Public Relations certification granted to VCU School of Mass Communications

By Tom Gresham

RICHMOND, Va. (April 3, 2006) – The Public Relations Society of America has granted certification to the public relations program in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications, making it one of only 17 such programs in the United States, Canada and Latin America to hold the distinction.

 “We are thrilled that PRSA’s board of directors granted certification,” said Judy VanSlyke Turk, APR, director of the School of Mass Communications and a member of its public relations faculty. “This validates that we, as a school, are doing what we need to be doing to ensure the proper education and professional preparation for our public relations majors.”

Two PRSA members, both of whom are accredited and members of PRSA’s College of Fellows, visited VCU in November to review the school’s public relations program and to determine whether it was in compliance with the Certified in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) standards.

The nine standards against which VCU’s School of Mass Communications was measured were:

• Public Relations Curriculum
• Public Relations Faculty (Full- and Part-time)
• Resources, Equipment and Facilities
• Public Relations Students
• Assessment
• Relationships with Alumni and Professionals
• Relationships with Total Unit and University
• PRSSA Chapter
• Diversity

The School’s public relations program “fully meets and often exceeds the standards for Certification in Education for Public Relations,” reported the review team in its written report.

The review team noted that the strengths of the public relations program include:

• A newly revitalized School of Mass Communications with an extremely able and dedicated director who has a specialty in public relations.
• Generous provision of resources from the university and the college including faculty positions, equipment and facilities funding.
• Dedicated and capable faculty with an international perspective.
• A strong core curriculum in both mass communications and public relations.
• Good and improving computer labs and other equipment and facilities.
• Strong professional relationships and internship opportunities in the community.
• A well-organized PRSSA chapter with good support from PRSA.
• Strong diversity and an international perspective among students and faculty.

The review team also noted two areas of improvement:

• Assessment, which is an ongoing developmental process for most programs in this field.
• Development of scholarships and endowments in public relations to support both faculty and students.

The VCU School of Mass Communications was established in 1978 to educate students for careers in many aspects of the mass media, including advertising, journalism and public relations. Housed in the College of Humanities & Sciences, the school is the third largest major at Virginia Commonwealth University, enrolling almost 1,200 undergraduate students. A new Strategic Public Relations master’s degree program begins in July 2006.