Monday, April 9, 2007

USC College Dean’s Prize: How Can the Public Relations Program be Improved?

Veering away from the normal format of my blog, I switched the focus from the field of public relations to the education of public relations. They University of Southern California’s mission statement calls for “the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit.” The realities of this statement are laid out in USC’s 2004 strategic plan. In the plan, the university voices how they intend to incorporate new ideas and technology without losing the traditions of the past, and one way they aim to achieve this goal is by hiring the best and brightest faculty.

While USC is going to use their faculty to extend the university’s resources and educational value, the school also wants to hear what the students feel could be improved. The USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences created the college dean prize for the enrichment of student academic life, and it asks students to “think seriously about learning, be creative and daring, and inspire us.” Past winners have suggested new minors or career skills development. Even though I am a member of the Annenberg School of Journalism whose logo can be seen to the left as a public relations major and not the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences, I used the dean’s prize criteria to explore what could be enhanced in the public relations program to make it a better overall experience.

The initial problem I encountered with the Annenberg School of Journalism was that the school was not very accessible to students unless they were already enrolled in the school. I started college unsure of what I wanted to study and as an undecided major. I thought I would use the general education program to explore and find what major I wanted to pursue. As I began to search through my possible major options, I realized I could not take a class in Annenberg as part of my general education program. I believe this is a big mistake, and that Annenberg should offer some classes as “GEs.” Writing class are required for all students, so Annenberg could fit some of their curriculum into the writing programs. Annenberg would attract more attention from students if they gave them the opportunity to see what it would be like to be in the Annenberg school.

Part of USC's strategic plan refers to “providing unique opportunities for career preparation,” and Annenberg has many clubs that can help reach this goal. Although my experience with one of Annenberg’s club TriSight Communications at the right, a student run public relations firm, was not what I was expecting. I felt I could have contributed more to my group and taken more from the experience, but the group did not need a lot of my assistance. It would be beneficial to TriSight Communications and the students if Annenberg could institute a rule or guideline that ensured each person was allowed to contribute as much as they wanted to. I had hoped to have a very active role and get a lot of hands on experience; instead I did a lot of observing.

I wanted to gain more insight into how other colleges’ journalism schools are set up and what their public relations majors are like. I searched through the Association of American Universities and found that a lot of colleges do not even have journalism schools. The colleges I found that did have journalism school did not have public relations as a major. Indiana University’s Journalism school does not have a public relations major, but they do offer class that teach the writing and principles of public relations. The schools emblem can be seen at the left. Although Indiana University’s public relations classes cannot teach as much detail and hands on experience as Annenberg’s major program, the classes do instruct students on managerial issues, client relations, and budgets. I have not heard of an Annenberg public relations class that teaches these elements. Now I have not taken all of my public relations classes, so I may not be aware that I will learn about these ideas in the future. I do know that Indiana University made mention of clients and budgets in their course descriptions, and Annenberg did not. It is important to know all of the public relations practices that Annenberg bestows on their students, but it is also important to know about the details that will make it easier to get through the day. Annenberg might want to consider incorporating these ideas into their curriculum; it may be a good idea to create another elective class based on them.

After researching and exploring ideas for this post, I realized the Annenberg School of Journalism has an excellent public relations program. They have set up a great curriculum and strongly encourage their students to get involved outside of the classroom. I feel they are meeting the requirements of USC’s mission statement.

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