DSA Assessment Plan Department Name: Assessment Plan for Academic Year: Director: Assessment Contact(s) (if not the director): Department Mission Statement: Department Vision Statement: Center for Student Media 2013-2014 Matt Dulin Grounded in professional ethics and best practices, the Center for Student Media supports and empowers student-driven expression, publishing and broadcasting. The Center for Student Media aspires to be a cutting-edge multi-platform laboratory that prepares collaborative, innovative and creative students for real-world leadership. 1. Establish training and quality enhancement programs for all student media groups. 2. Enhance magazine products with mobile and/or web extensions to add value and test the mobile ad market. Department Goals: 3. Identify and develop new revenue streams through creative services that offer new student learning opportunities and activate a new pool of resources for program expansion. 4. Charge a task force to review the Center’s business model and make recommendations for print strategy, advertising policies and procedures. 5. Program or Services Being Assessed: Newspaper effectiveness Learning Outcome(s) Method Frequency and/or Program Objective(s) Program objective: Capture Focus groups of readers and One-time. student views about print non-readers (separated publications and usage of groups) will be guided in The Daily Cougar discussion to provide specifically to guide the qualitative data about student staff in developing reading habits, perceptions a sustainable content and preferences. strategy. Timeline (Month) The focus groups will be completed by Oct. 16. Report will be compiled by Oct. 23, 2013. Program or Services Being Assessed: CSM Advertising Effectiveness/Customer Service Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Provide Create a survey that Data will be collected Results will be an effective advertising measures client's overall in April 2014. tracked service to campus and local satisfaction with: customer Cumulative Report clients that results in high service, ad production, will be compiled in levels of loyalty and less pricing, return on June 2014. customer turnover. investment, ways to improve, and interest in future advertising programs and media services. Incentivize completion of the survey by offering a service discount. Sample will include all advertisers from 2010 to current. 1 Purpose Goal(s) Supported To determine the best #4 print strategies to reach students and provide the best quality of service to readers and advertisers. Ultimately, the data will be used to help determine how to adapt newspaper delivery, design and content for increased reader engagement. Purpose To measure customer #4, #3 satisfaction and pinpoint room for improvement in the sales, service, production and delivery of advertising programs. Goal DSA Assessment Plan Program or Services Being Assessed: The Daily Cougar - Editorial Quality and Leadership Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Support 1. Partner with student Daily for 3 Develop rubric by the production of a student leaders to develop a rubric consecutive weeks at Sept. 15. Begin first newspaper that adheres to based upon national college the midpoint of the scoring period in professional standards for media standards to evaluate semester. Repeated October. Present print media and journalistic the quality of a newspaper as in the spring. results to Editorial quality. a whole. Board in November. 2. Adviser will apply critique Repeat in Februaryto each day's print and web March. Final report edition. Weighted values will compiled June 2014. be averaged to indicate overall quality. The scoring periods will not be announced. 3. First session's results are reported to the student editorial team to generate discussion and self-reflection on leadership, decisionmaking and teambuilding strategies that impacted their scores. Program or Services Being Assessed: Transitions magazine Learning Outcome(s) and/or Program Method Frequency Objective(s) Program objective: 1. Existing reports on this Needs assessment Acclimate new students to population will be requested will be administered the University and for additional one time. encourage their research/insight. involvement in campus 2. A needs assessment survey programs and use of will be developed and campus resources through administered to a sample of authentic student-toFall 2013 freshmen and student communication. transfer students. Timeline (Month) Goal To provide structured #1 feedback and tracking of student performance as a unit, but to also give insight into the performance of individual components that make up the whole. To establish a standard to be met and embraced by the student leaders. Purpose Goal Survey will be To determine the needs #2 administered in of freshmen and October. Results will transfer students and be compiled in assist in establishing a November and learning-outcomes presented to the First- based editorial content Year Experience strategy for the Committee to publication. brainstorm ideas for improvements/enha ncements. Program or Services Being Assessed: Center for Student Media - Student Learning Needs Assessment Learning Outcome(s) Timeline and/or Program Method Frequency (Month) Objective(s) Program objective: Provide Survey will be sent to all The assessment will The assessment will practical skill development students who are a member be administered be distributed in opportunities for students of a student media once. early December. involved in all three organization - The Daily student media Cougar, Student Video organizations. Network and COOG Radio. The survey will ask students to gauge their level of skill and perceived needs. 2 Purpose Purpose To determine what kinds of learning programs (workshops, guest speakers) and what topics are sought out by our students. Data will be used to guide advisers the creation of formal training programs in multiple media and leadership skillsets. Goal #1 Center for Student Media — Assessment plan AY 2013-14 Addendum 1: Focus group strategies Moderators: TBD 1. Students will have 3-4 different publications on a table of a variety of styles and content: Study Breaks, Free Press Houston, Houston Press, Houston Business Journal, ESPN Magazine, Houston Chronicle. Giving them 10-15 minutes to sift through them, the moderator then asks questions about how they read print publications: a. Do you read any of these publications currently? How often? Why? b. If not, why not? What do you like/dislike about each one? 2. Bring out copes of The Daily Cougar and ask them to review it. What do they like/dislike? a. If the group is a reader group: Why do you read? What would make you read more? Is it a habit or do you have to be reminded that it’s there? How well informed do you feel? b. Non-reader group: what is it about this that does not appeal to you? Would a different format or design change your mind? What kind of stories would attract you? c. Pitch some story ideas that the newspaper could cover, what topics would you want to know more about? d. What if the newspaper were only once a week? What if there was no student newspaper? 3. What would make the newspaper “cool”? 4. How do you prefer to get information? 5. How do you prefer to spend downtime?