The Schieffer School of Journalism’s undergraduate programs in journalism and strategic communication received reaccredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
The ACEJMC, academic agency that establishes standards for journalism and mass communications programs and administers the accrediting process, voted unanimously in a meeting Friday in Arlington, Virginia.
“TCU is proud of the record of its journalism and strategic communication programs in accreditation and the latest reaccreditation of the Schieffer School becomes a part of that legacy,” said Dr. R. Nowell Donovan, University Provost. “We want TCU to be in the forefront of media studies in this era of great change, and reaccreditation is a foundation for that.”
The journalism program at TCU was the first at a private institution to be accredited and is one of only 18 private universities among the 113 overall that currently have ACEJMC accreditation. Reaccreditation holds for six years.
The council assesses a program’s scholarship, resources, curriculum, governance, diversity, student services, alumni, research, professional activity, quality of faculty and learning outcomes, among other criteria. According to the site team’s report, the program had “strong faculty attention to students” and “enthusiastic and engaged students who take considerable pride in their school.”
According to the report, the team took note of the $5.6 million expansion and renovation of the Schieffer School’s facilities and the new Convergence Center built during the 2009 summer. The team also reported that the school had a strong set of student media outlets available to students.
Bob Schieffer, senior CBS News correspondent and TCU alumnus, said, “This is great news and well-deserved recognition of the work that John Lumpkin and his team have been doing. I see this as just one more step in making our school the best in the nation. Congratulations to one and all.”
Accreditation is a yearlong process and includes the compilation of a comprehensive self-study, an on-site investigation by a four-member team of academicians and professionals and votes at the committee and full council levels. The Schieffer School was one of 27 programs scrutinized in the 2009-10 academic year.
According to the university’s website, the Schieffer School is part of the College of Communication and has 600 majors. The journalism program, established in 1927, is one of the nation’s oldest. Advertising and public relations programs were subsequently added and grew to be ranked in the top 25 in the country by PR Educator.