The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) today announced the promotion of Evan Kropp to executive director of Distance Education. Kropp also has been named an affiliate faculty member in the College’s Department of Media Production, Management, and Technology.

Kropp joined UFCJC in June 2019 as the college’s third director of Distance Education. He oversees all operations for the College’s online Master of Arts in Mass Communication degree, which includes eight concentrations and four graduate certificate offerings. Prior to joining UFCJC, he was associate dean of liberal arts/communication at Southern New Hampshire University.

Under Kropp’s leadership, enrollment in the College’s online master’s programs has grown more than 250% to more than 1,000 students today, making it one of the largest online communication master’s programs in the country. Department staffing has grown from four full-time employees to 12. He has built an instructional design team that collaborates with the program’s 65 faculty members to develop and maintain high-quality courses that meet or exceed standards set by the non-profit organization Quality Matters (QM).

Evan and his team have worked with the UF Graduate School and the State of Florida to receive approvals for the College’s Combination Degree Program and official course names and numbers for 23 courses. Eight informal specializations were also approved as official concentrations. A new graduate certificate in Audience Analytics was launched in 2021 and, in collaboration with the CJC’s Journalism Department, we will launch a new master’s concentration in Digital Journalism and Multimedia Storytelling in 2023.

Other major accomplishments include the creation of a hardship award program for students who require additional financial support, a new admissions process for both master’s and graduate certificate applicants, new partnerships with the UF’s College of Health and Human Performance and College of Pharmacy, and the development of a five-year strategic plan for the online programs.

“I am grateful for the opportunities provided by the College’s leadership and the wonderful support for our programs from our faculty and staff,” Kropp said. “I am proud of our team’s accomplishments and their focus on student learning outcomes and overall success. I look forward to continuing our efforts to expand the reach of UFCJC to graduate students throughout Florida and around the world.”

Kropp earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. He received his M.A. and B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of Hartford. He also earned a graduate certificate in Interdisciplinary University Teaching from the University of Georgia and a graduate certificate in Higher Education Leadership and Management from the University of Massachusetts.

Posted: November 21, 2022
Category: College News
Tagged as: Distance Education, Evan Kropp