Sudyen Navarrete / Staff Writer
Early December 2015 it was announced that the School of Journalism and Mass Communications will be integrating with the College of Architecture and the Arts.
In the fall the provost asked CARTA and SJMC to merge; a committee was assigned for both schools and voted in favor of the merge at Biscayne Bay Campus.
Many students reacted negatively towards the integration. Some believed it could devalue the school’s accreditation or that money was in the way of everything.
“As a student, I believe it won’t affect us in a bad way,” said Anzela Vanegas, a junior broadcast journalism major. “However, now we depend and operate under a new department that can be very different from journalism and mass communication majors. I think each school needs their own dean that has relations to the field.”
However, there’s also students that favored the merge.
“I think that this is a great opportunity for our school,” said Jayda Hall, a junior broadcast major. “We need more resources and our school needs to be exposed.”
Professor Frederick Blevens, of the Journalism and Broadcast Department, is working on updating SJMCs curriculum to be done and take effect by mid-summer.
The updates on what Blevens is revising has a purpose.
“Students will be able to get through the program more quickly, graduate on time and progress through the curriculum,” Blevens said.
There’s been problems with students not being able to get through graduation, according to Blevens.
Some of the updates revolve around the admission requirements as in the credit hours and grade point average.
“We eliminated the 60-hour requirement, which will take effect starting in the fall, and we lowered the GPA to a 2.85,” said Blevens.
According to Blevens, there are two important steps into the process, “How do you get into the program and get accepted.”
The school will retain the limited number of student admittance but barriers will be met through courses. It will be up to the students to meet the requirements or not.
“We will still remain a limited program with barriers for admittance,” said Blevens. “Barriers are going to be different, competency and performance based.”
Students coming from high schools will be able to declare their majors and get admitted by their sophomore years, not junior as it usually is, as long as admission requirements for SJMC are met.
Another possible change that has been mentioned but not approved or discussed is the barrier exam, Language Skills Test, an entry grammar exam that SJMC students must pass to continue onto their major track.
“Language skills tests have become something in the past, some states are no longer using barrier exams anymore but instead course work to make sure students are competent,” said Blevens. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to hold students hostages in a class for a test.”
For now that’s just a possibility.
“It’s not going to be easier to get into the program, it’s just different,” Blevens said.
Overall, Blevens said he was in favor of the merge, and it’s an integration that must have been done long time ago.
Throughout the holiday break, students were being informed about the integration through newsletters, student media and even the Miami Herald.
Blevens said the communication was poorly distributed to students, angering them and leaving them in the unknown about the merge leading to negative views about it.
“Some of it was generated by a misunderstanding from Miami Herald stories, the advised report hadn’t had a clear understanding, students were misinformed,” said Blevens. “The reporting didn’t reflect the reality of the situation.”
Dean Brian Schriner will lead SJMC under CARTAs umbrella with the help of recently named interim executive director of SJMC, Juliet Pinto, an associate professor of the journalism and broadcast department.
“I am enjoying getting to know the SJMC’s students, faculty, professional staff, advisory board members and alumni,” said Schriner.
In response to the merger, according to the Dean, CARTA students have favored the change.
“My interactions with students,whether from CARTA or the SJMC, have been very positive,” said Schriner. “The students’ initial questions or concerns have focused on how the integration might impact their current major, the name of the degree they are pursuing, the name of their home department, etc.”
Part of the dean’s personal goals for the integration is “to increase strategic enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate level, increase the number of full-time faculty – potentially as cluster hires – in the areas of digital media, communication, digital arts, graphic design and public relations and to enhance the administrative teaching and research support to the faculty,” said Schriner.
Incoming freshmen from high schools will experience the new changes between the schools.
“They will have access to additional resources and will graduate with the confidence they have a skills-set that gives them a competitive advantage in the 21st century’s information, innovation, and technology economy,” said Schriner.
Pinto said that SJMC will retain its own entity and accreditation, and the purpose is to grow and expand by reducing inefficiencies and making everything better.
“What CARTA represents to us is an opportunity to resources such as their 3D printers, their Miami Beach Urban Studios and many more that can help our students think creatively,” said Pinto
In SJMC, faculties have been placed in committees to better SJMC, such as what Professor Blevens is doing.
Pinto said, “most of our faculty and staff are on committees to work with the curriculum, governance, space and staffing to make ourselves better.”
In addition of directing SJMC, Pinto is also communicating with sponsors for fundings.
“I am also out in the community looking for engagement and partnership to help us get resources that we need.”
The faculty-led process will also create a new name that represents both schools.
“The entire point of this integration is to make everything stronger and CARTA is the right place for SJMC, we’re all looking to help the industries that students wish to go into,” said Pinto
All structures shall be placed no later than July 1 of this year.
[Photo by Sudyen Navarrete]
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