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Journalism, Broadcasting, and Digital Media, BA/BS

Student Outcomes

Assessment of Student Outcomes

Outcome MMJ-A News in Society 1

Be able to apply the functions of journalism in democracy in order to judge excellence in journalism.
Objective 1 Gain ability to assess relevance of current journalistic work.

Outcome MMJ-B News and Society 2

Be empowered to express the crucial value of journalism and the news media in democracy and understand how news is connected to parts of society: government, military, business and civil society.
Objective 1 Apply knowledge of journalism's societal role through research.

Outcome MMJ-C Journalism History

Conduct historical inquiry in order to understand the development and role of journalism in society.
Objective 1 Students can identify important issues and conduct research to determine differences in how they are covered in different eras, through independent and mainstream sources.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
The mean score for this assessment was 86.3. This exceeded the target of 80, indicating that the course change from Journalism History to Media History did not negatively affect students' ability to identify important issues historically reported in media.

2018 Status
Achieved
Professor O'Kelly reports that in his Fall 2018 CMJ 290 class of 21 students, 20 received a score greater than the threshold score (70%) and 19 students achieved a score greater than the target score (80%). So, 95% of O'Kellys students achieved the threshold, and 90% achieved the target score.

Outcome MMJ-D Media and Journalism 1

Demonstrate an understanding of effective and responsible news judgment (reporting, sourcing, verifying and presenting information) in online media environments.
Objective 1 Using the concept of "affordances," demonstrate knowledge of the interrelation of digital media and journalistic practice.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
The mean score for this assignment was 81.7. This exceeded the target score of 75 indicating that course changes to content and structure of the course have improved student performance on this learning outcome over time.

2017 Status
Achieved
Target exceeded, indicating students retain understanding of the interrelation of media and journalistic practice.

Objective 2 Apply knowledge of affordances to a project of the student's own design.

Measure 1

2017 Status
Achieved
Target exceeded, indicating that students retain understanding of technological affordances as applied to the practice of multimedia journalism via a project of their own design.

Outcome MMJ-E Media and Journalism 2

Demonstrate an understanding of how various media are not just reflective of, but constitutive of news and journalism reporting, production, and publishing.
Objective 1 Evaluate responsible news judgment in online environments through assessment of case study.

Measure 1

2017 Status
Achieved
CMJ 260 students are competent at determining ethical and responsible courses of action when reviewing instances requiring factchecking, considerations of privacy, and knowledge of copyright in multimedia journalism environments.

Outcome MMJ-F Reporting 1

Demonstrate an understanding of effective, thorough, and ethical interviewing skills in a journalistic context.
Objective 1 Demonstrate knowledge of interviewing skills and then apply them to a project of the student’s own design.

Measure 1

2019 Status
Not Yet Achieved
Professor Harmsen reports that due to inclement weather and missed classed time during Winter '19, this assessment was not given.

Measure 2

2021 Status
Achieved
The mean score for assessments from Winter '21 and Fall '21 was 84.4. This exceeded the target score of 80, indicating that revisions in course delivery, including in-class demonstrations and online learning modules, were effective.

2019 Status
Not Yet Achieved
Professor Harmsen reports that in his Winter 2019 CMJ 284 class of 17 students, 13 received a score greater than the threshold score (70%) and 7 students achieved a score greater than the target score (80%). So, only 76% of Harmsen's students achieved the threshold, and just 41% achieved the target score.

Outcome MMJ-G Reporting 2

Demonstrate proficiency in generating and analyzing information related to a news story (includes accuracy and verification, document analysis, and numeracy)
Objective 1 Ability to assess the landscape of published journalistic work on a topic to determine unique approach.

Measure 1

2019 Status
Achieved
Professor Kelly-Lowenstein reports that in his Winter 2019 CMJ 310 class of 24 students, 23 received a score greater than the threshold score (70%) and 22 students achieved a score greater than the target score (80%). So, 96% of Kelly-Lowenstein's students achieved the threshold, and 92% achieved the target score.

2018 Status
Achieved
Professor Kelly-Lowenstein reports that in his Fall 2018 CMJ 310 class of 18 students, 16 received a score greater than the threshold score (70%) and 15 students achieved a score greater than the target score (80%). So, 89% of Kelley-Lowenstein's students achieved the threshold, and 83% achieved the target score.

Outcome MMJ-H Ethics

Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the First Amendment and libel law as they pertain to the conduct of multimedia journalism and broadcasting.
Objective 1 Understand and explain how the First Amendment obtains in journalistic and/or broadcasting contexts.