Cal Poly Journalism Department granted full accreditation status
The Journalism Department joins 117
other programs around the world to
receive such validation.
The Cal Poly Journalism Department has received full accreditation, joining 117 other programs around the world to receive such validation. The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), the agency responsible for the evaluation of professional journalism and mass communications programs in colleges and universities, voted 18-0 at its April 29 meeting in Chicago in favor of the Journalism Department receiving full accreditation.
“This accomplishment represents years of hard work by the faculty and staff to meet the rigorous demands of the accrediting process,” department chair Brady Teufel said. “In recognizing Cal Poly as one of the best universities to learn journalism and public relations, the council affirmed that we’re succeeding in our mission to provide students with an education that covers fundamental skills and concepts along with problem solving, critical thinking and innovation.”
The accrediting process involved an external site-review team visiting classes, interviewing faculty and staff, meeting with students and administrators, scrutinizing facilities and equipment and digging into data regarding admissions, class sizes, demographics, learning objectives and more.
Former department chair Mary Glick led the effort over the past five years and was on hand when the council made their recent decision.
“I'm so proud of the way our department came together to accomplish this,” Glick said. “Faculty, staff and students all played a role, supported by a group of dedicated alumni."
The nine standards and competencies that were reviewed include:
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Mission, governance and administration.
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Curriculum and instruction.
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Diversity and inclusiveness.
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Full-time and part-time faculty.
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Scholarship (research, creative and professional activity).
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Student services.
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Resources, facilities and equipment.
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Professional and public service.
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Assessment of learning outcomes.
Cal Poly is now one of eight journalism programs in the California State University system to be fully accredited by ACEJMC. Accredited programs, which are reviewed on a six-year cycle, are eligible for external funding and are more attractive to both students and industry partners. Of the roughly 500 journalism and mass communications programs in the United States, less than one-fourth are fully accredited.