JMS 480 (Fall 2013)
PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Instructor:
Hongmei Shen, Ph.D., APR
Class Time & Place: 16:00 – 18:40 Monday, PG 242
Office:
PSFA 340 (619-594-5120)
E-mail:
hshen@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: 14:30 – 16:00 (Mondays) and by appointment
Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
Course Description:
Concepts, history, theory, social responsibility, and management of public relations. Survey of
problems and practices in corporations, government agencies, associations, and not-for-profit
organizations.
Overview of the Course:
This course is divided roughly into three components: descriptive, analytic, and experiential.
You will learn about the foundations of public relations as well as the strategic planning
process. This experiential portion of the course requires students to work in groups on an actual
client problem. You will also be exposed to different practices of public relations to understand
what it is like to be a public relations practitioner. Guest speakers in different specialties will
come and share their experiences with you.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the semester, each student should demonstrate the following abilities and
competencies:
 Evaluate and apply major theories and principles relating to public relations
 Summarize the foundations (e.g., historical facts and trends as well as current issues) of
public relations practice
 Propose and undertake informal research to inform a public relations plan
 Write all four components of an appropriate public relations plan
 Manage a project team to solve real-life client problems
Professional Conduct Policy:
We will work within a climate that fosters mutual respect, dialogue, and interaction. It is
expected that students in this class will comport themselves with prudence, courtesy, and dignity
in all course-related activities. There will be no discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or military/veteran status. Sexual harassment of any sort
will not be tolerated during or in association with the activities of this class. Students who wish
to obtain further information regarding the campus sexual harassment prevention policy should
consult the San Diego State University Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy in the SDSU
Senate Policy File.
Required Text:
Cutlip & Center’s Effective Public Relations, 11th ed., by Glen M. Broom and Bey-Ling Sha
1
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2012).
**You are responsible for reading assigned materials prior to the class for which they are
assigned.
Assessment:
 Exams:
You will take two exams (cumulative) throughout the semester at intervals that are
approximately equal. These closed-book, in-class tests will cover all readings, class lectures, and
remarks of any guest speakers. On each exam, you will be required to demonstrate not only the
ability to recall information covered in class, but also the ability to apply the knowledge you
have learned. The instructor will give you a review sheet prior to each exam.
The exams CANNOT BE MADE UP unless the absence is a fully documented Universityexcused absence. In general, make-up exams will be given ONLY in documented cases of (1)
religious observance, (2) participation in University activities at the request of University
authorities, (3) debilitating illness, or (4) compelling circumstances beyond the student’s control
(reasons such as forgetting exam time and exam room will not be accepted). It is the
responsibility of the student to provide documentation for missed tests within one calendar week
of the date of absence, regardless of any holidays during that one-week period. All legitimate
notes must include phone numbers for verification. The instructor reserves the right to verify the
content and authority of such notes. If you anticipate missing an exam, it is your responsibility to
notify me two weeks before the exam date to make alternate arrangements. Students who miss
tests failing to provide a sufficient reason or failing to follow the above procedure will receive a
zero in grade for the missed test.
 Class Participation
Because this course moves very quickly, class attendance is extremely important. You also are
expected to participate actively in the class by paying attention, asking questions when
appropriate, participating in class discussions, and doing any in-class exercises.
 Strategic Planning Process Assessment:
All students in the course will be required to demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the
public relations strategic planning process. This assessment will take place in one of two
possible formats, either a group project or a multiple-choice assessment administered in
conjunction with the final exam.
The group project assessment format is REQUIRED for students who are public relations
majors or pre-majors. You will be a member of a self-selected team of 8 to 10 students that
will conduct informal research and produce a proposal for a public relations program for a client
organization. (The instructor reserves the right to add or remove group members in order to
accommodate all students in the course.) A representative of the client organization will meet
with the class at least once during the semester. Each team will prepare a written proposal, and
the top proposals will be presented to the client at the end of the semester.
Most of the work for the group project will be done outside of class. You will receive a syllabus
addendum that offers specific instructions for this project. Although it is a group project, the
2
grading procedure will allow group members to offer input on each other’s contributions to the
final product, thus allowing for individual differences in final project grades that reflect each
student’s unique role in the group enterprise. Specifically, peer evaluations will account for 10%
of the total group project grade.
Students who are not public relations majors or pre-majors may undertake the group
project if they so desire, in which case all the course conditions relevant to the group project
will apply to them in the same manner that they apply to students who are public relations majors
or pre-majors. Students who do not undertake the group project format for assessment of the
strategic planning process will take a multiple-choice assessment in conjunction with the final
exam.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are uncertain as to whether you will at some point become a public
relations major, then you should do the group project. Students who do not complete the
group project will not be admitted into the public relations major. If you are not a public
relations major or pre-major at this time, and you choose to not do the group project, and
you later choose to change your major to public relations, you will be required to complete
a strategic planning project before you will be admitted to the public relations major.
Hands-on experience with the strategic planning process is critical to your success in the
public relations major and the profession.
Grading:
Exam I:
Exam II:
Strategic Planning:
Class Participation
25%
25%
45%
5%
Final Course Grades and Letter Grades:
THERE WILL BE NO “EXTRA CREDIT” AWARDED IN THIS COURSE. Final letter grades
in this course will be assigned according to the following scale:
A = 93-100
C = 73-76
A- = 90-92
C- = 70-72
B+ = 87-89
D+ = 67-69
B = 83-86
D = 63-66
B- = 80-82
D- = 60-62
C+ = 77-79
F = 59 and below
IMPORTANT: Students who plan to major in public relations shall understand that
advancing in that major requires a final course grade of C or better in JMS 480 and that
earning the final course grade of C- does not advance them in the major.
CLASS POLICIES
General:
 Classes should not be recorded unless special arrangements are made with the instructor’s
approval.
 Cell phones should NOT be used, unless approved by instructor.
3
 Laptops can only be used for note-taking purposes. Students engaging in activities not
related to note-taking, such as texting, IM, Facebooking, Twittering, and emailing, will
be denied further use of laptops.
 Professional behavior is expected in the classroom. Students should not engage in
distractive behaviors, such as sleeping, reading newspapers, moving about the classroom,
obstructing class with irrelevant questions, and disregarding class activities.
 Assignments are due at the exact time and on the dates specified in the syllabus. The first
day any assignment is late, 20% is taken off of your earned total. On day 2, 50% is taken
off your earned total. On day 3 the paper will receive 0 points.
 All work done outside of class MUST be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt font, 1-inch margin. Handwritten work will be given no credit.
Policy on Incompletes:
The grade of “incomplete” is given only to a student whose work in a course has been
qualitatively satisfactory when, because of illness or other circumstances beyond the student’s
control, he/she has been unable to complete some small portion of course work. In no case will
an incomplete (I) be recorded for students who have not completed major course assignments or
exams, nor will incompletes be given for students who fail to complete requirements of the group
project.
Academic Integrity:
Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an
academic environment. Academic dishonesty (including cheating, fabrication, facilitating
academic dishonesty, and plagiarism) will NOT be tolerated. Furthermore, it is understood that
any work you turn in is original work produced specifically for this class; assignments for this
class may not be or have been turned in for another class, except in rare instances, which
nevertheless require prior approval from all instructors involved.
Any abridgement of academic integrity standards will be referred directly to the appropriate
officials. Confirmation of such incidents can result in suspension or expulsion from the
University. Students who are uncertain as to what constitutes academic dishonesty should
consult the University’s Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities (www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr) or
check with the instructor. Specific definitions for terms pertaining to academic dishonesty, as
well as procedures for handling such cases, are defined in the SDSU Senate Policy file, available
from the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities. You are responsible for reading,
understanding, and abiding by this policy.
Basically, plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person’s idea or
product as one’s own. Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by following carefully
accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately
record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and papers should
acknowledge these sources. The penalties for plagiarism include a zero or a grade of “F” on the
work in question, a grade of “F” in the course, suspension, or expulsion.
To help you maintain standards of academic integrity in this course, the instructor will provide
samples of appropriate in-text and bibliographic citations, as articulated in the latest edition of
4
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This style manual is used in
both major scholarly journals in public relations. Basically, in all your written work in this
course:
 Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or by appropriate
indentation and must be promptly cited as to author, year of source, and page.
 Prompt acknowledgment as to author and year of source is required when material from
another source is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in your own words.
Acknowledging only a directly quoted statement does not suffice to notify the reader of
any preceding or succeeding paraphrased material.
 Information obtained in your reading or research, which is not common knowledge
among students in this course, must be acknowledged by author, year of source, and
page.
Documented Disabilities:
Students who need accommodation of their disabilities should contact me privately by the
second class period to discuss specific accommodations for which they have received
authorization. If you have a disability, but have not yet contacted Student Disability Services,
please do so before coming to see me during my office hours or by appointment. Student
Disability Services is located in room 3101 of the Calpulli Center on Hardy Ave. (near Viejas
Arena), and their phone number is 619-594-6473. More information is available at
http://go.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/sds/
Student Support Services:
Many students find that college is a stressful time. Many students also find that this course in
particular is stressful. Combined with social, financial, and familial pressures, academic
challenges can take a toll on anyone, no matter their academic record or abilities. We all face
personal and professional challenges, and students should begin now to consider matters of
work-life balance, so that they can be better equipped to handle such challenges in the future. If
you feel that you need professional assistance with the challenges you face, you should contact
SDSU’s Counseling & Psychological Services: www.sa.sdsu.edu/cps/index.html. Located in the
Calpulli Center, Room 4401, this office offers students confidential assistance, Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you need help outside these hours, you can call the San Diego
Access and Crisis 24-hour Hotline at 1-800-479-3339. Other campus emergency services include
the Student Health Services Nurse Advisory Line at 1-888-594-5281 or University Police at 619594-1991.
Amendments and Addenda:
The instructor reserves the right to amend the course syllabus at any time during the semester;
students will be informed of the changes either in class, via email, or through BB. For example,
topics listed in the syllabus may be covered on different days to accommodate guest speakers,
natural disasters, or class needs. Furthermore, you will receive syllabus addenda that offer
specific guidelines for the writing assignments (if any) and the group project.
Contractual Nature of this Syllabus:
Students who choose to remain enrolled in this course after the regular schedule adjustment
period indicate by their continued enrollment that they have read and understood the syllabus for
5
this course, and that they accept and agree to abide by its procedures and policies.
Course Schedule and Assignments
Week
Topics
Readings & Assignments*
Week 1:
August 26
Introduction to the course
PR Defined
Chapter 1
Week 2:
September 2
Labor Day: No Class
Week 3:
September 9
Foundations:
Education in Public Relations
Organizational Settings for
Public Relations
Chapter 5 (section re: education)
Chapter 3
Week 4:
Foundations:
September 16 Public Relations Roles
Feminization of the Field
Chapter 2
Dozier, Sha, Shen (2013, posted on BB)
Week 5:
Foundations:
September 23 Historical Origins
Legal Issues
Ethics
Chapter 4, 5 (section re: ethics), 6
Week 6:
Foundations:
September 30 Systems Theory
Communication Models and
Effects
Chapter 7, 8
Week 7:
October 7
Exam 1
Week 8:
October 14
Week 9:
October 21
Exam Review
RPIE Process:
Step 1: Research
Publics (types, Situational
Theory of Publics)
Chapter 11, J. Grunig (1997, posted on BB)
Step 2: Planning Goals and
Objectives
Chapter 12
Project Group Formation
Client meeting
DUE: Group project team contracts &
travel waivers
6
Week
Topics
Week 10:
October 28
No Class (Instructor attending
PRSA International
Conference in Philadelphia)
Week 11:
November 4
Step 3: Implementation
Step 4: Evaluation
Readings & Assignments*
Chapter 13, 14
Review Sample Proposals
Week 12:
Veteran’s Day. Campus
November 11 Closed: No Class.
Week 13:
The Practice: In-House
November 18 Media Relations, Employee
Relations
Chapter 9, 10
Week 14:
The Practice: In-House
November 25 Government Relations/Public
Affairs; NGOs
Chapter 16, 17, 18
Week 15:
December 2
DUE:
Group Project
Group Project Presentations
The Practice: Agency
Exam Review
Week 16:
December 9
Exam 2
7