You Asked, We Answered: Your Communication Department Questions
When the Writing for Multimedia class surveyed Communication Department students, we were posed with a number of concerning questions. The questions that follow are actual Comm. Student questions. Follow each link to find the answers for which we’ve searched, asked, and gathered information from web pages, professors, and chairpersons.
Questions:
- What majors are offered by the Communication Department?
- Where can I find work after college?
- Where can I find the specific Communication Department requirements for graduation?
- Why is it so hard to get into some classes?
- Why isn't there a photojournalism degree on campus? How are new majors started?
- How can students get more involved in the Comm. Department?
- In what classes can I fulfill my writing requirement?
- Why is speech a prerequisite for many courses? (Speech Waiver)
- How can I make sure I get into the classes I need?
- How can a student tell when they will be able to graduate?
- How do you get an internship?
- What are the advising deadlines?
- How do I personalize my AR?
- What can be done to get a better one-on-one feeling during marathon and group advising?
- What’s the biggest mistake students make in advising?
- When is the best time to go to advising so it isn’t busy?
- Why don’t we have individual advisors?
- What’s the most lucrative field to get into?
- What should I include in my resume?
- How do I plan for studying abroad?
Questions, with Answers:
- What majors are offered by the Communication Department?
- Journalism-Advertising
- Broadcast Journalism
- Print Journalism
- Multimedia Digital Arts
- Electronic Media
- Interpersonal Communications
- Organization Communications
- Public Relations
- Individualized - The College of Arts & Communication also offers an Individualized Major as an option to students looking for a major not offered on the Whitewater campus (For more information, contact Dr. Barbara Penington, the Department Chair.
- Where can I find work after college?
- Where can I find the specific Communication Department requirements for graduation?
- Why is it so hard to get into some classes?
- Why isn't there a photojournalism degree on campus? How are new majors started?
- How can students get more involved in the Communication Department?
- In what classes can I fulfill my writing requirement?
- Why is speech a prerequisite for many courses? (Speech Waiver)
- How can I make sure I get into the classes I need?
- How can a student tell when they will be able to graduate?
- How do you get an internship?
- What are the advising deadlines?
- How do I personalize my AR?
- What can be done to get a better one-on-one feeling during marathon and group advising?
- What’s the biggest mistake students make in advising?
- When is the best time to go to advising so it isn’t busy?
- Why don’t we have individual advisors?
- What’s the most lucrative field to get into?
- What should I include in my resume?
- First is contact information. List your name in bold letters so it stands out. Next, list your current address, main phone number, and one email address. Make sure that your voice message on your answering machine is tasteful and make sure the email address you list is appropriate.
- Second, list your education. Place your education first if you don’t have any work experience in the field. Don’t include your GPA unless it is at least 3.0. Also include your anticipated graduating date. Make sure to include the city and state of the Institution.
- The third thing listed on a resume is work experience. List your work experience with the most recent position first. Include the name of the business, the city, and the state it is located. Use active words to describe your duties (ex. organized, implemented, coordinated, facilitated, and supervised). Try to relate your experiences to the job for which you are applying.
- Lastly, include special skills or certifications that you may have, such as specific software training relating to the position. Also include any certifications that would strengthen your position.
- How do I plan for studying abroad?
According to www.exforsys.com, "The first place you should look for a job is with the contacts you have made during college, internships, or apprenticeships." These people will already know your work ethic, your educational background, and your fit within a company. Even if your contacts do not have a position for you, they may have some leads of people who will. If you exhaust all of your references, you will likely find someone who knows an employer that can fulfill your need.
More resources and information
academics.uww.edu/CAC/Communication/docs/declaremajorform%202-08.doc
A major setback for the department is that semester schedules are set a semester in advance. (Example: the spring 2010 semester will be scheduled in the fall of 2009). Semester schedules are set by the number of students in a given emphasis and their place within their emphasis check sheet. What makes it hard to determine exactly how many seats will be needed is the varying graduation pace for each student, whether they attend full- or part-time, take interim courses, hold off to make money, or change majors altogether. The resources available for classes (such as computers, classrooms, and desk seats available), also limit schedules.
It is also crucial that communication majors go to departmental advising. At advising, students can fill out sign-up sheets for high-demand classes (especially those held in labs) in advance to registration. Seats claimed on the sign-up are automatically held for students during registration. It is equally important to note that seats already claimed on the sign-up sheets must then be officially registered for during the registration period. The department will give you three days past the registration deadline; if you do not follow through and register, you will lose your seat.
If you enter a new semester and you are not enrolled in a necessary course, there is an option to appeal a course seat if an opening should become available. To do so, fill out an Appeal Form, available on the Department Resources webpage. These appeals are then tracked by the department to fill open seats in the order that appeals are filed.
The majors currently offered on campus are offered because of budget allocations. Each major on campus requires eight core major courses offered by at least one professor on salary. Since there is not currently a photojournalism major on campus, a new slot for the major would have to be allotted by the University. The addition of Photojournalism would require the addition of one new professor and the budget to pay that professor's salary. The only other option that the department would have to start a new major is to close a currently open major and fill its slot with the given major.
Though it is difficult to start a new major, students have the ability to declare an individualized major, such as Photojournalism, approved by the University Committee. For information on declaring an individualized major, contact Bob Mertens, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Communication, at either mertensr@uww.edu or (262) 472-1934. Dr. Mertens can guide you in personalizing your major and then submitting it for University approval.
Within the department, students can assist with the University radio station WSUW 91.7 FM (www.wsuw.org). Their staff includes an array of on-air DJs, on-air news reporters, equipment technicians, executive board positions, and so on. UW Cable 19 provides news, sports coverage, and original shows 24 hours a day, and they offer opportunities to present live news and sporting events, work in production, filming, editing, and several other aspects of television. The Royal Purple (www.royalpurplenews.com), the campus newspaper outlet, is written and edited solely by students. All these media also require management positions be filled. Besides making suggestions to department chairpersons, students can also volunteer their time for department focus groups mentioned in department emails.
Department Organizations include PRSSA, a nationwide student organization focused on Public Relations, Forensics, and Zeta Phi Eta for Comm. majors in general.
All of these organizations are listed at http://academics.uww.edu/cac/communication/organizations.html.
The writing portion is a requirement by the department for students to graduate. It is not passed automatically, and must therefore be tried as soon as possible and as often as possible until completion. The writing requirement is graded "pass" or "fail" by the instructor of the class for which the paper is written. The updated Major Check sheets include the classes in which the writing requirement can be fulfilled. Follow your major’s check sheet to see when this option is available to you.
If you find yourself without this requirement fulfilled and without a course option to fill it, you must find a professor willing to sponsor a one-credit independent study in which you can fill the requirement before you can graduate.
When business leaders are asked to name the most important aspect for success, a common answer has been experience with Speech. The university has adopted this idea as an investment in students' success. Within the Communication Department, it is crucially important for all majors/emphases to have a feel for the essence of communication. It is important for Comm. students to know that communication focuses on messages and their exchange.
If you feel that you should be exempt from Speech 110, contact the Testing Office in Roseman 2054 to complete the Speech Waiver. A Speech Waiver is completed through a written examination with a 75 or better and a 7-9 -minute persuasive speech with a B or better. More information and resources.
First, upon declaration of your major, make SURE that you print an updated check sheet for your major. This will be your guide sheet as to the prerequisites and co-requisites for classes within your major. You must also be responsible for checking that prerequisite classes are passed accordingly in order to continue down the check sheet. You must also know the difference between pre- and co-reqs and follow your plan accordingly.
You must also make sure that you are following the instructions for advising in your email (Also available here academics.uww.edu/CAC/Communication/currentresources.html under "Advising Memo"). It is important to get to these advising sessions (either group or marathon) in order to have your hold removed and request seats in high-demand courses.
If you follow your checksheet, compare it with your Advisement Report (AR) (available on WINS), and also follow the Undergraduate Catalog, you can see for yourself and count your current credits and courses against what is needed for graduation. Also, if you complete the requirements as soon as possible, there is a better chance that you will be able to graduate on time. Keep in mind that a student must complete 15 credits on average per semester in order to graduate in 4 years with the full 120 required credits. (Students completing 12 credits per semester will need 5 years to graduate.) If you have both a major and minor within the department or if courses overlap between your major and minor, you must visit the Coordinator of Academic Advising.
A good way to find an internship is by talking to your professors. They may know people in your field and could help you get your foot in the door for an internship. Networking at meetings, job fairs, and other University activities is an excellent way to find an internship. A student can also find internships on the internet by searching for internships in their desired fields. Don’t be afraid to call and ask if you are interested in a specific company. For more internship information within the department, including department contacts, visit academics.uww.edu/CAC/Communication/internships.html
Freshmen, except for multimedia majors, will meet with their individual advisors provided by the university. Each semester, communication students must either attend the group advising (under 75 credits), or the marathon advising (over 75 credits, multimedia major, or major and minor in communication). If you fail to go to either one of these advising sessions, you will not be able to register for classes until your advising hold is taken off. You will need to go to the department office and fill out an advising waiver form. Your hold will then be released on the last day of the second week of registration. Although classes may still be available, many high demand classes will be filled and you will miss out on your opportunity to request seats for them.
An AR personalization is required when courses are listed in both your major and minor on your AR. For example, an Advertising major with a Marketing minor could use Marketing 311 in the major, but it is a required course for the minor. Once you see an issue on the AR, you must go to the academic advisor (Jeanine Fassl) to get it moved, or you can talk to the advisor at the Marathon Advising session. Any time you could use a class in either the major, minor or second major, you must choose where you want it to be listed. You must realize that a class may only count for either a major or minor, but not both.
If a student is in need of personalization on his/her AR, you must set up an appointment with the Advising Coordinator. Before your personalization appointment, look through your advising report and find exactly what you think needs personalization. When the meeting time comes, explain to the coordinator what it is that needs to be personalized, and the coordinator will move courses around as necessary.
After group advising, the advisors that are there will stay afterwards for any personal questions that students may have. They will answer your questions directly to you. During marathon advising the students go through 4 steps and the final step the students sit down one on one with Jeanine Fassl or Bill Weiss. Students then have the opportunity to ask any questions they have.
One of the biggest mistakes students make is not understanding that they must take the prerequisite classes before other classes. Students sometimes do not understand that they must take some classes in certain orders. Another mistake students make is that the advising report system doesn’t always count their credits correctly. If your major requires 24 credits, you need 24 credits, and they must be credits that are part of your major.
The earlier the better, but the amount of people at advising fluctuates. It is hard to pinpoint times that the advising process won’t be busy. All Communication classes are cancelled on advising days so that students have plenty of time to go to advising. To get the best results at advising, go towards the beginning of the session. If you go at the end of the day faculty may be tired from looking at Advising Reports all day.
The primary reason that Comm. Students don’t have individual advisors is that the recent growth in new faculty has also led to a decrease in faculty that is familiar with the advising system. Group and Marathon Advising are advantageous to Comm. students because these types of advising improve the consistency and reliability of what students are told. Each individual advisor is given one thing to focus on, so they can be much more accurate, and students can then receive accurate information.
The most lucrative field will vary depending on location and the individual business you plan on getting a job with. It is well-known that the bigger the city, the more money you will make. But the bigger the city you live in, the bigger the living cost. Many businesses may have the same positions but they will vary in pay. The larger the company, the higher the pay you should receive. If you would like to explore this more, visit www.payscale.com , type in your particulars, and the website will give a specific salary for the jobs you are considering applying for.
There are four things you need to include in your resume:
Do not include references unless they ask. If they require references, include three or four professional people. Always have your references available upon request.
If you list all of these in a resume, you will have a high-quality resume.
The following link has an example of a traditional resume.
If you do not have a lot of job-related experience (as most college students do not), a skills-based resume would be a better choice for a resume style. The following link has an example of a skills-based resume.
The International Education and Programs’ website includes everything you need to know about studying abroad. This link will take you straight there. The Steps to Study Abroad will give you an overview of the different steps you must take before you are accepted to study abroad.