Keyes appoints Committee on Ethics

Council President Saundra Keyes has invited several Council members to serve on a new Committee on Ethics Instruction.

The topic of ethics instruction has recurred in Council discussions during the past few years, and the recent revision of the accreditation standards included strengthened language regarding ethics. Nonetheless, as reports of ethicsl violations in campus and mainstream media continue, Council members have questioned whether the Council was doing all it could to foster instruction in ethics.

The committee's ultimate aim is to improve both accredited programs and the professions of journalism and mass communications. It will attempt to do so by discovering how the Council can most effectively encourage accredited programs to provide strong instruction in ethics.

The committee will meet while the Council is in Portland for its May meeting. Members will continue discussion by e-mail or at other conferences. The initial plan calls for the committee to present recommendations for discussion at the Sept. 2 Council meeting in Chicago.

The committee must work while keeping several factors in mind:

  • The Council's statement on institutional uniqueness, which says, "The Accrediting Council does not define specific curricula, courses or methods of instruction."
  • The Council's long history of attempting to ensure that none of the standards is overweighted in accreditation decisions.
  • The likelihood that the new accrediting standards, which will be used in accreditation reviews for the 2005 - 06 academic year, will not be revised for some time.
  • The numerous ethics-related projects already under way in professional and academic associations.

Former Council President Jerry Ceppos has agreed to serve as chair of the committee. Click to see a complete list of committee members.

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Timeline of changes

ACEJMC has adopted several changes in its standards, policies and procedures in the past few years. As a result, administrators and members of the Committee, Council and site visit teams easily could be confused by the overlapping schedule as the changes become effective in the various phases of the accrediting process. The following timeline is intended to clarify the schedule.

The note "continues" indicates that the change is in effect continuously after the time listed.

September 2003
• all schools were to have assessment plans in place; continues
• self-studies required assessment plans; continues
2003-2004
 • all schools were to collect assessment information, per their plans; continues
2004-2005
 • all schools were to apply assessment information toward improvements; continues
• self-studies written for visits next year use new (9) standards (without amendments related to review of master's programs)
• site visit teams apply old (12) standards for the last time
• directory book contains both old and new standards
2005-2006

• provisional accreditation period becomes two years (schools retain 1-yr option); continues
• self-studies written for visits next year use new standards (with master's-review amendments)
• site visit teams apply new standards (without master's-review amendments)
• directory book contains new standards (with master's-review amendments)
2006-2007
 • site visit teams apply new standards with master's-review amendments (i.e., make separate judgments of standards compliance and separate accreditation recommendation); continues
• revisits for provisional accreditation include team chair and an individual not previously involved in the visit; continues
2007-2008
 • no changes unless new policies adopted in the interim

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2005 - 2006 site visit schedule

The following schools are scheduled for accreditation reviews in the 2005– 2006 academic year. Those marked with * are seeking accreditation for the first time; the rest are seeking re-accreditation.

Visit Date
School
Oct. 16– 19
University of Florida
Eastern Illinois University
Oct. 23 – 26
* Elon University
Oct. 30– Nov. 2
* McNeese State University
Auburn University
* University of South Alabama
Nov. 6 – 9
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
* Winston-Salem State University
Nov. 13– 16
University of Louisiana at Monroe
* Virginia Commonwealth University
Jan. 22– 25
Southern University
University of Georgia
Nicholls State University
Jan.29 – Feb. 1
Hampton University
University of Oregon
Feb. 5 – 8
University of California, Berkeley
South Dakota State University
Feb. 12– 15
University of Arizona
Florida A&M University
Feb. 19 – 22
University of Montana
New York University

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Appeals Board appointed

Tim Gleason, dean, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, is chair of the 2004 – 2005 Appeals Board. Members are Carol Pardun, associate professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina, and Beth Uyenco, senior vice president, director of research, Optimum Media (Chicago).

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Beverly Kees dies

Beverly Kees

Beverly Kees, the editor of the Council's diversity handbook, died Dec. 10, 2004. She was struck while crossing a street in San Francisco. She was 63.

A former president of the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Kees was a writer and editor based in San Francisco. She spent seven years as editor and program director at The Freedom Forum Pacific Coast Center. She was executive editor of the Fresno Bee, a Visiting Professional Scholar at the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and a lecturer at San Francisco State University.

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Member and program updates

Arthur W. Page Society
The Page Society has named Ward White as its representative to the Council. He is vice president, corporate relations, for Northwestern Mutual.

Inland Press Association
Jane Amari has been named the Council representative of the Inland Press Association. She replaces Bill Mertens, who died in February 2004. She has been editor and publisher of the Arizona Daily Star since 1999 and was appointed vice president of news for Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., in 2003. She has held numerous management positions during 35 years in the newspaper industry.

National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
NLGJA mourns the passing of its founder, Leroy F. Aarons, who died in November 2004 after a battle with cancer. More information is available here.

Texas A&M University
The Department of Journalism did not seek re-accreditation and should no longer be considered an accredited program.

Texas Christian University
The Department of Journalism will become on March 8 the Schieffer School of Journalism.

Texas State University-San Marcos
The Department of Mass Communication on June 1 will be redesignated the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The School will continue to be part of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. Bruce Smith, who has chaired the department for the past five years, will become the School’s first director.

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Meetings calendar

Accrediting Committee
April 2 – 3, 2005
Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel
909 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago

Accrediting Council
May 6 – 7, 2005
Westin Portland Hotel
750 SW. Alder Street
Portland, Ore.

Accrediting Council
Sept. 2, 2005
Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel
909 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago

Accrediting Committee
March 11 – 12, 2006
Westin Hotel River North
320 N. Dearborn Ave.
Chicago

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ACEJMC Ascent
Newsletter of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications

Vol. 12, No. 1, February 2005

President, Accrediting Council
Saundra Keyes
Editor
The Honolulu Advertiser
605 Kapiolani Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 525-8080

Vice President, Accrediting Council
Will Norton
Dean, College of Journalism and
Mass Communications
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68588-0443
(402) 472-3041

Chair, Accrediting Committee
Doug Anderson
Dean, College of Communications
201 Carnegie Building
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-1484

Vice Chair, Accrediting Committee
Tom Kunkel
Dean
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-2383

Executive Director
Susanne Shaw
Stauffer-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Blvd.
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045 - 7575
(785) 864-3986
e-mail: sshaw@ku.edu

Publications Editor
Charles Higginson
Stauffer-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Blvd.
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045 - 7575
(785) 864-7640
e-mail: crah@ku.edu

Council Website:
http://www.ukans.edu/~acejmc

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