-study indicates the department has $4 million in external funding while the data table only indicates a total of $2.7 million. External funding was generated primarily by 7 faculty members. The department has $130 thousand in internal funding. Funding is shown in the following table.

Funding From Grant and Other Sources (FY2007-FY2009)

Source /
FY07+FY08+FY09 / Average Annual Grant Per Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty
External / $2,725,900 / $30,288
Internal grants / $130,300 / $1,448

Student Numbers by Degree Programs and Degrees Awarded.

Over the review period, the number of undergraduate majors increased 9% and the number of degrees awarded increased 10%. The number of master’s students (degrees) decreased over the period by 18% (25%) and the number of PhD students remained fairly constant, while the number of degrees awarded decreased 91%.

The number of majors and the number of degrees by year and on average appears in the following table:

Majors and Degrees by Year and Averagesa

FY2007 / FY2008 / FY2009 / 3-Year Average
Degree / Conc / Majors / Degrees / Majors / Degrees / Majors / Degrees / Majors / Degrees
AB / FMV / 598 / 91 / 638 / 93 / 667 / 106 / 634.3 / 96.7
AB / JOUR / 1005 / 175 / 1036 / 172 / 1055 / 193 / 1032 / 180
AB / SPCH / 198 / 43 / 223 / 38 / 256 / 58 / 225.7 / 46.3
AB / THEA / 33 / 18 / 14 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 16.7 / 10.0

Majors and Degrees by Year and Averagesa

BIS / IDS / 6 / 1 / 19 / 2 / 12.5 / 1.5
Total / 1834 / 327 / 1917 / 314 / 2000 / 361 / 1917.0 / 334.0
MA / COMM / 124 / 24 / 112 / 14 / 101 / 18 / 112.3 / 18.7
PHD / COMM / 58 / 11 / 55 / 1 / 59 / 1 / 57.3 / 4.3

a) from Table B3

Student and Learning Quality

Core Course. The Department offers many courses used in the core. The number of sections has increased over 27% during the three year period with an average of 148.7 sections offered, taken by an average of 6978 students. Many of these sections are taught in a large lecture format (SPCH 2050 and THEA 2040) averaging over 90 and 70 students per section respectively. Assessment reports for two of the three years were provided for assessment activities in SPCH 1000 only. Two online assessment tools (PRCA-24 and WTC) are used as well as one performance assessment.

AB Programs. The Department currently has over 1800 majors in 5 concentrations (each concentration has sub-concentrations). Assessment reports are broken down by concentration. One report for Film/Video was provided. Multiple reports for Journalism were provided with success being measured in two courses, JOUR 3060 and 3070. For years 2005-6 through 2007-8, performance on a research paper consistently decreased. Similar type results were presented for the Speech concentration. All direct assessments are drawn from written assignments.

The self study offers no SAT scores or Freshman Index information about their undergraduate majors. However, the department does require a minimum GPA of 2.5 for entry into the Journalism and Film/Video majors that was implemented in 2003.

MA Program. There are currently about 100 students enrolled in the two-year Masters program. Successful applicants to the MA program must have a minimum composite GRE score of 1000 (500 on each part) and a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA to be considered. Accepted students had an average of 540 Verbal and enrolled had 549. Quantitative scores for accepted students average 642 and enrolled students 590. During the FY 2007-2009 period, the program enrolled an average of 112.3 students, conferring an average of 18.7 degrees. The number of graduate students declined during this period (124 in ’07, 112 in ’08, 101 in ’09), as did the number of degrees conferred (24 in ’07, 14 in ’08, and 18 in ’09). The department states that this is a result of increasing academic standards and an acceptance rate of only ~30%.

Ph.D. There are currently about 60 Ph.D. students but the program has graduated only two students in the last two years (though they did graduate 11 students in the first year of the self study). The entrance requirements are similar to those for the Masters students. The average GRE scores for applicants was 550 Verbal and 586 Quantitative, accepted students had an average of 598 and 603, and enrolled students had 592 and 617.

The self study compares the GRE scores of newly admitted GSU with those of their peer institutions (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, and Maryland). In each case GSU’s scores were less than those of their peers (by 200-300 points).

GRE Peer Institution Comparison Information

Fall 2008 data / GSU / Minnesota
(Comm Studies)* / Minnesota
(Jour/Mass Comm) / Wisconsin (Comm Arts) / Texas (Advertising & PR) / Maryland (Comm)*
GRE Total MA / 960 / 1254 / 1136 / 1190 / 1470 / 1251
GRE Total PhD / 1130 / 1254 / 1370 / 1290 / 1146 / 1251

*combined MA and PhD

Doctoral students have published over 30 articles or essays in scholarly journals or books. They have given over 100 conference presentations and are strongly involved in major conferences. Graduates from the program have secured academic positions at institutions such as University of Toledo, UNLV, Cairo University and University of West Georgia. The self-study reports that many PhD students do not finish the program. However, the self-study does not provide details regarding these students or whether they ultimately complete the program.

II. Assessment

The committee found that some information was presented selectively in the self-study, in particular, data on faculty productivity. The self study lacked the analysis needed to show how the data motivated the suggested actions.

1.  Academic quality of the unit with respect to instruction, research, and service.

a.  Instruction.
Core Courses. The committee commends the department for its substantial contributions to the core in offering three courses in Area C (SPCH 2050, FILM 2700, and THEA 2040) and the one course in Area B (SPCH 1000). However, assessment of these courses has been inconsistent or inadequate. General Education Learning outcomes were assessed and reported for SPCH 1000 for two of the three years but not reported for any of the Area C courses.
AB Program. The external reviewers comment on a new proposed curriculum which is not reported in detail in the self-study. The committee agrees that significant updating of the curriculum is warranted but cannot ascertain if the proposed changes are appropriate as these changes are not given.

Assessment of learning outcomes for each of the majors has been inconsistent. The assessments that were reported are not generally giving appropriate information to be useful for improvement of the programs. The self-study reports for Film/Video “new learning outcomes and assessment measures have been devised for the new curriculum.” However, the specific curricular changes were not provided and assessment reports have not been entered for the Film and Video program for the last two years. Progress is being made in the CTW initiative as courses have been approved for each major in the department and are being taught this year.

MA and PhD Programs. The external reviewers express concern over small numbers of PhD students and recommend recruitment efforts. However, the committee notes that the number of PhD students is not out of line with programs at peer institutions, but that the graduation rates in the PhD program are extremely low (less than 2% of students finishing per year for the past two years). The committee speculates that there may be a relationship between the low graduation rates and the heavy GTA teaching load (28% of credit hours generated by GTAs). Also, the GRE scores of the entering students are significantly below those of peer institutions.

b.  Research. Data provided by the department in Table B-2 were selective and not differentiated by year as required by the template. Faculty not associated with the department for all three years of the review were not included and individual annual numbers were not provided. This makes the data that were provided questionable and difficult to evaluate. Based on the data that was provided, the faculty’s research endeavors seem to be generated by a few individuals (10 of 24 research faculty). The creative endeavors seem to be well distributed among that faculty. External funding numbers presented are not consistent. Data presented in Table B-2 indicates approximately $2.7 million whereas Section F indicates over $4 million in funding. The committee agrees with the external reviewers that “the potential exists to enhance external funding in significant ways” and that the department needs to become more widely successful with external research funding efforts. We also concur that this may be accomplished by increasing “the effectiveness of its faculty mentoring program.” Too much emphasis seems to be placed on conference presentations and not scholarly publications. Lastly, there is no rationale for evaluating the quality of the shows/screenings or journals provided.