Journalism, media & communication network: Final report 2015

The JoMeC Network project had three key objectives. These were to: 1. Benchmark the pedagogical elements of journalism, media and communication (JoMeC) programs at Australian universities in order to develop a set of minimum academic standards, to be known as Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs), which would applicable to the disciplines of Journalism, Communication and/or Media Studies, and Public Relations; 2. Build a learning and teaching network of scholars across the JoMeC disciplines to support collaboration, develop leadership potential among educators, and progress shared priorities; 3. Create an online resources hub to support learning and teaching excellence and foster leadership in learning and teaching in the JoMeC disciplines. In order to benchmark the pedagogical elements of the JoMeC disciplines, the project started with a comprehensive review of the disciplinary settings of journalism, media and communication-related programs within Higher Education in Australia plus an analysis of capstone units (or subjects) offered in JoMeC-related degrees. This audit revealed a diversity of degree titles, disciplinary foci, projected career outcomes and pedagogical styles in the 36 universities that offered JoMeC-related degrees in 2012, highlighting the difficulties of classifying the JoMeC disciplines collectively or singularly. Instead of attempting to map all disciplines related to journalism, media and communication, the project team opted to create generalised TLOs for these fields, coupled with detailed TLOs for bachelor-level qualifications in three selected JoMeC disciplines: Journalism, Communication and/or Media Studies, and Public Relations. The initial review’s outcomes shaped the methodology that was used to develop the TLOs. Given the complexity of the JoMeC disciplines and the diversity of degrees across the network, the project team deployed an issue-framing process to create TLO statements. This involved several phases, including discussions with an issue-framing team (an advisory group of representatives from different disciplinary areas); research into accreditation requirements and industry-produced materials about employment expectations; evaluation of learning outcomes from universities across Australia; reviews of scholarly literature; as well as input from disciplinary leaders in a variety of forms. Draft TLOs were refined after further consultation with industry stakeholders and the academic community via email, telephone interviews, and meetings and public forums at conferences. This process was used to create a set of common TLOs for JoMeC disciplines in general and extended TLO statements for the specific disciplines of Journalism and Public Relations. A TLO statement for Communication and/or Media Studies remains in draft form. The Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA) and Journalism Education and Research Association of Australian (JERAA) have agreed to host meetings to review, revise and further develop the TLOs. The aim is to support the JoMeC Network’s sustainability and the TLOs’ future development and use.