Lack of accreditation affects journalism students

Journalism 301 students visit the KHON news station during a fall 2004 field trip.

By Darlene Dela Cruz    

Faculty downsizing and the recent revamping of the curriculum were key factors in the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa journalism program's decision not to seek re-accreditation, according to professors in the department.

The UHM journalism program underwent a major restructuring in the fall of 2003, and the program's faculty numbers have dwindled from eight full-time staffers to just three current full-timers. With the new curriculum still in its fledgling stages, and with its full-time teaching staff cut by more than half, journalism professor Beverly Keever says that now would be an inopportune time to seek accreditation.

"We didn't go up for accreditation because we didn't have the faculty," Keever says. "We didn't have the depth and we didn't have all of the procedures that you need to be up to the national standards."

Journalism professor and UHM School of Communications chairman Gerald Kato says that the program's lack of accreditation isn't a reflection of its instructional quality. Kato cites bureaucratic reasons within the School of Communications - under which the journalism program is covered - for foregoing accreditation.

"There are various reasons for letting (accreditation) lapse," says Kato. "There are issues dealing with budget and administration after the merger of journalism and communications. It has nothing to do with the quality of the classes or faculty."
    
College journalism and communications programs are accredited through review by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. According to the mission statement on its Web site, the council, comprised of academics and professionals in communications and journalism, is "dedicated to fostering and encouraging excellence and high standards in professional education in journalism and mass communications." The council's accreditation committees scrutinize programs through campus visits and "self-studies" in which a program is assessed by its own staff to determine how well the program meets ACEJMC standards.

The ACEJMC lists 12 standards that journalism and communications programs must satisfactorily meet to become accredited. The ACEJMC's main standards deal with faculty, budget and equipment meeting student needs. A program's curriculum must also include "theoretical, conceptual and professional skills courses," and must provide internship and public service opportunities. Programs must also keep up-to-date records on current students and alumni, and must provide regular advising sessions. The ACEJMC also stresses a diverse learning environment.

Schools are accredited for six years if they meet ACEJMC standards. "Provisional" accreditation is given when the council finds program deficiencies that can be corrected within a year.

While Keever and Kato suggest that the UHM journalism program doesn't meet the ACEJMC's faculty and budget standards, Keever says that the program does fare well otherwise. The journalism labs in Crawford Hall have been stocked with new computers, and student advising is done regularly. Keever also touts the program's diversity.  

"Our diversity is the best in the nation," Keever says. "It's a different type of diversity from the mainland, where it's mainly African-Americans and Hispanics. We also bring in diversity with Asian and Pacific Island influence."

Students have mixed feelings over the program's lack of accreditation.

"I am a little worried that my education won't be able to compete with others who have a come from a school with a stronger journalism program," says journalism senior Kimberly Ruiz.

Senior Kristin Sharp says that with the skills the journalism program has taught her, she isn't worried about the journalism program's lack of accreditation affecting her future in the field.

"Accreditation doesn't really matter to me," Sharp says.

Keever and Kato see positive and negative in the journalism program's being unaccredited. Both professors agree that not having to adhere to accreditation standards allows the program more flexibility.

"(Accreditation) is too much of a straight jacket in terms of what you have to do," Kato says. "Journalism is an equal opportunity employer. It's not bound by licensing or accreditation."

According to Keever, UHM's segregation from the mainland merits it a different accreditation standard.

"I think that because we're such an isolated state, it's more important to be better than ... the national standards because we have our own special 'aloha' way," she says. "The culture, and even the government, is different."

Keever says that being unaccredited prevents UHM students from being able to compete in some national writing contests, like the Hearst Writing Competition, where only accredited university students can apply. She also says that recruiting new faculty into an unaccredited program is difficult, and research foundations are reluctant to give grant money to faculty in unaccredited journalism schools.

According to Keever, the biggest drawback to the UHM journalism program's being unaccredited is the effect it has on students' out-of-class journalistic opportunities.

"We're not getting those internships," Keever says. "They're not hiring, and we're not even getting our toe in the door."

While Keever suggests that the program's lack of accreditation prevents students from earning internships, Shauna Goya, the intern coordinator at the Honolulu Advertiser, says that an accredited journalism program isn't a major factor in intern selection.

"We don't look at accreditation directly when selecting interns. However, we do look at what kind of expertise the student can bring to the newspaper," Goya says. "If a school is accredited, it is likelier to have a stronger program and, in effect, help a student's chances of getting picked up. But the applicant is not judged based on coming from an accredited school. We do place a lot of emphasis on an applicant's clips and letter of recommendation."

Kato says that he wants to have the UHM journalism program re-accredited in the future.

"I do think accreditation is a good idea," he says. "It's not a requirement that's going to affect the education of our students. I do, however, support the accreditation process and I hope to bring it back."

The ACEJMC currently has 107 U.S. journalism and communications programs accredited, as well as one accredited program outside the U.S.