For anyone following trends amongst higher education institutions, the consideration of the University of Colorado to close its journalism program should send up a huge red flag. CU Boulder is looking to close its Journalism School and create a, “…new and evolving information, communication, and technology program,” said Russell Moore the Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at CU.
The question that everyone is asking is whether this move will create a better program focused on the convergence of media or whether it is going to kill off the idea of journalism.
The mass communication program at Mesa is paying very close attention to the developments in Boulder. Regis Tucci, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, feels that the CU program will be worse off for this change.
A similar occurrence happened last year at Mesa. A huge over-arching program review of every program and major offered at Mesa State. Direct results of the initiative included the elimination of the Print Media concentration from the mass communication program. The Print Media emphasis is to be phased out and replaced by a more innovative concentration on New Media.
Changes to the program are fairly subtle. Instead of being taught merely print media such as newspaper and magazines; the professors will now focus on how students can use their knowledge of journalism to help provide digital news. There will still be classes taught with an emphasis in print media journalism.
The subject matter hasn’t really changed. The focus has. Only time will tell if it is better to equip students with the skills needed to report the truth. Professor Tucci referenced Socrates, and how he taught under a tree. It wasn’t where he taught that mattered, it was the subject matter. The same is true of the journalism program offered here at Mesa State. It is not merely how the concentration has been relabeled, it’s about the content of those classes. The same methods, theories and applications are still being used.
As for CU Boulder, there is no telling where the future of their Journalism School lies. Forums have been started to allow students to voice their opinions on the matter. What this means is that we may begin to see a shift in higher education institutions toward a more general and broad outlook on programs.
Two questions every college student should begin asking during any program changes are: is this in response to the economic hardships we face? And: is this change going to make my degree more or less valuable and helpful in the real world?
This occurrence is jarring because it could mean that there is going to be a change in the quality of what students see in their program. This may be just the first of many shifts by colleges and universities to combat the shortfalls in funding higher education in Colorado. Only time will tell.