Journalism department to offer social media certificate
By David Oltean on February 7, 2012 8:33 pm / 5 comments
Facebook and Twitter may no longer be deemed inappropriate in some classrooms as Central Michigan University will now offer an undergraduate certificate in social media.
The program, which consists of 12 required hours of journalism classes and one three-credit hour elective, will educate students on the benefits and impacts of social media today. The program will inform students on the ethical implications of social media and will teach students to maximize online traffic to meet business objectives.
CMU is not the first university to implement such a program. Cleveland State University, Ball State University, State University of New York at Purchase and University of California, Irvine have developed social media programs.
Journalism instructor Mary Lichtman began developing curriculum for the program in the fall of 2010 and will teach some of the courses offered for the certification. Social media has become important in every career field, and the program will help students reach business goals and objectives through social media, she said.
“Social media has changed the way we look for jobs, the way we buy our clothes and other products; it has changed the way we travel,” Lichtman said in an email. “There is no career field that hasn’t been changed by social media.”
She said the curriculum will offer many practical tips to maximize online traffic through social media as well as educate students on the ethical implications.
Students will actively use social media in the program, though some sites may be less known than others, she said.
“After completion of the certificate, students should be able to assess the current use of social media and other communications in an organization, determine the goals of the organization and its risks and governance processes, select best practices for the organization, train employees, create content that engages audiences and drives traffic where the business wants it to go,” Lichtman said.
Journalism Department Chairwoman Maria Marron said the program will help students become proficient in business aspects of social media. Marron said some former journalism students have found successful jobs by mastering social media.
“I think with the explosion of social media, it’s absolutely important that journalism students and, for example, PR and advertising practitioners know the value of social media,” Marron said.
Algonac senior Chris Smith, a public relations major, said social media is one of the main interests of his studies. Smith said he would be interested in such a program, and many technology-savvy college students may find careers in social media.
“Social media is actually becoming a lot bigger. It’s like free marketing for everyone and a lot of people don’t really know how to use it, especially older executives that are kind of out of date with technology,” Smith said. “It’s a great opportunity for college kids to kind of jump into that niche and take over.”
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5 Comments
A caution to journalism majors: Contact your adviser for the major before enrolling in the program. You are limited in the number of JRN designated courses you can take. You are required to take 80 hours outside of journalism and adding the certificate to your required JRN major credit hours would put you way over the graduation requirements. If you want an elective, I’d advise you to consider JRN 397a (will be JRN 339).
The program will inform students on the ethical implications of social media and will teach students to maximize online traffic to meet business objectives
Who the hell would want to major in social media? That’s like willingly becoming a suckling to a larger business paradigm which disrespects everything human.
Does this apply only to current students, or can prior grads get the certificate?
Three students populations are enrolling in this program. What each should consider is the following:
For the On-campus student
Advising
for the certificate will be housed in the certificate’s home department
(JRN). A student can add the certificate to an existing degree. The
courses for the certificate can fulfill a variety of degree requirements
or other major/minor requirements if listed by the major/minor
adviser. The elective for the certificate is chosen in consultation
with the certificate adviser (JRN). The audit for the certificate will
be conducted through UAS. It is important to note that accreditation
restrictions may increase the amount of graduation credits in JRN. The
certificate is awarded at the time of graduation. It will be noted on
the CMU transcript.
For the Off-campus student
Advising
for the certificate will come from the students assigned Off-campus
advisor based in SLCM (SAP). If the student resides outside of
Michigan, he/she is assigned a CMU Online adviser (Izzy Castellon).
The off-campus student adviser will add the certificate to the existing
degree by completing the off-campus advising form (similar to the
on-campus form). The audit for the certificate will be conducted by
Center Services in ProfEd. The certificate is awarded at the time of
graduation. It will be noted on the CMU transcript.
For the Certificate Only student
Non-degree admission and advising for the certificate will be administered by Off-campus Programs. The student will be admitted as a CMU Online Non-Degree Seeking (certificate only) student. The non-degree seeking student will have a 15 hour hold on their account . Financial aid is NOT available for the non-degree seeking certificate only student.
The certificate only student will earn the certificate when the final
course is completed. It will be noted on the CMU transcript.