The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Board has announced that the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Public Relations program has been approved for recertification for its resident undergraduate program and received initial certification for the online undergraduate program, online postgraduate program and resident postgraduate program.

UFCJC, which first earned certification in 2016, now has the distinction of housing the only certified online programs, the only school with four certified programs, and completion of the most complex review in the Certification in Education for Public Relations’ (CEPR) 34-year history.

According to the PRSA Board, “Overall, the department provides cutting-edge teaching, with outreach and experiential learning opportunities nationally and internationally, supported by high-quality scholarship that advances the body of knowledge. Particularly noteworthy is the award-winning Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) alpha chapter at Florida, which has provided numerous PRSSA National Committee leaders.”

The site team evaluating the College’s online master’s public relations program noted that “When students and alumni were asked why they chose UF’s online Master of Arts in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations, the top responses combined three main reasons: the outstanding reputation of the university, a course of study that would help them achieve their career goals, and a format that allowed them to balance other responsibilities, such as a full-time job or raising children. Affordability of the program was also a frequently cited reason for enrolling in the program.”

The board also remarked that “the 13 full-time and 23 adjunct faculty members are gender-balanced and come from Canada, Vietnam, Russia, Croatia, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and the U.S. They also represent Hispanic and African American perspectives. Even with this representation of different ethnicities and nationalities, 75% of the faculty are white. It is, therefore, commendable that the faculty remain concerned about the continuing challenge of recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty. The goal might be to match the ethnic diversity of the faculty with that of the department’s student population, which has consistently been more than 40 percent ethnic minorities over the past five years.”

In addition, the PRSA Board said, “Funding to help students attend numerous professional events is also impressive, and this is a factor in the department’s overall excellence, which can serve as a model for public relations programs at all universities.” The Board noted the measures the College has taken to involve online students with the campus community.

The College’s Public Relations program has won numerous awards in the 2022-23 academic year, including PR Week naming UFJCC as the Outstanding Education Program and selecting one of its students for the Outstanding Student of the Year Award. The program received two PRNEWS Social Impact Awards and Platinum Awards and was named to its 2023 Education A-List. The College’s Bateman Team won first place in the PRSSA’s prestigious national case study competition.

Established in 1989 as a voluntary program, the CEPR offers academic programs the opportunity to have an outside evaluation team review and endorse undergraduate and master’s level programs for meeting eight standards in curriculum, faculty, students, resources and facilities, assessment, professional affiliations, relationships with the total unit and the university, and diversity and global perspectives.

Posted: July 26, 2023
Category: Center for Public Interest Communications, College News
Tagged as: CEPR, PRSA, Public Interest Communications, Public Relations