1998-99 Annual Report

Department of Speech Communication

Mankato State University

Annual Report

Covering the Academic Year July 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999

 

The Department of Speech Communication experienced an eventful year this past academic year, coping with semester conversion, general education revision, graduate curriculum decisions, and NCATE accreditation,  to name at least a few of the challenges faced by the department. Following is a narrative record of the work undertaken by the Department.

 

Department of Speech Communication Goals

 

In order to realize its Vision & Mission Statement, the Department of Speech Communication has set the following goals:

 

1.  To offer quality undergraduate and graduate programs that require students to master the basic concepts and practices of the field, to begin to explore the many areas of study within the field, and to master a specialized area of study.

 

Activities Undertaken:

The department offered two courses this year on a regularly scheduled basis that had previously only been offered as special topics courses: SPEE 315 (Effective Listening) and SPEE 325 (Interviewing). Both courses meet the needs of undergraduate students and are in line with trends in the field of communication studies. The Department offered two new special topics course, SPEE 440 (Conflict Management) and SPEE 240 (Legal Communication). These two courses utilize special skills of the faculty, serve student needs, and once again coincide with trends in the field of communication studies. The Department also put into place its new BA/BS program requirements. Students seeking either degree and wishing to graduate under the semester bulletin will now be required to complete four required courses, rather than two, and will also have to complete an upper division performance course requirement. The two new required courses are SPEE 190 (Introduction to Communication Studies) and SPEE 485 (Senior Seminar). Senior Seminar is a new course, and will be offered for the first time fall 1999. These two courses are designed to function as bookends, with 190 introducing speech communication students to the basic theories and practices of the field, and 485 requiring students to demonstrate a mastery of a specific approach within the field. These two courses will also allow the department to better assess our educational offerings and student development.

 

2. To offer general education courses that provide students with the knowledge and skills to be critical thinkers and effective communicators in both professional careers and advanced study.

 

Activities Undertaken:

 

The Department continued to serve the needs of all MSU, M students by offering over 1500 seats in general education courses, including SPEE 100 (Fundamentals of Communication), SPEE 101 (Interpersonal Communication), and SPEE 102 (Public Speaking). The department also completed plans for the new general education program which will go into effect fall 1999. The department revamped SPEE 100, making the course a lecture/recitation section hybrid course. Students will now attend one lecture a week, and spend the other two hours a week in small sections in which they will develop, practice and hone specific communication skills and knowledge. The department plans to offer approximately 1500 seats of this course beginning fall 1999. The department has greatly reduced sections of 102, which will also count as a general education course, and also reduced sections of 101, which currently does not count as a general education course under the new program. The department firmly believes that the newly designed SPEE 100 course will help the department reach its goal of providing students with both the skill and knowledge to be effective communicators in a variety of endeavors.

 

3. To promote the performance of communication in both creative and scholarly venues.

 

Activities Undertaken:

 

The Department continued to promote communication performance in the 1998-99 school year. Two speech communication students recently took part in the first annual undergraduate research conference at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Additionally, the department continued to both financially and personally support the Maverick Forensic Program. This program allows and encourages students to engage in communication performance of both scholarly and creative varieties. Over 40 students took part in some forensic-related activity this past year, culminating in another trip by the team to the National Individual Events Tournament, where the team ended up in the top 25 of all collegiate forensic programs. Two team members also represented MSU, M and the state of Minnesota at the Interstate Oratory Association national championships. The department also encouraged graduate students to take part in scholarly communication, with at least 4 students submitting material for presentation at the National Communication Association convention, scheduled for November 1999 n Chicago. Graduate and undergraduate students were also kept informed about and encouraged to submit material to other professional communication outlets.

 

4. To encourage students to explore and take part in the vocational and scholarly practice of communication.

 

Activities Undertaken:

 

As noted above, the department continued to encourage students to take part in a variety of communication activities. In addition to those noted above, more than 50 students took part in communication-related internships during the 1998-2000 school year, ranging from off-campus internships to on-campus teaching internships. Qualified students were also encouraged to become a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society, of which the MSU, M speech communication department is an affiliated member.

 

5. To encourage students, graduate students, and faculty to take part in scholarship, research, and creative activity that will contribute to the personal and professional development of all involved.

 

Activities Undertaken:

 

As noted above, a number of speech communication undergraduate and graduate students were encouraged to take part in research activities, and took advantage of that encouragement to engage in and present scholarship. Speech Communication faculty were also active in scholarly and professional activity. All six faculty attended the National Communication Association annual convention in New York in November of 1998. Three faculty attended the 1998 Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota convention, and one faculty member attended the Central States Communication Association annual convention. Faculty also took part in faculty development activities both on- and off-campus, with faculty members taking part in the Valley Writing Workshop, workshops offered by the Secondary Education Coalition, and the Minnesota Coalition for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Center for Faculty Development. Faculty members also remained engaged in other professional activities, as the department remained home to both a national (Speaker and Gavel) and a regional (Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal) communication journal. Faculty members also submitted material for publication, and for future conference presentations, and one faculty member has been notified that a book manuscript based on his thesis will be published by Edwin Mellen Press.

 

6. To work with speech communication majors, minors and other interested students in developing an academic program that will lead to vocational and academic success.

 

Activities Undertaken:

 

Faculty members continued their work advising speech communication majors and minors, and other students interested in speech courses. Students worked with faculty to develop programs of study that will prepare the students for work or additional study. Much work was undertaken to help students understand the new semester system, with a great deal of time devoted to individual and group meetings concerning semester conversion and graduation requirements.

 

7. To encourage students to view education as a lifelong process and to remain aware of the relationship between communication, technology and society.

 

Activities Undertaken:

 

The department continued its efforts to remind students that education is not solely a vocational endeavor, and that much of their education will take place after they graduate from MSU, M. Students were made aware of the many resources, both electronic and other, that are available both during and after an MSU, M education. Students in all communication courses are either introduced or reminded of the principle that people understand and make sense of the world through the symbols that they use, and that symbol-making and symbol-interpretation is at the heart of the communication process.

 

Challenges for the 1999-2000 academic year:

 

The new general education program will be a major challenge for the 1999-2000 academic year. The department will face difficulties staffing all the sections needed for general education courses and still serving majors, minors, and other MSU, M students requiring specific speech communication programs. A related challenge lies in the recruitment and retention of graduate students. Woefully inadequate funding of graduate education severely hampers the department’s efforts to recruit graduate students. Fewer graduate students makes staffing the general education courses more difficult and makes it more difficult to offer a full range of courses for graduate students. Another related challenge lies in a planned revamping of the graduate program itself, as the department struggles to develop a program that meets the needs of traditional graduate students and those students who wish to use a graduate degree in communication for more vocational purposes. A final challenge for the next academic year will be the need to institute and utilize a more comprehensive assessment program for all students. The new course arrangements, both for major and general education, should allow the department to develop a better assessment plan.