The University of Ottawa (U of O) has suspended admissions to its journalism program for 2014 after an external report determined several problems exist within the program, including a lack of journalism courses and a sense of disconnect among students.
The report, conducted by external evaluators and submitted to the university’s Senate Committee on the Evaluation of Undergraduate Programs in May 2012, states that “very few at the Faculty of Arts (including the academic support staff) seem to understand how students evolve through the programs, or what is taught therein, especially at the partner institutions.”
U of O’s journalism degree is a joint program involving two years of study at the university and two at Algonquin College or La Cité Collegiale.
Students could start their degree at either institution, taking theory-focused courses at the university and practical, hands-on experience at the colleges according to the program guide on the U of O’s website.
The program consists entirely of communications and English courses, many of which overlap with the requirements for a major in communications.
But journalism students are also required to take some media-specific theory courses, such as “Journalism Ethics” and “Media and Public Broadcasting,” the website states.
Evan Potter, associate communications professor at the university, said external evaluators suggested more journalism courses and campus activities be added to the program to create a sense of cohesion among students.
As for whether the university has heard complaints about the program from students or faculty, Potter said any criticism was usually related to issues of transition between institutions.
Adam Feibel, a fourth-year journalism student at U of O and editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper the Fulcrum, said he is only in communications courses and doesn’t know many other journalism students.
Unlike other journalism institutions, U of O’s small class of 25-30 students do not take courses together, and instead are scattered among students in other programs.
“Right now, I don’t know who else is in the journalism program unless I happen to ask them, ‘Hey what program are you in,’” he said.
Joe Banks, co-ordinator of the journalism program at Algonquin, said the college didn’t know who the first and second-year students were at U of O and therefore could not communicate in an effort to make them feel part of the larger journalism component.
Communication is often an issue due to privacy rules which prevent the university from distributing students’ email addresses. But both institutions have created social media sites where students and faculty can correspond, in order to overcome the hurdle, Potter said.
While the report questioned whether the program at U of O should be maintained, “given that Carleton University already dominates journalism in the region, and that both colleges offer programs,” Potter and Banks said the program’s flaws are not insurmountable.
Potter said this type of evaluation is routine for university programs across Ontario, and U of O has full confidence in their journalism program’s value, especially because it is bilingual.
He said the university has already been working on solutions, including adding one journalism course to the program and introducing “guest speakers, open houses, and a variety of activities at all institutions.”
Suspending admissions to the U of O portion of the program will also give the joint program’s advisory committee time to flesh out further solutions to improve communication, Banks said.
Feibel, who completed two years at Algonquin before coming to U of O, said the university could encourage more hands-on opportunities.
“It makes sense that you get the practical experience at Algonquin and the theoretical knowledge at the university,” Feibel said.
“But you might as well be practicing your skills . . . and I find that they don’t really encourage people to go out there and try stuff out, and get a practical education,” he said.
Feibel added that the resource is there, namely the school newspaper, but not many students get involved.
