Program Review Update 2013-14
Mass Communication
(Report Due: October 15, 2014)
Program Description (source: Faculty)College of the Desert’s Mass Communication program offers Associate of Arts Degrees in Communication, Journalism, and Mass Communication. Students earning an Associate’s degree in one of these disciplines are prepared for career fields in journalism, radio/television broadcasting, motion picture and video production, or public relations. Students may also elect to transfer to a four-year college or university and continue their study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in these disciplines.
Students Served (source: Faculty)
General Education students benefit from Mass Communication courses that fit GE patterns for CSU and UC. Students wishing to pursue a career in journalism gain hands-on experience in every aspect of newspaper publishing including basic news writing skills, reporting techniques, Internet publishing and advertising methods. Students wishing to pursue a career in public relations include small business owners who learn how to market their businesses themselves. Students interested in pursuing a career in radio, television, and motion picture industries gain a solid foundation either for immediate work in these fields or for further study in four-year broadcast or motion picture programs.
Discipline/Program Learning Outcomes (source: Curriculum Specialist)
Students completing courses in this category will demonstrate an ability to:
· Identify and analyze key concepts and theories about human and/or societal development.
· Critique generalizations and popular opinion about human behavior and society, distinguishing opinion and values from scientific observations and study.
· Understand and think critically about different cultures (including topics such as race, gender and class) and their influence on human development or society.
· Demonstrate competence discussing, analyzing and interpreting the mass media.
· Examine the biological, psychological, and sociological factors that influence the personalities and behaviors of females and males from a multicultural perspective.
· Develop individual responsibility, personal integrity, and respect for diverse people and culture.
· Develop basic writing skills used in mass communication.
· Understand and appreciate the mass media in diverse local, national, and world contexts.
· Effectively communicate, express themselves and make themselves understood through visual, auditory, and symbolic means.
· Connect knowledge of self and society to larger cultural contexts.
· Articulate the differences and similarities between and within cultures.
Program Accomplishments (source: Faculty)
· During the 2013-14 Academic Year, journalism students published 11 editions of The Chaparral, a professional quality college newspaper, both on paper and in an online version at www.thechaparral.net.
· The Chaparral won Second Place in a nationwide competition sponsored by the American Scholastic Press Association.
· The Chaparral now functions with 11 of the most advanced iMacs all of which have been updated with the newest software versions of Quark, and Photoshop. The Chaparral creates stories and photos on WordPress.com and then transfers the copy and pictures into Quark for the printed edition. Students then electronically move the completed copy to The Desert Sun for production.
· During the fall semester a new text was adopted for Journalism 04 A to comply with CID requirements. Some changes were made to the syllabus for Journalism 04 B to comply with CID requirements.
· The Chaparral is in the process of acquiring an app to make it available on mobile devices in addition to being published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
· An AA Degree for Transfer in Journalism was approved by the Curriculum Committee, based on the approved statewide Transfer Model Curriculum for Journalism that COD Faculty helped develop.
· JOO3A News Reporting and Writing was updated by part-time faculty and approved by the Curriculum Committee
· J-010 Magazine Writing and Production and RTV002 Radio and Television Announcing were updated by part-time faculty for periodic review.
· The courses RTV-010A Basic Motion Picture/TV Production and RTV011A Motion Picture/TV Production were updated by part-time faculty and will replace RTV010 effective Fall 15.
· A new course RTV008 Contemporary World Film was approved. COD Faculty is working on developing courses in Film Editing and Screen Writing. Using their own equipment and computers, students produced over 250 short videos and films.
· COD students continued to intern and work at media outlets throughout the Coachella Valley including CBS Radio, R & RBroadcasting, KMIR TV-6, KESQ TV-3, Univision, KCODand KPSP Local 2, Trick Dog Films, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. RTV student Yazmin Ceja was hired as a production assistant at CBS Radio. Mass Communication student Andrea Netze interned at KMIR-TV6 and was hired as their assignment editor for the news segment “We Ask You Investigate.” Former RTV student Rebecca Luna interned with the 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival and KMIR-TV6 promotions department.
· Students continued to staff and operate the campus radio station, KCOD, including a website that streams online worldwide 24/7, on iTunes and the mobile app tunein radio. The RTV students covered events such as the Humana Challenge, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Stagecoach, Kraft Nabisco etc. CBS Radio donated a professional soundboard for students to use during live broadcasts. Weebly.com donated two years of website hosting to KCOD.
· COD approved the hiring of a KCOD student broadcast worker to help assist with the daily operations of the radio station.
· Students produced over 250 short videos and films using their own equipment and computers.
Course Level Assessment Completed (source: Faculty & OAC Coordinator)
(See Appendix G of Academic PR)
Changes Implemented as a Result of the Assessments (source: Faculty utilizing OASR form)
Course-level assessments are underway. Assessments are behind schedule due to the lack of full-time faculty.
Program Requirements from outside agencies (source: Faculty working with Dean)
NA
Student Success Data (source: Office of Institutional Research)
Courses: J, MC, RTV / 2010_11 / 2011_12 / 2012_13 / 2013_14
Student Success Rate: / 85.1% / 77.9% / 80.0% / 72.9%
Retention Rate: / 91.3% / 92.5% / 91.5% / 91.5%
Note: Success rate is the percent of students who earned a grade of A, B, C, or Cr/P in course out of total enrolled in course at census. Retention rate is the percent of students retained in course until the end of the term out of total enrolled in course at census.
College of the Desert
Student Success and Retention Rates
College of the Desert(All Credit Courses) / 2010_11 / 2011_12 / 2012_13 / 2013_14
Student Success Rate: / 70.2% / 71.7% / 72.5% / 70.6%
Retention Rate: / 85.5% / 87.0% / 87.7% / 86.8%
Narrative Interpretation (source: Faculty)
The completion of Assessment Cycles I and II, as well as the successful implementation of the Three Year Plan contained in the 2011 Multimedia Studies Program Development Committee Report, have had a positive effect. From 2012-13 to 2013-14, student success rates decreased by 7%. The retention rate remained strong. The number was unchanged at 91.5%. The 2013-14 retention rate for mass media courses is 5% higher than the retention rate for College of the Desert as a whole.
Despite budget limitations, the number of sections of mass communication related courses has continued to show a healthy, steady growth since 2010. FTES dropped significantly to 86.94 in 2013-14. This decrease may reflect the lack of resources in our multimedia studies program. The numbers still reflect the relevance of multimedia studies to contemporary students, as well as the continued commitment of COD administration and Program faculty.
Resources:
Staffing (source: Research Office)Narrative Interpretation (source: Faculty)
Part time staffing increased slightly from 2012-13 through 2013-14. The Summer 2013 part-time count of 1 reflects the addition of a section of MC001 Introduction to Mass Media offered during the summer of 2013. The actual number of full time Mass Communication faculty since 1999 remains at 0.
Facilities (source: Faculty)
1) List of all facilities (Please indicate if any of these were added last year):
South Annex Chaparral classroom, B-4 , CMH Pollock Theater, DM-23, CMH-4, MSTC- 207 KCOD studio, MSTC-152 and SOC 11 (NEW added in 2014).
2) Assessment of adequacy of current facilities:
· Radio Production and Radio and Television Announcing students need more space including audio booths to accommodate the lab hours required by an expanding RTV program. More than 65 students are enrolled in the RTV classes.
· RTV007 students are sharing the SOC 11 piano lab with the music program. Students are training on 20 piano keyboards that are connected to Mac minis with the apple program gargaeband for training, editing exercises and assignments during faculty supervised lab time.
· Only one soundproof booth exists in MSTC 207 (KCOD Studio) for recording and the radio station is in a room without isolation so it is not conducive to production.
· MSTC 152, home of both motion picture production classes, needs a Blu-ray player. The HDMI feed from the classroom console needs to be modified so it will play back through the classroom sound system, not the miniscule speakers in the projectors. The classroom closet space is exclusively devoted to the use of RTV and motion picture production classes. The room still needs a locked cabinet for equipment and Blu-ray storage.
Equipment and Supplies (source: Faculty)
· Blu-ray player for Motion Picture Production classes in MSTC-152.
· HD P2 camera for student productions.
· External microphones (wireless and wired, including miniplug, cord and boom) for student productions.
· Audio recording deck for student productions
· Camera tripod and clapper for student productions.
· iMac 27” computer with Final Cut Pro for student productions.
· Teleprompter, ipad and software for Radio and Television Announcing students
· MacBook Air computers and a printer for the KCOD studio so RTV students can learn the automated radio service Backbone, research and write broadcast scripts for on-air content.
Program Challenges (source: Faculty working with Dean)
1. The lack of a full-time faculty member in Mass Communication is the chief challenge to the Program. The continuity that would be provided by such a faculty member is essential, and without a full-time faculty member it is extremely difficult to monitor progress on ARs and OASRs. It is also difficult to track, manage and coordinate courses maintaining a faculty-driven vision as the program expands. Since the entire Mass Communication faculty is laid off at the end of every semester, there is no faculty member to follow through on course development and to represent the needs of the Mass Communication program to the college. There is also no full-time faculty to serve as a qualified advisor for students wishing to pursue careers in mass communication. Currently a full-time speech professor is filling in, but he has no professional background in the mass communication field.
2. Lack of space and staff continue to be a challenge for the expansion of programs such as Radio Production and the 24/7 operation of college radio station KCOD place. There is an increasing demand on part-time faculty and volunteers.
3. The rapidly evolving mass communication field itself requires constantly updated technology. The purchase of expensive media equipment is inherently problematic because it gets outdated so quickly, and introduces new demands for maintenance and supervision.
Report on completion of program objectives last year (objectives were specified on PRU two years ago) Other Program Accomplishments (source: Faculty)
· Progress was made on hiring a full-time faculty member in Mass Communication. The College Planning Council raised the importance of hiring such a faculty member on its Priority List of full-time faculty to be hired, and Mass Communication now ranks within the top four positions to be filled, as budget allows.
· The approval of hiring a part-time student broadcast worker to assist RTV students with their lab assignments and the daily operations of the radio station.
· Progress was made in refining and developing Mass Communication courses. Courses in Journalism and Mass Communication were renamed and descriptors modified in the COD Catalogue for 2013-2014 to comply with the approved TMC for Journalism. Similar changes to the Motion Picture Production courses were submitted and approved by the Curriculum Committee.
· An additional section of RTV-002 Radio and Television Announcing course was added for Fall 2013.
· An additional section of MC-001 was added for summer 2013.
Program Accomplishments
· During the 2013-14 Academic Year, journalism students published 11 editions of The Chaparral, a professional quality college newspaper, both on paper and in an online version at www.thechaparral.net.
· The Chaparral won Second Place in a nationwide competition sponsored by the American Scholastic Press Association.
· The Chaparral now functions with 11 of the most advanced iMacs all of which have been updated with the newest software versions of Quark, and Photoshop. The Chaparral creates stories and photos on WordPress.com and then transfers the copy and pictures into Quark for the printed edition. Students then electronically move the completed copy to The Desert Sun for production.
· During the fall semester a new text was adopted for Journalism 04 A to comply with CID requirements. Some changes were made to the syllabus for Journalism 04 B to comply with CID requirements.
· The Chaparral is in the process of acquiring an app to make it available on mobile devices in addition to being published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
· An AA Degree for Transfer in Journalism was approved by the Curriculum Committee, based on the approved statewide Transfer Model Curriculum for Journalism that COD Faculty helped develop.
· JOO3A News Reporting and Writing was updated by part-time faculty and approved by the Curriculum Committee
· J-010 Magazine Writing and Production and RTV002 Radio and Television Announcing were updated by part-time faculty for periodic review.
· The courses RTV-010A Basic Motion Picture/TV Production and RTV011A Motion Picture/TV Production were updated by part-time faculty and will replace RTV010 effective Fall 15.
· A new course in International Cinema RTV008 Contemporary World Film was approved. COD Faculty is working on developing courses in Film Editing and Screen Writing. Using their own equipment and computers, students produced over 250 short videos and films.