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K-State Today

November 1, 2019

Journalism and mass communications recommended for reaccreditation

Submitted by Steven Smethers

K-State's A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications has been recommended for reaccreditation by a site team representing the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, an agency that accredits 117 programs worldwide. The announcement came Oct. 30, after a four-member team of trained accreditors visited the campus for the past three days and found that A.Q. Miller School is in full compliance with all standards stipulated by the agency.

"Accreditation is a promise versus performance issue," said Interim Director Steven Smethers. "The team compares our mission with the actual job we do, and to be found in total compliance with the agency's standards is a real mark of excellence for the A.Q. Miller School and a tribute to the dedication of our faculty."

ACEJMC mandates that accredited programs meet standards nine areas: administration, curriculum and instruction, diversity and inclusiveness, full and part-time faculty, research, student services, resources and facilities, professional and public service, and assessment of learning outcomes.

The journalism program has a long history at K-State, with the first journalism classes established in 1910. The program was first accredited in 1947, a status the A.Q. Miller School has enjoyed almost continuously since that time.

The site team's recommendation for reaccreditation will be voted on by the organization's accrediting committee in mid-March. That body's recommendation will be certified by the full Accrediting Council at its meeting in April.

"We take our mission of providing quality journalism and strategic communication education, research and service for the people of Kansas very seriously," Smethers said. "We've never forgotten our mission and we never will, and we are thrilled to be found in full compliance with all ACEJMC standards."

Smethers said most of the media programs in the Big 12 conference are ACEJMC accredited, as well as journalism schools at Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa. School are accredited every six years, meaning that the A.Q. Miller School will next be up for review in 2025.