August 2024
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The Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication embarked on a strategic planning process during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years. Strategic Plan committee members included professional journalists and communicators, as well as faculty and administrators from ACEJMC-accredited schools. Membership included past and present Council and Committee members.

President Del Galloway charged the committee with writing a plan that provides guidance for the Council as it navigates changes in technology, industry needs, and the legal and legislative landscape regarding access and engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion.

The plan calls for significant investment in research, data reporting and advocacy. It was prepared with the understanding that new costs for implementing key indicators will come from grants and gifts sought from foundations and individuals to support the work of ACEJMC. Any research will be conducted primarily using site team reports in keeping with the Council’s promise to not publicly release self-studies without unit permission.

Key indicators that require philanthropic support are followed by an asterisk.

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ACEJMC Vision

To improve the instruction and performance at journalism and mass communications schools throughout the world, we will:

▪︎ Reimagine teaching and learning of journalism/communication to serve the public.

▪︎ Forge diverse and inclusive programs where differences are celebrated, equity is pursued, and diverse communities are served through improved communication and journalism instruction.

▪︎ Relentlessly strive to assure information integrity, assuring that truth is gathered and reported.


‍Action Needed (Strategic Planning Committee)

▪︎ Move to adopt the following plan to guide ACEJMC policies and practices through the 2029 academic year.

▪︎ Draft plan as proposed by the Strategic Planning Committee.

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Strategic Plan Guiding Principles (Inspired by ACEJMC’s vision, objectives, values and competencies.)

▪︎ Democracy: Skilled, ethical journalism and mass communications are essential for citizens to meaningfully participate in their government.

▪︎ Truth: The truth prevails in a vibrant, just, civil society.

▪︎ Access and Engagement: Journalism and mass communications will thrive if the professions engage underserved communities and include professionals from those communities.

▪︎ Diversity: Democracy cannot thrive without commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion for all citizens.

▪︎ Innovation: Newsgathering and audience engagement must be modern and relevant, reflecting continual innovation, while maintaining high standards and integrity.

▪︎ Impact: Journalism and mass communications education must commit to teaching students democratic principles, truth telling, diversity and innovation.

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‍Goal 1: ACEJMC uses the accrediting process to improve the quality of programs and the professions.

Objective 1: Encourage curricula and delivery systems that prepare students for fast-paced, ever-changing industries, and that reflect state-of-the-art best practices.

Objective 2: Drive improvements in curriculum to address current and future industry needs. Students at accredited schools will be ready to work as professional communicators and journalists.

Objective 3: Help programs prepare students to guide trustworthy communications in a world dominated by AI and machine learning.

Objective 4: Involve academics and professionals from journalism, communications and media-related fields in the process of evaluating programs.

‍Key Indicators

ACEJMC will:

▪︎ Increase the number of units/programs participating in accreditation by at least five over the next five years.

▪︎ Embark on a campaign to raise gifts and grants to support the work of ACEJMC.

▪︎ Work with partners and outside funders to commission research and scholarship to evaluate how well our member schools prepare students for jobs in disrupted media and serve underserved communities.*

▪︎ Consider how non-traditional teaching/learning models could qualify for accreditation.

▪︎ Gather and evaluate evidence of how units have improved active learning “laboratory” practices such as student media and joint projects with professional newsrooms and agencies.*

▪︎ Use information found in self-studies to track job placement and issue periodic findings.

▪︎ Ensure that data about site teams shows a representative mix of professionals and academics.

▪︎ Use data to ensure the accrediting process is improving educational outcomes and student success.*
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‍Goal 2:  ACEJMC is committed to fostering access and engagement with underserved communities, as well as diverse and inclusive programs, curricula and activities in journalism and mass communication education.

Objective 1: Foster and preserve the values of access, engagement, diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging in our accreditation practices and requirements.

Objective 2: Support programs in addressing the complex interests and myriad needs of stakeholder groups.

Objective 3: Recognize and reflect current state and federal law, and university requirements related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

‍Key Indicators:

ACEJMC will:

▪︎ Accelerate review of Standard 4 to reflect legal requirements and best practices.

▪︎ Provide training on issues of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, in the form of accessible materials and annual programming, for Committee, Council and site team members. The training will be coordinated through the Engagement Committee and include the latest interpretations of state and federal laws related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

▪︎ Conduct annual training for accredited programs in best practices to meet the requirements found in Standard 4.*

▪︎ Conduct annual training for site-team chairs to navigate the tensions inherent in applying our standards within the legal, historical, cultural and political context in which our programs operate.*

▪︎ Circulate data and discuss the Council’s access, engagement and diversity-focused values at annual meetings. ACEJMC’s resolution on diversity will be reviewed annually.

▪︎ Publish annually the demographic composition of site teams, the Council and the Committee (in aggregate, cross-tabulated).

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‍Goal 3:  ACEJMC fosters trust and an informed society by promoting information integrity.‍

Objective 1: Emphasize “understanding professional ethical principles” as a public-facing value of each program.

Objective 2: Advance and promote the value of information integrity to help counter misinformation, disinformation and malinformation.

‍Key Indicators

ACEJMC will:

▪︎ Gather information from site team reports about unit activities and outcomes associated with elevating ethics, integrity and credibility in media.*

▪︎ Gather and publish information about programs’ outreach to communities they serve to assess how integrity and trust are perceived.*

▪︎ Periodically review and gather information from self-studies and site team reports to encourage, identify and promote research on information integrity.*

In addition, ACEJMC will:

▪︎ Encourage extension to the public opportunities to understand media principles and to practice discerning consumption of media.

▪︎ Embrace curriculum development and new tools and tactics that support the primacy of media literacy and personal ethics among students.

▪︎ Promote and facilitate opportunities for programs to share initiatives, experiences and outcomes associated with elevating integrity.

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‍Goal 4: ACEJMC promotes and protects the public good.  
        
Objective 1: Advocate for curriculum that recognizes the role of journalism and communications in furthering a just and civil society.

Objective 2: Foster active learning by encouraging units to serve their campuses, and local and national communities.

Objective 3: Advocate for the value of education in journalism and mass communications in championing democratic values as the foundation of a diverse and inclusive society.

Objective 4: Encourage and facilitate student awareness of how society and media professions are evolving by advocating media literacy and social issue literacy.

‍Key Indicators

ACEJMC will:

▪︎ Encourage research and scholarship that uses accreditation data from site team reports to assess units’ attention to issues intrinsic to the profession and vital to society, using as guides ACEJMC’s mission, vision, resolutions, accrediting standards, site visits and other means as designated by the Council.*

▪︎ ACEJMC will periodically fund faculty and graduate student research and publish findings to support the use of accreditation data.*

▪︎ Serve as a reliable resource for public discourse on the role of journalism and other communications in promoting and protecting the public good. The Engagement Committee will seek and track opportunities for participation in public discourse.
 
*Requires funding/philanthropic support.

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Strategic Plan Committee Members:

‍Lucy Dalglish, University of Maryland (Chair)
Caesar Andrews, University of Nevada, Reno
Dorothy Bland, University of North Texas
Heidi de Laubenfels, Arcus Pace, Inc.
Marie Hardin, Penn State University
Andrew Mendelson, CUNY
John Paluszek, Business in Society
Dan Shelley, RTDNA

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