School of Communications formally receives reaccreditation

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) unanimously approved full reaccreditation of the undergraduate and graduate programs in the School of Communications for the next six years.

The reaccreditation approval was formalized at the Accrediting Council meeting held April 27-28 in Chicago and concludes a yearlong evaluation process. The School of Communications hosted an ACEJMC site team last fall that commended the school for its ability to “adapt nimbly to the demands of a digital, multimedia world of communication.”

Penn State Communications Dean Marie Hardin, on behalf of the Accrediting Committee, presented Elon’s report in Chicago. The Council noted that rarely, if ever, had a program been presented with no weaknesses listed, as was the case with Elon.

“The faculty and staff of the school worked hard to achieve this result,” Dean Paul Parsons said. “Each time we go forward, we have a stronger and stronger school to present.”

Preceding the team visit, the school prepared a 200-page self-study that analyzed the program in the nine standards: mission, governance and administration; curriculum and instruction; diversity and inclusiveness; faculty; scholarship; student services; resources, facilities and equipment; public and professional service; and assessment of learning outcomes. The team praised the school’s self-study as “thorough, informative and concise.”

The School of Communications, founded in 2000, gained initial accreditation in 2005-06. The undergraduate program was reaccredited in 2011-12, along with initial accreditation of the M.A. in Interactive Media program, which began in 2009. With the 2017-18 reaccreditation, Elon’s next review will be 2023-24 based on the six-year renewal cycle.