FLORENCE – The mass communication program at the University of North Alabama has received accreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). ACEJMC is the Department of Education recognized accrediting agency for journalism and mass communication programs. This initial accreditation review caps a six-year effort by the unit’s department chair and faculty to earn this prestigious accreditation.
The department’s mass communication program offers students the chance to study multimedia journalism, radio and television and public relations. In the communication arts sequence, students may study film and digital media and public communication.
According to Dr. Greg Pitts, Professor and Chair of the University of North Alabama
Dr. Greg Pitts
Department of Communications, whether writing for a newspaper verses television verses online verses radio, the program’s goal is to teach students to gather information, evaluate it and then convey a message. Digital skills, writing and critical thinking are three key elements of a student’s education.
According to Pitts, accreditation means that UNA has been found in excellent standing by a review team from other nationally accredited programs. More than 700 colleges and universities in the U.S. offer some sort of mass communication program but about 112 U.S. schools and another eight programs outside the U.S. are accredited. UNA is unique, as a regional comprehensive university, to be among the group of accredited programs.
UNA’s investment in the newly accredited program has included curriculum changes, additional faculty, new equipment and computer labs, and building expansion and improvements.
Jobs in journalism, public relations and media are still widely available. The challenge is to ensure that students receive current training and professional development for the digital world. Among UNA’s unique offerings within the department is a communication portfolio class where students work with a faculty mentor to develop their resume and employment presentation skills.
Pitts will soon be leaving UNA after finishing his sixth year, to take his talents to another university. His last day at UNA will be July 31; the College of Arts and Sciences has named Jason Flynn to serve as interim chair for the Department of Communications for the next academic year.
For more information on the Dept. of Communications: https://www.una.edu/
media release/university of north alabama/bryan rachel
