Master of Arts in Public Relations Graduate Communication Program Department of Communication and the Arts

Transcription

1 New Program Submission to the APC Master of Arts in Public Relations Graduate Program Department of and the Arts Program Overview and Rationale Program Overview: Fortune magazine, citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, named PR one of the 10 fastest-growing professions over the next 10 years. Skilled public relations professionals are in great demand, especially given the visibility and scrutiny that organizations and leaders must navigate in this fast paced environment. The Seton Hall Masters in Public Relations offers our students the opportunity to study advanced concepts, theories, and methods as they apply to public relations as well as the best practices needed to be an effective public relations professional. We blend both in a learn it, apply it model that allows our students to put into practice what they are learning to enhance their professional credentials. Our faculty are all leading scholars and experienced practitioners in the field of public relations and organizational communication. We also have a very active network of past graduates who energize networking, mentoring and professional development in the field. Goals of the Program Develop our students conceptual and creative skills through the synthesis of theoretical and practical approaches to Public Relations. Develop a systematic understanding of the various publics and stakeholders in the Public Relations continuum. Provide our students with a conceptual framework to understand the strategic and tactical roles of Public Relations. Ensure our students understand the ethical expectations and challenges related to Public Relations activities. Develop critical awareness and a holistic understanding of the role Public Relations plays in shaping society and culture.

2 Equip our students with the knowledge and tools to effectively execute Public Relations programs and campaigns. Key Differentiators for the SHU MPR Our proposed 30 credit program will offer an advantage over competing programs The reputation of our undergraduate program as well as the potential of converting our current annual graduates. We are also considering a 3:2 (5 year program for 2013). The active network of SHU PR graduates. As an optional element, we will sponsor the opportunity for our students to become Accredited in Public Relations (APR) certified. This is a certification program of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) This will be an additional expense and optional to the students. Dr. Kathleen Rennie of our Faculty is an examiner and certified to teach this program. Rationale In 2006, the Graduate Program conducted a complete review of the current Graduate offerings. The result was a three-phase strategic plan, which was intended to improve the learning experiences of our students, increase the competitiveness of our programs and to create an integrated program that would sustain growth for the next decide. The Phases were: Phase Actions Status Phase One Realign the program to meet student and market needs Renamed: MA- Strategic (MASC) Coursework refreshed (18 courses) Approved by the University in 2006, fully implemented, growing 10%+ annually Professional

3 Phase Two Offer a new online Masters to extend our reach to students outside commuting distance and to reach a new niche (students with less than 5 years work experience) Certificates added MA Corporate and Professional (MACPC)(online) Online Professional Certificates Approved by the University in 2007, fully implemented. Phase Three Launch a new MA in Public Relations Originally approved by the Department in 2010, but delayed due to faculty restrictions. Approved by the Department of and the Arts on February 24, We have been planning the third phase (MPR) since We have been evolving our courses to be able to offer a competitive and rigorous graduate PR program. We have not been able to complete this due to faculty hiring restrictions. We had wanted to add new faculty with specific PR credentials. That has now changed. The Department was authorized a new hire (tenure track) in 2011, and subsequently hired Dr. Kathleen Rennie from her former Associate faculty position. Dr. Rennie is a noted PR professional in the Region, highly recognized with a deep and wide network of contacts. She has also been at SHU for 18 years, leading our undergraduate PR program. We have worked with Dr. Rennie to develop our new MPR offering. From her contacts, we were also able to attract and hire a PR professional (Ken Hunter) as an adjunct faculty member. He has already taught two courses for us to very positive student feedback. We also have a Term Professor (Angela Chikara) who is a highly experienced PR

4 practitioner. We now have the faculty to staff this new MPR program, including our current cadre of full-time and adjunct program faculty. Additionally, our Department has A&S Dean s approval to add another Tenure Track faculty member for our Journalism/Public Relations programs for Fall Further rationale for the new MPR program: - There are over 180 annual PR major undergraduates within commuting distance of SHU. This will be a good source of new students and a fairly easy group to identify and reach through our marketing programs. - We have over 40 SHU PR undergraduate majors, many of whom will be interested in continuing their education on campus. - There is limited competition at the MPR level in the area (e.g. Monmouth, Rowan and NYU). - We can re-purpose much of our current MASC courseware to create a competitive and rigorous MPR program. We only require two new courses to launch the program. This has been by design as we revised our curriculum over the last 4 years. - We now have additional experienced PR faculty available, as well as a new approved hire for Fall 2013, to augment our current faculty and thus can properly staff the new program. - A 30 credit program will be competitive and will attract local students. Comparatively, Monmouth requires 31 credits and Rowan While the program is slightly smaller than our competitors in credit hours, it will be a rigorous and challenging program. A few other points on the PR profession: (1) Public Relations is ranked in the Best 100 Jobs in America by a CNN/Money poll: (2) U.S. News money: ranks PR specialists as #1 creative job (3) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment of public relations managers and specialists is expected to grow 21 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations.

5 6 (4) A recent study by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA, 2012) found that 97% of business leaders believe CEOs should understand the role of corporate reputation management. More than 95% held that executives at any level should have a working knowledge of basic public relations skills. Regarding online programs - Online degrees are growing very fast and will likely be both a source of competition and an opportunity. The Graduate Department at SHU has extensive experience in online education. We already offer two online Graduate Degrees (MACPC and MASCL). Our faculty members have an average of 8 years of online experience. Our MASCL online program is nationally ranked and just celebrated its 11 th anniversary in We have decided to offer the MPR initially as an on-campus program. However, we can convert it to an online or blended degree, with the appropriate approvals, fairly quickly given that most of the MPR courses are already offered in an online format within the MACPC program. We would need to convert the two proposed MPR courses to be fully online for the MPR degree. External and Internal Market Assessment Forecast In the past, the A&S Dean s Office has expected a preliminary forecast of enrollment and the assumptions underlying the forecast. We are projecting a modest enrollment trajectory for the new MPR even though we are more bullish than this indicates. The reason for being conservative is more about the marketing budget available to support the program. We are going to build the program four ways initially: (1) Targeting our own PR Major undergrads (2) Targeting the PR undergrads within 50 miles of SHU (3) Leveraging the local/regional network of Dr. Rennie (4) Leveraging our own Alumni PR network, which is quite engaged and active

6 These four elements will not require a lot of marketing budget (less than $5K annually), which we can fund within our current program budget. We think this can result in an enrollment profile of: Enrollment Period Enrollment Target Fall (rolling admissions) (rolling admissions) (rolling admissions) 45 In our estimates, we would need to attract 15% of our current undergraduates as well as 5% of the other program s undergraduates. If we can achieve this, we will reach these estimates. This does not include the 200+ former SHU PR graduates who may be interested in a Graduate Degree to which we intend to market the MPR as well. We have over 60 SHU PR undergraduate majors (graduating annually), many of whom will be interested in continuing their education on campus. We did an informal poll of current undergraduates and alumni over the last 3 weeks to test our assumptions. The results were: Results: Students contacted: 24 Alumni contacts: 32 Total: 56 % currently pursuing a graduate degree: 11% (6) % interested in a SHU PR Graduate degree: 22% (12) If 22% were applied to annual the SHU PR graduates and the current SHU PR alumni pool, it would result in 53 potential students in our first two years. This does not include attracting students from other undergraduate PR programs. For the last four years, we have been attracting 5-8 SHU PR undergraduates to our MA in Strategic s program each year. We think, based on informal conversations with current students, that the MPR offering will increase interest. Additionally, Dr. Kathleen Rennie, who leads our Undergraduate Public Relations Program, including the PR Internship program and is the Senior Advisor to all PR graduating seniors, has reported a consistent request from students that we launch a SHU MPR.

7 We also evaluated data on the potential commuting distance for another validation of our enrollment projections: We used within 50 miles from SHU as our reference point (please see the note below on commuting distance): Commuting Distance: SHU conducted a study in 2010, to estimate a reasonable commuting distance for graduate students: Name of Report: Stamats Graduate Student Research for the College of Arts and Science, Stillman School of Business, Whitehead School of Diplomacy, College of Education and Human Services, and College of Nursing Report Year: April 2010 Study Type: Telephone surveys Participants: Prospective students (those interested in attending graduate school for a specified degree program but who have not made a formal inquiry at SHU and have not been admitted to another school) and inquiring students (those who are interested in attending graduate school for a specified degree program and have requested information from SHU, but have not been officially admitted to any school). Results: College of Arts and Science Fairly broad geographic interest in graduate programs in College. Current student maps indicate that enrolled students do come from the entire US, but are heavily concentrated within 250 miles of SHU. It is not realistic to expect prospective students from outside the core geography to seriously consider SHU to have an accurate understanding of SHU graduate program. A reasonable footprint includes the entire state of NJ, NY metro area, eastern PA, and perhaps targeted areas of CT, RI, MD and VA branding and primary recruitment emphasis should show considerable success with this region before reaching out to other geographies.

8 For MPR purposes, as noted above, we only used 50 miles under the assumption that most of our students will be working professionals (at least parttime). We used these schools as a reference point: These are reported from the schools, we are not 100% sure of the full breakdown between Graduate and Undergraduate but clearly there is a large pool of PR undergraduates graduating every year. This is not the full list of PR programs but a representative list. School Approximate Total PR Students Approximate Undergraduates Graduating Each Year Rowan University Monmouth University Rutgers University Kean University Montclair SHU ~Totals: 386 For Comparative Purposes, the SHU Undergraduate Public Relations Program s enrollment and graduation statistics for the last 5 years: SHU Undergraduate PR Students Undergraduates Graduating Each Year An overview of other programs: Kean offers a MA in Studies program from its graduate school. Students can pursue a specialization in Public Relations within the program. The 8 faculty are for the program. Rowan offers a MA in Public Relations. It also offers a Professional Certificate in Public Relations.

9 Monmouth offers a MA in Public and Corporate. Students can pursue a specialization in Public Relations within the program. The 6 faculty are for the PR specialization. Rutgers offers a Master of and Information Studies. Students can pursue a specialization in Public Relations within the program. It also offers a Professional Certificate in Public Relations. Montclair State offers a Masters in Public and Organizational Relations. SHU, with the MPR would have the broadest PR portfiolio in the Region with the BA, MA, and Certificate Programs. Additionally, the Department has just approved a new Five Year Dual BA/MA Public Relations program which, if approved, would launch in Fall This would add to our PR portfolio to add to our differentiation. Internal Impact The MPR does not require any additional support from other programs or schools within SHU. We have the courseware for the MPR with the two new courses, which have been approved by the A&S EPC and will launch in Fall We have an additional course, COMM8004 Reputation Management, which is crosslisted currently with the Stillman School (running this summer) that may be added to the MPR electives in the future. This course is taught by Dr. Kathleen Rennie of our staff, who also developed the course. We have had a new PR faculty line added in 2011 (Dr. Rennie). We also had a Term Professor (Chiktara) approved for the 2012 and 2013 school years. We have recruited a new PR adjunct (Hunter) and have approval for a new PR tenure-track PR faculty line for Fall The search for this position is in process. These additions provide us the faculty needed to support the MPR program. Our current Graduate Assistants (2) will also be able to support this new program. There are no other comparable programs or courses offered at SHU so there is no overlap or competition for similar students. Program Needs The MPR does not require additional Library, TLTC or other facility needs. We are launching this program with two additional courses. These courses will not be offered each semester, they will rotate. As an example, in Fall 2013, only one will be offered and this is in place of another MASC course we are dropping, so the net need for classroom space remains the same.

10 I have noted the faculty needs in the prior section. We have the PR faculty needed to fully support this program. Additionally, our Graduate Assistants (2) will be able to provide the incremental support needed for the MPR. Finally, we will need some additional marketing support (estimate is $5,000), this will come from within the Department or A&S funds. We are currently creating the marketing support plan and for the launch we have the funds in the Graduate Program or Department to support this. Program Evaluation Program Rigor We are proposing this new program with the clear understanding that we are entering a competitive area. Other schools (e.g. Rowan and Monmouth) have established programs and we must be able to differentiate our program to attract students. We have been developing this program in concert with our undergraduate PR faculty as well as with Dr. Rennie, who leads the undergraduate PR program. Our SHU undergraduate PR program has a very strong regional and national reputation. It was recently awarded national accreditation by the Public Relations Society of America. The Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) accreditation is earned through the PRSA s Educational Affairs Committee. The two-part process has a 40-page application and a two-and-a-half-day site visit from a PRSA review team. There are only 20 programs in the country with the CEPR accreditation. It is our intention that this new MPR program also seek this accreditation. We have developed the program with this in mind to ensure it meets national standards. We have also reviewed the program with our PR faculty to ensure it will meet the expectations of students and professionals in the field. Finally, we have compared our proposed program with those from Rowan (33 credits) and Monmouth (31 credits) and believe it will offer a positive alternative. We have deliberately set the credit hours at 30 to create a competitive advantage while maintaining the rigor expected by our Department, our faculty, our potential students, professionals in the field and the accreditation standards. The syllabi for the two new courses are indicative of the rigor we expect in the courses and the MPR program overall. Curriculum Overview: 30 credit program 6 Core Courses (18 credits) 4 electives (12 credits)

11 Thesis Requirement: All MPR students are required to complete a Masters Thesis to complete the program. This capstone experience is comprised of two courses, s Research and Masters Project, in which they work directly with a faculty Thesis Advisor. Required (Core) Courses 6 courses 18 Credits COMM6000 Writing for the Organization and the Client Status COST7220 Effective Presentations COMM6003 Theory and Evolution of Public Relations COMM7796 Public Relations: Cases and Practical Applications (Contemporary Issues) New Course COTC7110 s Research COMM8190 Masters Project Elective Courses (Any 4) 12 credits COMM8003 Public Relations Strategy and Planning COMM6002 International Public Relations Status New Course COTC 6100 Introduction to Organizational

12 COMM 7001 International Business COMM 7002 New Media and COTC7111 Consulting COMM 7111 Advanced Techniques in Visual COTC 7120 Law of COST7210 Small Group COST 7230 Persuasion and Negotiation COJR7420 Advanced Corporate Writing COMM 7762 Events Management COMM7777 Integrated Marketing COMM7779 Crisis s COMM7781 Speech Writing COMM7782 Media Relations COMM 8000 Methods & Strategies for Corporate Relations

13 COTC8110 s Ethics We have decided to offer a 30 credit MPR program. Essentially, this is one less elective or a practicum compared to Monmouth (31) and Rowan (33) or Montclair State (33). We do not think this dilutes the MPR but may give us a slight advantage as we enter the PR graduate degree market. As a means to compare, from a curriculum point of view, here is a comparison of our proposed program and Montclair s: Montclair State Courseware (required and electives) Researching Public and Organizational Relations (3 hours lecture) Issues of Public and Organizational Relations (3 hours lecture) New Media Applications (3 hours lecture) Survey of Public and Organizational Relations (3 hours lecture) Leadership and Collaborative Innovation (3 hours lecture) Graduate Graphic Design I (4 hours studio) Graduate Graphic Design II (4 hours studio) Problems in (3 hours lecture) Special Topics In (3 hours lecture) Public Relations Writing and Media Relations (3 hours lecture) Theories of Human (3 hours lecture) Readings in (3 Seton Hall MPR Courseware (required and electives) Public Relations: Cases and Practical Applications (Contemporary Issues) Theory and Evolution of Public Relations New Media and Public Relations Strategy and Planning Leadership Advanced Techniques in Visual Advanced Techniques in Visual Effective Presentations, Speech Writing Law of, Crisis s Writing for the Organization and the Client, Media Relations Intro to Organizational Intro to Organizational

14 hours lecture) Persuasion and Media (3 hours seminar) Issue Management (3 hours lecture) Seminar in Organizational (3 hours seminar) Internship: Media and Mass Culture (3 hours lecture) Techniques of (3 hours lecture) Independent Study Dynamics of Group Process Effective Leadership in a Diverse Society (3 hours lecture) Interventions for Effective Organizations (3 hours lecture) Organizational Psychology (3 hours lecture) Capstone Persuasion and Negotiation s Ethics, Methods & Strategies for Corporate Relations Introduction to Organizational Independent Study Integrated Marketing Advanced Corporate Writing, Effective Presentations Independent Study Small Group International Public Relations and International Business Consulting, Crisis, Speech Writing - SHU requires a Thesis comprise of 6 credits and two courses: s Research and Masters Project Media Relations Methods & Strategies for Corporate Relations Here is the same comparison to Rowan s program: Rowan Courseware (required and electives) Public Relations Overview Seton Hall MPR Courseware (required and electives) Theory and Evolution of Public

15 Relations Techniques in Case Studies Public Relations Planning Advanced Techniques in Seminar in Public Relations (2 semesters) Techniques of Graduate Case Studies in PR Crisis Public Relations Small Group Interpersonal Contemporary PR Challenges Legislative Liaison for PR Practitioners Persuasive and Feature Writing Using Electronic Media in Public Relations Planning and Conducting Special Events Fundraising and Development Global PR Integrated Marketing Effective Presentations, Writing for the Organization, Advanced Corporate Writing Public Relations: Cases and Practical Applications (Contemporary Issues) Public Relations Strategy and Planning Advanced Techniques in Visual Capstone / Thesis Effective Presentations, Speech Writing Public Relations: Cases and Practical Applications (Contemporary Issues) Crisis s Small Group Effective Presentations and Writing for the Organization s Ethics, Methods & Strategies for Corporate Relations - Persuasion and Negotiation, Advanced Corporate Writing, Writing for the Organization Advanced Techniques in Visual and New Media and Events Management Events Management International Public Relations and International Business Integrated Marketing

16 Internal in Organizations Intro to Research Intro to Organizational SHU requires a Thesis comprise of 6 credits and two courses: s Research and Masters Project Media Relations Methods & Strategies for Corporate Relations We believe our course offerings compare well to the Montclair and Rowan programs, as examples. Using these schools as a comparison, and including other elements that speak to rigor: Comparative Checklist: Program Course Comparison Thesis Requirement APR Certification Option CEPR Accreditation Montclair þ þ Rowan þ þ þ SHU þ þ þ þ - planned Thesis Requirement: The SHU MPR program will require each student to complete a 6 credit Thesis related to the field and theories of Public Relations. This is done through two courses; s Research and Masters Project. They will work with one of our senior faculty who will act as their Thesis Advisor. The student will also be required to present his/her Thesis at the Program s Thesis Presentation Forum which is held every semester and attended by our Graduate full-time faculty and current students. APR Optional Certification: The Accredited in Public Relations (APR) is offered through the Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA) Recognized Standard. Established in 1964, the Accreditation Program is the profession s only national post-graduate certification program. It measures a public relations practitioner s fundamental knowledge of communications theory and its application; establishes advanced capabilities in research, strategic

17 planning, implementation and evaluation; and demonstrates a commitment to professional excellence and ethical conduct. The skills acquired through the process are applicable to any industry or practice area. It is our intention to offer this as an option for our students. We are going to infuse the APR requirements into our MPR courses so our students will be able to sit for the certification examination upon completion of the MPR program. Dr. Kathleen Rennie, from our undergraduate PR program, is APR certified and is also licensed to offer and proctor the APR Certification Examination. She is working with us in the infusion of the APR guidelines into our MPR courses. The APR Competencies: APR Competencies: Samples of Requirements SHU MPR Course RESEARCHING, PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING & EVALUATING PROGRAMS Planning ability, research skills, strategic thinking Public Relations Strategy and Planning ETHICS AND LAW COMMUNICATION MODELS AND THEORIES BUSINESS LITERACY MANAGEMENT SKILLS & ISSUES Ethics in PR, Legal Issues in PR models, approaches Knowledge of current organizational issues, use of organizational resources Diversity, organizational and leadership skills, team building Understands the elements s Ethics, and the Law Introduction to Organizational, New Media and Public Relations: Cases and Practical Applications (Contemporary Issues) International Public Relations and International Business. Small Group, Leadership Crisis

18 CRISIS COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT MEDIA RELATIONS USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EFFICIENTLY HISTORY OF AND CURRENT ISSUES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS ADVANCED COMMUNICATION SKILLS Readiness Review of crisis and the crisis management model Media relations skills Technology literacy Knowledge of the field of public relations Consulting and negotiating skills Creative conceptualization/creativity, skills/speaking, skills/writing and Editing, Presentation skills s Media Relations and Methods & Strategies for Corporate Relations Advanced Techniques in Visual and New Media and Theory and Evolution of Public Relations Consulting and Persuasion and Negotiating Effective Presentations, Writing for the Organization, Advanced Writing Additionally, we infuse all our courses with team projects, as well as individual theory and skills assignments. These will be reviewed to ensure they are supporting these competencies. CEPR Accreditation: It is our intention to develop the MPR program in a manner to earn the graduate level CEPR accreditation within 3 years of its launch. This will be done by building on the success of the undergraduate program that earned it s CEPR Accreditation in These are the graduate CEPR standards and our current status and plan: CEPR Standards Standard One: Public Relations Curriculum Graduate Students should have basic skills and/or Our planned and current courses will

19 Standard Two: Public Relations Faculty (fulltime and part-time) knowledge in the following areas prerequisite or co requisite to master s level study: (a) public relations principles and practices across a variety of institutional settings (e.g. corporate, non profit, government) and (b) strategic public relations writing for a variety of publics. This may require additional undergraduate coursework. This basic competence could also be demonstrated through a portfolio of professional work. Master s level students should be able to research, critically analyze, synthesize and apply the body of knowledge in the following areas: (1) public relations theory and research, (2) public relations strategy and tactic s, (3) public relations legal and ethical issues, (4) public relations management in global, multicultural environments, and (5) business/management and the behavioral sciences. Master s level students also should complete a capstone experience, which could be a thesis/dissertation and/or project and/or a comprehensive exam. Faculty dedicated partially or fully to the public relations program and classes should have appropriate experience and/or directly address this standard. For example, Theory and Evolution of Public Relations, Public Relations Strategy and Planning, Public Relations: Cases and Practical Applications (Contemporary Issues), s Ethics, and the Law, and International Public Relations and International Business Additionally, we will require a capstone experience with our 6 credit Thesis requirement. We have highly experienced PR faculty at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Each of them has

20 Standard Three: Resources, Equipment and Facilities Standard Four: Public Relations Students credentials. They should be effective mentors and prepare their students well for careers in public relations. If they are research faculty, their research should strengthen their ability to teach and mentor students effectively. Part-time faculty should be selected based on experience and ability to teach and mentor, and be well supervised to ensure the consistent quality of public relations courses. Faculty should be actively engaged in the field and with other professionals. The public relations program should have equitable access to unit budgetary and other resources, facilities, library resources, computer and desktop publishing facilities. Technology should be current and com parable to that used in the field. The quality of the students in the program and the recruitment efforts to draw outstanding students into public relations is at the foundation of a successful educational program. Students should also receive adequate career counseling. 10+ years of practical experience. We are leveraging the experience but having all PR faculty teach at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The new tenure track PR faculty hire authorized by the Dean for Fall 13, will also be someone with extensive experience. Our current PR adjunct staff are practitioners in the field. MPR students will have access to all the same PR related facilities as our undergraduate PR students which was accredited by CEPR in We fully expect to attract outstanding students into the program. We are already attracting some of our best undergraduate SHU students into MASC. The MPR will only enable this further. All faculty currently serve as Thesis Advisors, academic

21 Standard Five: Assessment Standard Six: Professional Affiliations Standard Seven: Relationships with Total Unit and University Quality academic programs should have routine and systematic assessment built into the curriculum and the program. Assessment should determine whether or not the program is meeting its academic and professional objectives The involvement of alumni and other practicing professionals in mentoring students into the profession is strongly desired. The program should help students begin to cultivate the professional relationships they will need throughout their careers. The opportunity to network through the Public Relations Student Society of America and/or other professional organizations is essential to preparation for the professional practice of public relations. Strongly recommended are organizations affiliated with the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Management. To provide adequate public relations education, the program must depend upon other programs and faculty advisors and offer career advice on a regular basis. We build learning outcome expectations in every course and utilize many of the SHU assessment tools to gauge impact. We also use the Thesis process to assess overall program impact. MPR students will have access to all the same PR related affiliations as our undergraduate PR students which was accredited by CEPR in We intend to extend the programs, events, associations and affiliations to all MPR students and to actively engage them in the alumni events and network. We will leverage the same resources, materials and assets that were

22 Standard Eight: Diversity and Global Perspectives within their unit and throughout the university who teach general education, liberal arts, business and/or communications. The perception and reputation of the public relations program, its faculty and students are factors in the quality of teaching and mentoring that will occur external to the program. Receiving the resources necessary for good public relations education is also partly dependent upon these factors. It is important that public relations education prepare students to serve and work in a diverse society. Educators must emphasize the importance of diversity and the roles of minority groups in teaching students to understand, communicate with and relate to a multicultural/global society. used by our Undergraduate program to attain the CEPR accreditation in We infuse the appreciation of diversity in all our courses where appropriate. We also have specific courses that address this: International Public Relations and International Business. We also have two other courses that can be cross-listed: Multiculturalism and Leadership: A Perspective as well as Cross Cultural. Statements of Support

23 See the attached evidence of support: Graduate Faculty has supported this as the Third Phase of our Strategic Plan since Department of and the Arts unanimous vote of support by available faculty on 2/24/2012: 24 in favor, none opposed or abstained. This was a quorum. Dean of College of Arts and Sciences see in the attachment of January 18, The Dean also approved a new faculty line for this program, the recruitment search is underway. College of Arts and Sciences EPC and Faculty: See the minutes of the A&S Faculty Meeting of February 22, Unanimously approved. There is no extra support needed from the Library or IT Departments. Essentially this program is being launched with just two new courses. The other courses have been in our curriculum for some time since we have offered a Certificate in Public Relations since The only additional support we needed was faculty. We have been able to recruit a highly qualified Adjunct Professor and the Department has had an additional Term Professor in PR since Finally, the Dean of A&S approved a new faculty line for PR for Fall 2013, this search in currently in process.