ACEJMC-related plans

Adopted Oct. 13, 2023; Revised 11/17/23; Revised 1/12/24

Based on a thorough self-study, a series of faculty meetings, and on-campus dialog with other parties, we have established five strategic goals that help serve the University, College, and School’s mission. We then developed a series of associated action items that support the goals to bolster our strengths, while effectively addressing weaknesses. The plan will be reviewed and revised whenever the College has a new strategic plan. Specific goals and actions are as follows:

Goal 1: To become a model for undergraduate and graduate communication education at a public university with well-balanced, innovative programs and curriculum.

• Action 1. Keep the size of skills courses to no more than 20.
• Action 2. Ensure that the percentage of classes instructed by full-time faculty is greater than 60%.
• Action 3. Maintain accreditation by ACEJMC.
• Action 4. Update and enrich the curriculum to meet the ACEJMC guidelines as well as to account for the changing contexts of communication including media convergence and globalization.
• Action 5. Support student media and facilitate extracurricular activities.
• Action 6. Grow the master’s degree in Communication Management to serve two main goals: to meet the demand for graduate-level study in communication and to serve the professional communication industry in the northeast Florida region.
• Action 7. Upgrade and replace equipment as it becomes worn, out of date.

Goal 2: To further diversify the student body and faculty by demonstrating that students and faculty from all backgrounds can achieve academic and career success at high rates.

• Action 1. Continue to implement the School’s diversity plan, which sets objectives based on the requirements of the School’s accreditor, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). ACEJMC requires that an accredited program “demonstrates it has a diverse and inclusive program that embodies domestic and global diversity.”
• Action 2. Participate more actively in UNF’s initiatives designed to recruit more students from non-traditional backgrounds, including Open House, International Center, Jacksonville Commitment Plan, College Research-Out Program, and Swoop and Presidential Scholars program, and any other events deemed necessary.
• Action 3. Consistent with ACEJMC requirements, retain and expand faculty diversity by considering diversity in its broadest sense.
• Action 4. The Accreditation Compliance Committee will investigate ways, consistent with ACEJMC rules and in the furtherance of state and federal requirements, to increase diversity in terms of faculty hiring and retention. The Committee will also make recommendations regarding curriculum and co-curricular activities as they pertain to ACEJMC’s diversity requirements.
• Action 5. Continue to incorporate culturally proficient communication into the coursework of required and elective courses starting 2026.
• Action 6. Increase the number of scholarships in the School for students with financial needs.

Goal 3: Strengthen and support faculty scholarly and creative activities.

• Action 1. Maintain and increase the support (including travel money) for faculty development.
• Action 2. Continue the formal mentoring system between senior faculty and junior faculty that matches their scholarly interests, and encourage more research collaboration.
• Action 3. Schedule annual brown-bag research meetings.
• Action 4. Reward faculty for their excellent research (external grants, awards, etc.), for example, by a course release.

Goal 4: Continue and expand various transformational learning opportunities including community-engaged, service learning.

• Action 1. Continue the School’s commitment to community service assignments and projects in the curriculum and coursework. Continue the School’s commitment to UNF’s Community-Based Transformational Learning (CBTL) initiative, which refers to “learning experiences in community-based settings that enhance participants’ academic learning, contribute to their personal growth and increase their civic engagement while concurrently benefiting the community or communities in which these activities are embedded” (more from: https://www.unf.edu/ccbl/).
• Action 2. Continue to develop and implement study-abroad courses, as well as host international, exchange students.
• Action 3. Expand the School’s annual “Media Week” event to include more local media professionals coming to campus and speaking to students and faculty about the state of media professions.
• Action 4. Strengthen relationships with local media to develop more innovative learning/internship opportunities. One way is to expand the School’s professional advisory board. Another way is to expand the number of media companies participating in the School’s annual Internship Fair.
• Action 5: Expand the School’s outreach events, such as “Social Media Expo Jax,” to include more experts and allow the exchange of ideas, insights, and innovations among communication professionals and the on-campus community.

Goal 5: Incorporate technology more into teaching and curriculum, and School operation and governance.

• Action 1: Create a new staff line for coordinating School needs pertaining to the Internet, information technology, and other instructional technologies.
• Action 2. Maintain the percentage of distance learning classes at about 30% of all classes in the School. Ensure that most required courses with multiple sections have at least one distance-learning option and one face-to-face option.
• Action 3. Ensure that all faculty who teach online courses have completed UNF’s teaching online seminar (or one of similar value).
• Action 4. Improve the School homepage with more applications to facilitate alumni relations, donations, etc. Continue and expand the online School alumni newsletter.

Goal 6: Increase the size of the student body, especially with regard to the B.S. in Communication, and continue the rise in retention and graduation rates.

• Action 1: In fall 2023, there were 557 B.S. in Communication majors. Increase enrollment by expanding recruitment efforts, such as with the UNF Explore event and other UNF events for high school students, high school tours of our program, faculty serving on high school communication program boards, the statewide Florida Scholastic Press Association convention, and the School of Communication’s scholastic journalism events for Jacksonville-area high school students.
• Action 2: In 2022-23, the B.S. in Communication had four-year graduation and retention rates of 74.32% and 78.38%, respectively. Increase graduation and retention by expanding existing efforts, such as eliminating any unnecessary pre-requisites, fostering more involvement in the mentorship program with professionals, creating a student-to-student mentoring program, increasing ambassadors’ interactions with students, improving the School of Communication’s website that includes alumni videos discussing careers in communication, and expanding the activities of the student clubs (Ad Club, Multimedia Club, and PRSSA).

Diversity Plan, B.S. in Communication, 2024-2030

Adopted 11/17/23; Revised 1/12/24

The University of North Florida is committed to nurturing a diverse, multicultural community of scholars and learners. As part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Communication strives to be a model of a diverse culture that celebrates human differences, promotes equity, and upholds basic principles of social justice. Under this framework, the School of Communication’s curriculum, activities, and staffing align with the diversity requirements of its accreditor, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). ACEJMC requires that an accredited program “demonstrates it has a diverse and inclusive program that embodies domestic and global diversity and that empowers those traditionally disenfranchised in society, especially as grounded in race, ethnicity, gender, ability and sexual orientation.” ACEJMC also requires an accredited program to have “a written diversity plan that has been implemented and discussed annually, for achieving an inclusive curriculum, a diverse, culturally proficient faculty, staff and student population, and a supportive climate for working and learning and for assessing progress toward achievement of the plan. The diversity plan should focus on domestic minority groups and, where applicable, international groups. The written plan must include the unit’s definition of diversity, identify under-represented groups and articulate key performance indicators upon which the unit intends to focus and improve.”

It is with these considerations in mind that the School of Communication proposes the following approach to transforming our culture to fully represent our community. The approach is rooted in the School’s definition of diversity, which is based on equal opportunity and respect for all, and a recognition that a diverse faculty, study body, and curriculum stimulates new ideas and perspectives that can increase understanding, productivity, and a more talented workforce.

Diversity Plan – Faculty and Staff

Objective: To promote an environment where diversity is seen as everyone’s responsibility, to ensure the recruitment and retention of faculty members from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and to help them advance through the ranks.

Strategies and tactics from 2024 through 2030

• Faculty should understand diverse research/scholarship/creative interests among faculty.
• Encourage faculty research/creative activities on multicultural, diversity issues in communication.
  • Action: Devote time in School meetings at least once a year to faculty discussing diversity-related research and creative activities of their own and from others.
• Implement mentoring programs for all faculty, including faculty from underrepresented groups.
  
  • Action: Every untenured tenure-track faculty member will be assigned by the Director to at least one tenured faculty member as a mentor for guidance and advice on scholarship, teaching, service, and how to go up for tenure.
  • Action: Instructors who have been in the School for five years or less can request as a mentor an instructor who has been promoted within the School.
• Compile and constantly update data on the demographics of both full-time and adjunct faculty, and make them available for School faculty members, students, and other interested people.
  
  • In 2023: Of the 24 full-time faculty, 17 are white, two are Black/African-American, and five are international (South Korea, Ukraine); 14 are women and 10 are men. Of the 10 adjunct faculty, 7 are white, 3 are Black/African-American; 7 are women and 3 are men. As a result, domestic minority and international faculty members represent 29% of the full-time faculty and 30% of the adjunct faculty. Our School data will be benchmarked against College and Institutional data as available.
  • Target: By 2028, show evidence of ACEJMC’s requirement that an accredited program “demonstrates intentional efforts to recruit and retain faculty and professional staff who are from demographics that are historically, domestically marginalized.”
  • Action: An Accreditation Compliance Committee will be formed every year to investigate ways to comply with ACEJMC’s rules regarding increasing diversity in terms of faculty hiring and retention. The Committee chair will then make recommendations at School meetings.
• Ensure every faculty search complies fully with UNF Equal Opportunity and Inclusion Office’s policies and regulations.
• Identify and meet with graduate students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives at regional and national conferences, and send them a personal letter when an opening becomes available.
• Develop networking opportunities with minority professional organizations such as NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) and NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists) to seek out qualified candidates for a faculty opening.
• Run faculty search ads in a manner that will entice diverse candidates to apply via various means such as listservs, professional bulletin boards, and social media.

Diversity Plan - Students

Objective: To increase diversity among the students enrolled in the School of Communication by identifying and enrolling students from under-represented populations, then educating and graduating them along with all students moving through the School’s programs of study.

Strategies and tactics from 2024 through 2030

• Ensure that all students are treated fairly and without any advantage or disadvantage, based on age, race, ethnicity, national origin, income, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or military service.
• Increase School recruiting efforts among high school students and undeclared UNF students from under-represented populations.
  
  • Action: Active outreach to high schools that enroll a diverse student body and encourage under-represented high school students to participate in the School of Communication’s annual scholastic journalism events.
• Establish mentoring for all matriculated students, including under-represented students in the School.
• In 2023, 62.77% of students in the UNF communication major were white, 9.88% were Black/African-American, 17.02% were Hispanic, 3.19 % were Asian, and 2% identified as “other.” These numbers compare to 42.8% of degree-earning students in Florida’s State University System in 2022 who identified as white, 11.8% Black/African-American 31.1% Hispanic, 4.9% Asian, and the rest as “other.”
• Target: By 2029 increase minority student representation beyond 2023 School proportions and more in line with the demographics of students in the Florida SUS.
  
  • Action: Every year the School will participate in UNF’s Open House, which is a forum that attracts high school students from a diverse cross-section of northeast Florida.
  • Action: Every year the School will participate in UNF’s Majors and Minors Fair, which is visited by undeclared students of various backgrounds.
    
  • Action: Every year the Director will collaborate with UNF’s International Center to identify international students who are interested in the communication school.
• An evaluation of retention and graduation rate data for minority students in the B.S. in Communication shows that four-year minority retention (Asian, Black, Hispanic, American Indian, PI/Hawaiian) for the 2019-20 to 2022-23 cohort is 66%, compared with 78% for the School of Communication’s overall rate. The minority four-year graduation rate, 56%, is also lower than the School of Communication’s overall rate, 74%. Target: Over the next 5 years, increase graduation and retention for all students by expanding existing efforts, such as eliminating any unnecessary pre-requisites, fostering more involvement in the mentorship program with professionals, creating a student-to-student mentoring program, increasing ambassadors’ interactions with students, improving the School of Communication’s website that includes alumni videos discussing careers in communication, and expanding the activities of the student clubs (Ad Club, Multimedia Club, and PRSSA).
• Encourage and advise students who are interested in starting student chapters of national organizations, such as Association for Women in Communication (AWC), National Black Public Relations Society (NBPRS), National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NGLJA).
• Ensure that all syllabi include information about the Student Accessibility Center (SAC).
• Faculty will make sure that all students are aware of the benefits and services available at the SAC.
• Identify, track and survey all students, monitoring their progress through the School and providing analysis of the under-represented segment of the student body as well as the aggregate.
  
  • Action: Every two years students in the required exit course (MMC 4975 Internship Senior Project) are asked to comment on their perceptions of School diversity and what recommendations they have for recruiting, educating, and retaining a diverse student body. Comments will be analyzed and discussed in School meetings. In addition, students in MMC 1004 Media Literacy and MMC 4975 Internship Senior Project do an assessment test every two years to measure their learning of the North Florida Nine, which includes the learning outcome “understand diversity.” Testing can indicate student mastery of diversity through pre- and post-testing.

Note: The process of recruiting, educating and retaining is not a linear one. We must have the same attitude toward our students once we get them in the door as we do when we are trying to get them to apply to the program. Therefore, we should look at the process as a continuous loop rather than something that has a beginning, middle, and end. We should always be mindful that satisfied graduates have the power to help us bring in new students.

Diversity Plan - Curriculum and Co-curricular

Objective:  In recognition that learning occurs both within and outside of the classroom, the School of Communication will seek to promote a curriculum and co-curricular activities that reflects the diversity of society amongst faculty, students, and community.

Strategies and tactics from 2024 through 2030

• Promote a variety of student organization events from diverse student groups across campus in the SOC’s CommConnect email newsletter for students.
• Strengthen the commitment to UNF’s Community-Based Transformational Learning (CBTL) initiative, which refers to “intentionally designed, coordinated and executed learning experiences in community-based settings that enhance participants’ academic learning, contribute to their personal growth and increase their civic engagement while concurrently benefiting the community or communities in which these activities are embedded.”
  
  • In 2023, there were six courses in the School designated as CBTL.
  • Target: By 2029, increase the number of School courses that are designated CBTL beyond 2023 levels.
• Review all courses within the curriculum to ensure that readings, assignments, and lessons foster ACEJMC’s definition of “culturally proficient communication.”
  
  • In 2023, the School curriculum map indicated that the “understand diversity” learning outcome (part of the North Florida Nine) is “introduced” in four courses required for all students in the communication major, with four required courses “reinforcing” the diversity outcome. In addition, each major concentration capstone course in the communication major is designated to “master,” or apply, the diversity outcome.
  • Target: By the 2027-2028 school year, increase the number of required courses for communication majors that include readings and assignments that allow students to reinforce and master culturally proficient communication.
    
  • Action: The Accreditation Compliance Committee will investigate ways to increase culturally proficient communication in terms of learning objectives, readings, and assignments in required courses. The Committee will then make recommendations at School meetings.
• Provide an inclusive and motivating academic environment with process-reflective curricula, sound advising, social reinforcement, and learning opportunities.
• Include guest speakers from under-represented groups for its regular classes and special events.
  
  • Actions: The Accreditation Compliance Committee will investigate ways to better provide for an inclusive environment in terms of curricula, treatment of students, and finding guest speakers from under-represented groups.