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4424 DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY CHANGES TO THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE BACHELOR OF JOURNALISM IN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION CHAPTER OF THE UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG 2006-2008 Dean Roderick Hart of the College of Communication has filed with the secretary of the Faculty Council the following changes to the requirements for the Bachelor of Journalism in the College of Communication chapter of the Undergraduate Catalog, 2006-2008. The faculty and the dean of the college approved the proposed changes on October 11, 2005. The dean submitted the changes to the secretary on October 14, 2005. The secretary has classified this proposal as legislation of exclusive application and primary interest to a single college or school. The edited proposal was received from the Office of Official Publications on January 27, 2006, and was sent to the Committee on Undergraduate Degree Program Review from the Office of the General Faculty on January 27, 2006. The committee forwarded the proposed changes to the Office of the General Faculty on February 20, 2006, recommending approval. The authority to grant final approval on behalf of the General Faculty resides with the Faculty Council. If no objection is filed with the Office of the General Faculty by the date specified below, the legislation will be held to have been approved by the Faculty Council. If objection is filed within the prescribed period, the legislation will be presented to the Faculty Council at its next meeting. The objection, with reasons, must be signed by a member of the Faculty Council. To be counted, a protest must be received in the Office of the General Faculty by noon on March 3, 2006. <signed> Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary The Faculty Council This legislation was posted on the Faculty Council Web site on February 24, 2006. Paper copies are available on request from the Office of the General Faculty, WMB 2.102, F9500. 4425 CHANGES TO THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE BACHELOR OF JOURNALISM IN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION CHAPTER OF THE UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG 2006-2008 On pages 82-84, under the heading DEGREES, in College of Communication chapter of the Undergraduate Catalog, 2004-2006, make the following changes: BACHELOR OF JOURNALISM To be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Journalism, the candidate must complete 120 semester hours of coursework and must fulfill the University-wide graduation requirements on pages 18-19, the college graduation requirements on page 74, and the special requirements, prescribed work, and major requirements on pages 83-84. AREAS OF STUDY Journalism courses are divided broadly into skills and studies courses and more narrowly within these two categories according to their level and probable writing content. Not all courses are offered every semester. Studies courses (numbered 310-314 and 360-369): Journalism 310, 310K, 360, 361E, 362E, 363, 364E, 366E, 367E Studies courses that may contain a substantial writing component (numbered 340-349): Journalism 340C, 347S, 348S, and 349T Skills courses (numbered 315-319): Journalism 315, 316 Introductory skills courses (numbered 320-329): Journalism 320D, 321C, 322D, 325, 327 Open skills courses (numbered 330-339): Journalism 330, 331, 331K, 131P, 334, 335, 336, 338, 339D. In general, these courses are open to all students who have completed the skills core[,] (Journalism 315 and [320D] 321C) and either 320D (print, photojournalism, and multimedia majors) or 322D (broadcast majors). RATIONALE: These are wording changes, made to reflect other changes which are addressed and rationalized in other areas. We have substituted J321C for J320D, for example, because the former replaced the latter in the skills core. It also reflects the fact that J20D is no longer required for broadcast majors. It was decided that the writing and reporting needs of broadcast majors could be better addressed in a broadcast class. Intermediate skills courses (numbered 350-359): Journalism 353D, 355, 359T Advanced skills courses (numbered 370-379): Journalism 370K, 371K, 372D, 373D, 374D, 375, 376D, 377D, 379, 379P In addition, courses are divided into the school’s four areas of professional concentration: broadcast journalism, multimedia journalism, photojournalism, and print journalism. The print concentration is divided into three sequences: newspaper reporting and writing, magazine writing and editing, and copy editing and design. [Print journalism (newspaper or magazine): Journalism 327, 335, 373D, 374D, 375, 376D, 377D] 4426 [Broadcast journalism: Journalism 322D, 353D, 372D] [Multimedia journalism: Journalism 331, 334, 338] Courses in each [area] concentration have prerequisites appropriate to their skill level; prerequisites may include testing, an interview, or other procedures in conjunction with the school’s application process. Information about these additional requirements is available from the School of Journalism adviser. [Students are encouraged to take courses in at least two professional areas.] SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS [To become a journalism major, a student must apply for admission and must indicate his or her primary interest in one of the four areas of concentration within the school: print journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism, and multimedia journalism.] Students who seek to study journalism are admitted to the University as prejournalism majors. To continue in the major, each student must be admitted to the concentration in broadcast journalism, multimedia journalism, or photojournalism or to one of the three sequences—newspaper reporting and writing, magazine writing and editing, and copy editing and design—within the concentration in print journalism. The student should apply for admission to a concentration or sequence while taking or upon completing Journalism 315. Admission decisions for each concentration or sequence are made by the [Journalism Undergraduate Selection Committee] head of that area. [The] A student may not take any upper-division journalism course except Journalism 320D unless he or she has been admitted to [the program] an area of concentration or a sequence. [Students who register for upper-division journalism courses without having been admitted to the program will be dropped from those courses, normally before the twelfth class day.] RATIONALE: We want to encourage more students to take J320D soon after taking J315 because we believe it will improve their performance in this intensive reporting class. Also, we wish to encourage more students to take this course earlier in their college career, rather than wait until their senior year, when they are taking other advanced journalism courses. It will also allow students to take internships sooner since J320D is required for internships for all print, photojournalism and multimedia majors. To enroll in upper-division journalism courses, a student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 and a grade point average in courses in the College of Communication of at least 2.00. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be [dropped from upper-division journalism courses, normally before the twelfth class day] unable to register for upper-division courses. This requirement is waived for the transfer student during the first semester of coursework, while he or she is establishing a University grade point average. The student must complete at least eighty semester hours outside journalism. At least sixty-five hours must be in liberal arts and natural sciences. A score of at least 45 on the College of Communication Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test and a score of at least 29 on the School of Journalism Word Processing Test are required for admission to most journalism courses. [Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from these courses, normally before the twelfth class day.] Students will be unable to register for these courses if they have not passed the tests. [Additional information about the preceding requirements is available from the School of Journalism at (512) 471-1845 or http://journalism.utexas.edu/.] A student majoring in journalism may not register for more than nine semester hours in journalism in one semester or summer session. Exceptions to this rule may be made by the director or associate director for seniors who need additional journalism courses in order to graduate in a timely manner. 4427 Any student enrolled in a journalism course who does not attend the first class meeting or laboratory session may be dropped from that course. A student with a major in journalism must have a grade of at least C in each course taken in the College of Communication that is counted toward the degree; if the course is offered on the pass/fail basis only, the student must have the symbol CR. Additional information about the preceding requirements is available from the School of Journalism at (512) 471-1845 or http://journalism.utexas.edu. PRESCRIBED WORK {A change to requirement 5 is proposed in D 4412-4418. No further changes to requirements 1 through 11.} MAJOR REQUIREMENTS 1. [At] Broadcast, multimedia, and print journalism students must complete at least thirty-three but no more than thirty-six semester hours in journalism. Photojournalism students must complete thirty-six semester hours. 2. The studies core, Journalism 310 and 360[;], and the skills core, Journalism 315 and [320D] 321C. are required of all journalism majors. Students must complete the skills core before taking most open, intermediate, and advanced skills courses. RATIONALE: A new course, J321C (The Fundamentals of Multimedia Journalism) is being substituted for J320D in the core coursework required of all students. We are far behind most schools in exposing all journalism students to online journalism, convergence and multimedia story-telling. This course, which would be both conceptual and skills-oriented, will be required of all journalism majors and will offer them a basic understanding of new forms of journalism based on the Internet and other digital platforms. Students would take this course after being admitted to upper division. It would be three hours of lecture and six hours of lab. 3. [Nine semester hours] At least six semester hours chosen from the following studies courses: Journalism 310K, 340C, 347S,348S, 349T, 361E, 363, 364E, 366E, 367E. [At least one course must be chosen from Journalism 340C, 347S, 348S, and 349T.] These courses must be completed in addition to those for the student’s concentration or sequence listed in requirement 4 below. RATIONALE: We are reducing this requirement by one course. This is a practical matter since the number of required courses in each concentration now limits the number of free electives (usually studies courses) that students may take. Students can still take additional studies classes if they wish and many will likely do so. In addition, two of the required core courses are “studies courses” (J310 and J360) so all students will still have at least 12 hours of studies in addition to any other electives they choose to add. [4. Nine semester hours chosen from the following skills courses: Journalism 316, 322D, 325, 327, 330, 331, 331K, 131P, 334, 335, 336, 338, 339D, 353D, 355, 359T, 370K, 371K, 372D, 373D, 374D, 375, 376D, 377D.] 4. Skills courses required for the student’s concentration or sequence: a. Broadcast journalism: Journalism 322D, 353D, 372D, and a three-hour journalism course with a substantial writing component. b. Multimedia journalism: Journalism 320D, 331, 334, 359T (Topic:Writing for Online Publications), and an advanced skills course. c. Photojournalism: Journalism 316, 320D, 325, 336, 355 and either 370K or 371K. 4428   d. Print journalism: i. Newspaper reporting and writing sequence: Journalism 320D, 327, 330, and either 373D or 374D. ii. Magazine writing and editing sequence: Journalism 320D, 327, 330, 347S, and either 373D, 374D, or 377D. iii. Copy editing and design sequence: Journalism 320D, 330, 336, and 377D. 5. At least six semester hours of coursework must be taken in the College of Communication but outside the School of Journalism. No more than forty-two hours (including transfer credit) in College of Communication coursework may be counted toward the degree. 6. No College of Communication course to be counted toward the degree may be taken on the pass/fail basis, unless the course is offered only on that basis. RATIONALE: We will still have four areas of concentration – broadcast journalism, multimedia journalism, photojournalism, and print journalism. However, the print concentration will now have three specific sequences, from which students will have to select before entering the concentration. The new copy editing sequence is our effort to provide students with another career option in an area much in demand in the journalism profession. Regarding the return to a more rigid set of requirements for each concentration, in reality, this mainly affects those in the print concentration. Both broadcast and photojournalism majors already have well-defined tracks with set requirements under the current curriculum. However, students in print are essentially free to pick and choose courses and thus often failed to reach the desired level of competency in any given area. This change will simply implement for print students what already exists for those in broadcast and photojournalism – specific paths of courses that build on skills as they advance to a higher level course in their selected sequence. ORDER AND CHOICE OF WORK FIRST YEAR 1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester: a. Rhetoric and Composition 306. b. Courses to be counted toward requirements 6, 7, and 8 of the prescribed work above. Students who plan to concentrate in photojournalism are encouraged to take courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics to fulfill requirement 8. c. Courses in a foreign language. 2. Journalism 310. 3. Enough additional coursework to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Courses should be chosen with the guidance of a college adviser. 4. Students who plan to concentrate in photojournalism are encouraged to take Journalism 316 in their second semester. SECOND YEAR 1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester; four are recommended: a. English 316K and any three-semester-hour course in English or rhetoric and composition. b. Courses to be counted toward requirements 6, 7, and 8 of the prescribed work, including courses in American government or American history. c. Courses in the foreign language, unless the language requirement has been fulfilled. 2. Journalism 315 and additional coursework to fulfill the major requirements. Students may take Journalism 320D if they have met the prerequisite. 4429 3. Enough additional coursework, if needed, to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Basic courses in accounting and computer sciences are especially recommended. [THIRD AND FOURTH YEARS] THIRD YEAR 1. Two courses certified as having a substantial writing component. 2. Any outstanding requirements included in the prescribed work. 3. Journalism [320D] 321C and 360 and additional coursework to fulfill the major requirements. Students who are required to take Journalism 320D are strongly encouraged to do so as soon as they have been admitted to an area of concentration or a sequence. 4. Upper-division electives chosen to support the major. [Students seeking teacher certification should consult the teacher certification officer, College of Education, for information about the courses required.] FOURTH YEAR 1. Upper-division electives chosen to support the major. 2. Any remaining major requirements. All students must complete at least one advanced skills course. RATIONALE: To ensure that students take at least one advanced course in their concentration, something that many of the print students manage to avoid under the current system. We believe those advanced courses are important if students are to obtain a level of competency in their chosen concentration.