Given the ever-changing landscape of today’s communications platforms, the issue of PR education in colleges and universities is a hot topic of conversation among executives. PR News checked in with three PR pros who are in the trenches teaching adjunct courses to the PR executives of the future. We tested them with these questions: Is the PR curriculum at your school on the mark, and what do students excel at—and lack—as they graduate and enter the job market?
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Ann Pedersen |
â–¶ Ann Pedersen, director of PR at Lovgren Marketing Group, Omaha, Neb., and adjunct instructor at Creighton University: I’ve taught Intro to Writing for three semesters at Creighton. Students are very strong in terms of understanding the Internet. Last year I told them we should establish blogs to use for posting news articles and final projects, and only three out of 30 students weren’t already established bloggers. However, I don’t think they’re as good writers as they should be. They don’t understand the importance of attribution, regardless of whether it is a news story or a news release. And they also aren’t very good at making deadlines.
Social media has definitely altered the curriculum. In 2002, when I taught the broadcast course, social media wasn’t even a thought. Now, we talk about it a lot. In fact I’m using Twitter to explain how bad and good it can be to have to boil your information down to 140 characters—a headline, a tease, a subject line in an e-mail news release.
Using Twitter as an example, distribution of information will always be changing, and communications education must stay on the forefront of knowing about and teaching those changes. But the foundation of any communication is in the writing, and I worry that the medium will once again become the message.
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Linda Hamburger |
â–¶ Linda Hamburger, publicist at On Call PR, Deerfield Beach, Fla., and adjunct professor at South Florida University: I’ve instructed classes for nine years, including using PR and Adobe InDesign for the creation of press kits and collateral materials, introduction to marketing, marketing communications, sales and advertising.
There are many excellent instructors who are exactly on the mark in teaching for a new age of media outreach. However, the sudden and rapid shift in the media environment makes it increasingly essential for students to master design and publishing along with traditional media skills. That means greater emphasis on teaching how to create pitches for e-mail, online newsrooms and understanding how to create a basic Web presence for clients and organizations.
The good news is that students are quick to learn new skills, have the knack for new media and remain wonderfully creative and motivated. Many bring real-world work experience to the table.
That bad news is that I’ve heard complaints that young people lack a certain work ethic in terms of showing up promptly to work and events, allowing for enough notice for time off and courtesy toward the boss or employer. It’s tougher today to “discipline” students in the classroom so that they can overcome those habits.
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Bill Neagus |
â–¶ Bill Neagus, founder and principal of Strategic Persuasion Group, in Farmington, Conn., and adjunct professor of PR at Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Conn: For a long time I taught a senior seminar called Agency Life. The course was intended to help PR majors about to join the workforce form an idea of which direction they wanted their careers to take—agency, corporate or nonprofit.
Now I teach PR Writing, a very hands-on course. For the most part, yes, it’s on the mark. Unlike the full-time professors who tend to be somewhat more theoretical, my courses tend to be very practical. I frequently get comments from students that they feel it’s information they can use immediately when they enter the workforce.
The students have a pretty good grasp on writing, though most need to be more creative. Some students have their own blogs, and they tend to be the better writers.
I believe their largest deficiency as they graduate is the ability to contribute to future discussions they will have in client meetings. I emphasize class participation as 25% of their course grade just to get them talking. For most it works, but not for all. PRN
CONTACT:
Bill Neagus, [email protected], Linda Hamburger, [email protected]; Ann Pedersen, [email protected].