(1994-95 change) It was noted last year that an attempt would be made to devise a system for tracking telephone requests to the campus radio station and cable operation. This is an extremely difficult task as the stations are staffed up to 18 hours per day and it is difficult to get students to actually write down a summary of each in-coming programming or performance related call and date the same. This method of assessment will be abandoned.

1. Two UNK Forensics team members won awards at the 1999 Double-up Forensics tournament in Omaha. These included a tournament champion in Persuasive Speaking and another student who won Sixth Place in After Dinner Speaking in part one of the tournament and Third Place in the second half of the tournament. The team competed against those from Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, California, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Minnesota.
2. One Communications major was the tournament champion in Duo-Athlon at the
   Hastings College Kool-Aid Classic. She was also second in Program of Oral Interpretation and sixth in Persuasive Speaking. A UNK sophomore was fifth in After Dinner Speaking. Another sophomore was fifth in Persuasive Speaking. Overall, the team placed fifth in Team Sweepstakes.
3. At the Colorado College Invitational one UNK team member placed second in Extemporaneous Speaking, sixth in After Dinner Speaking, and was a semi-finalist in Impromptu Speaking. Another placed third in Persuasive Speaking and fifth in Impromptu Speaking. A freshman on the team was a semi-finalist in Impromptu Speaking.
4. A UNK senior earned a third in Quadrathon (best in four different events) at the Wayne State Wildcat Tournament. She won Program Oral Interpretation and placed third in Persuasive Speaking. Her teammates placed third in After Dinner Speaking, fourth in Informative Speaking, sixth in Persuasive Speaking and sixth in Extemporaneous Speaking. Overall, the team placed fifth in Team Sweepstakes.
5. Competing against 24 teams from throughout the Midwest at the Concordia University Speech and Debate Tournament, the UNK forensics team continued its long season of successful competition. One UNK sophomore was the tournament Quadrathon Champion. The Quadrathon Award recognizes those students who achieve the greatest success in four different events. He was also tournament champion in Impromptu Speaking, won second place in Extemporaneous Speaking, third in Informative and fifth in Duo Interpretation. A senior placed fourth in Poetry, fifth in Persuasion and fifth in Duo Interpretation with the tournament Quadrathon Champion. The team placed fifth in Sweepstakes, beating last year's state champion, Hastings College.
6. The UNK Forensics team competed at the 64 team Southwestern College/Point Loma Nazarene University Swing Tournament in February in San Diego. UNK placed fourth in Sweepstakes at the Southwestern College half of the tournament. In the first half of the tournament, a UNK freshman won Informative Speaking and placed second in Prose. Teammates were third in Persuasion, fourth in After Dinner Speaking, fourth in Communication Analysis, second in Poetry. In the second half of competition, one team member placed second in Informative Speaking, fourth in Prose, and third in Duo with another UNK student. There was also a placing for Communication Analysis -third and a finalist in Extemporaneous Speaking. As a result, UNK Forensics qualified seven students in nineteen events for the national tournament.
7. Twenty-five teams from throughout the country competed in the Novice Nationals Forensics Tournament in Corpus Christi. UNK Forensics placed fourth in Team Sweepstakes in Division III. One team member placed second in Poetry Interpretation and third in Prose Interpretation. Another was a semi-finalist in Impromptu Speaking.
8. The UNK Forensics team competed at the National Forensics Association National Tournament in Athens, Ohio in April. The tournament brought together 89 teams from throughout the United States. One UNK student was a quarter-finalist in After Dinner Speaking. This means that he placed in the top 24 in the nation. Overall the team placed 13th in Division One.
9. Six students from the Department of Communications and one recent graduate received national awards in the Society for Collegiate Journalists competition for writing, photography and newspaper page design. UNK students received first-place awards for news reporting, feature writing, spot news photography, feature photograph and sports photography. Other awards included a second place in feature photography, an honorable mention in feature writing and an honorable mention in front page layout design. More UNK students took first-place honors this year in this competition than ever before; the eight awards earned this year represent a record for UNK students. Communications students competed with entries from other colleges and universities of similar size throughout the nation.
10. In the 2000 Collegiate Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Nebraska Press Association, members of The Antelope newspaper won the following awards for materials published in 1999:
    
        2nd Place - Best News Photo
        1st Place - Best Feature Photo
        2nd Place - Best Feature Photo
        1st Place - Best Personal Column
        3rd place - Best News series
        1st Place - Best Editorial
        2nd Place - Best Editorial
        Nebraska Collegiate Sweepstakes Award
    
    The submissions were evaluated by members of the Texas Press Association.
11.   One UNK Advertising major won a national internship from the American
    Advertising Federation and will work during the summer of 2000 at the L.A. Times. She also won a scholarship sponsored by the Omaha World-Herald.
12.   Three students had the necessary criteria for induction in Alpha Delta Sigma, the national advertising honorary, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.

1. Three advertising students received Bronze Quill awards from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) chapter in Omaha for work in copywriting and desktop publishing
2. In the 1999 ADDYS competition sponsored by the Advertising Federation of Lincoln and the Omaha Federation of Advertising, two advertising students were awarded Citations of Excellence for broadcast scripts that they wrote.
3. An advertising student was the 1999 recipient of the Omaha Advertising Federation scholarship.
4. An advertising student was named one of "The Nation's Most Promising Minority Advertising Students" by the American Advertising Federation.
5. At the 1999 Nebraska Press Association annual convention, The Antelope newspaper and its staff received awards for:
       1st Place - Best News Photo
       1st Place - Best Personal Column
       3rd Place - Best Feature Story
6. A public relations student was selected to present a research paper she wrote at the National Council for Undergraduate Research conference in Rochester, New York.
7. A broadcasting student was awarded an Honorable Mention in The Communicator Awards competition (Arlington, TX) for a video feature package.

1. A JMC student presented a research paper in April of 1998 that she produced under the direction of Dr. Carol Lomicky at the National Council for Undergraduate Research conference.
2. The Antelope won three awards at the 1998 Nebraska Press Association annual conference in the collegiate division. These were 3rd Place Feature Photo, 3rd Place Personal Column, and 2nd Place Opinion/Editorial.
3. A JMC student won two awards at the 1998 Nebraska Press Association annual conference for work she completed during her summer 1997 internship. These were 2nd Place Photo Essay - Class A (Springfield Monitor newspaper) and 1st Place Special Section - Class D Papillion Times newspaper).
4. Three JMC students were selected to receive scholarships from the Lincoln and Omaha advertising clubs. The first student will receive a $600 multicultural scholarship from the Lincoln Advertising Club for the 1998 - 1999 academic year. The other two were selected to receive $ 1,000 scholarships from the Omaha Advertising Club for the 1998 - 1999 academic year.
5. A JMC student was awarded a Silver ADDY by the Omaha and Lincoln Advertising clubs.
6. A JMC student was selected for a New York advertising internship through the American Advertising Federation for the summer of 1998.
7. A JMC student served as an Associated Press reporter or "stringer" during the trial of Reverend Jimmy Creech in Kearney.
8. A JMC student was featured in a New York Times story about internships (October 19, 1997). The same student also had a story entitled "Ironsmith" published in Zenith Woman magazine which is circulated in the Denver area (December/January 1998).
9. Three JMC students had stories published in the Groundwater Times. The Times is distributed to people associated with the 1998 Children's Groundwater Festival and it is a publication of the Grand Island Independent newspaper.
10. A JMC student had a photo published in the Chrysler Financial Corporation "Cruising '98" calendar. The calendars are distributed in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brussels, Italy and Japan.
11. A JMC student had a feature story about Rev. John Schroeder and his prison ministry published in the Grand Island independent in fall 1997.

The list includes many of the department's advertising and journalism students but it lacks awards won or honors received by students in broadcasting. Because of the differences in print and broadcast media (permanent and semi-permanent) it is much more difficult to save and accumulate materials produced by the broadcasting students. Added to that is the recent and constant turnover in the video production faculty position. Turnover results in a loss of continuity and a dedication to urge students to submit materials for outside review. A greater emphasis will be placed on seeking outside reviews of the work of broadcasting students during the 1998 - 1999 academic year.

1. Students enrolled in the Antelope newspaper course won awards in the 1996 Society of Collegiate Journalists national contest. These awards were for Editorial Writing (1st Place), Spot News Photo (1st Place), Feature Photography (1st Place and Honorable Mention), Sports Photography (2nd Place), Front Page Layout (3rd Place and Honorable Mention) and Editorial Page (3rd Place).
2. A production by three broadcasting students received an Honorable Mention in the video division of the National Broadcasting Society/Alpha Epsilon Rho National Production Competition. The video was produced for the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department
3. Antelope newspaper students won three First Place, two Second Place and four Third Place awards at the Nebraska Press Association convention in the spring of 1997. These were for Photography (Sports and Feature) as well as writing (Feature Story, News Series, Editorial and Personal Column).

Performances and reviews by media professionals will verify the strengths of our programs and provide a good balance to the rest of the assessment plan.

1. Broadcasting students earned three First Place awards at the 1995 regional AERho competition. These were in the following categories: Public Affairs Series; Video Documentary and Video Promotion.
2. Antelope newspaper students won three First Place, three Second Place and one Third Place award at the Nebraska Press Association Convention in the spring of 1996. These were for Photography (Sports, Feature and News) as well as writing (Spot News, News Stories and Personal Column).
3. Two students won First Place awards in the Society of Professional Journalists' (SPJ) regional Mark of Excellence competition. The categories in which they were entered were Spot News Photography and Sports Photography. The region included Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. These same two students are now eligible for SPJ competition at the national level.

Performances and reviews by media professionals will continue to be used as a form of assessment of student achievement. At this time no changes appear to be warranted.

1. A video segment captured by a JMC student aired nationally on CNN, ESPN, and the David Letterman Show.
2. A JMC student was selected by the National Society of Collegiate Journalists as the 1995 National Student Journalist of the Year.
3. A JMC student was selected as the Grand Prize winner in Nebraskaland Magazine's 1995 Outdoor Nebraska photography contest. His work was selected from 1,600 entries.
4. The Antelope newspaper received a total of four 1st Place, three 2nd Place, four third Place and one Honorable Mention in the 1995 Nebraska Press Association annual competition for weekly collegiate newspapers.
5. Approximately ten entries have been submitted by JMC students for the regional convention of Alpha Epsilon Rho to be held in Chicago on November 10, 11 and 12 of 1995. The outcomes there have yet to be determined.

In response to writing deficiencies noted in the 1993-94 report, all of the options offered through the department went through curricular restructuring this past year. Additional writing requirements were added to the Broadcast Production (retitled Broadcast Production Management beginning August of 1996) and the Broadcast Sales/Management options. In both cases, a 200 level Scriptwriting course was added and the capstone course (JMC 460) was approved for Writing Intensive status. An additional writing class was added to the Broadcast Sales/Management option. It is entitled BSAD 320 Business Communications. It will be necessary to re-evaluate these enhancements over the next few years as it is doubtful that a noticeable change will be immediately apparent.

Performances and reviews by media professionals will continue to be used as a form of assessment of student achievement. At this time no changes appear to be warranted.

One problem area identified was that while UNK print students regularly submit their work to be critiqued by professionals (i.e., Nebraska Press Association contests), there has been no real commitment on the part of the faculty to have work of broadcast students evaluated by professionals. Thus, the broadcast faculty put high priority on urging these students to enter competitions in which broadcast/cable professionals judge work. As a result, three UNK students won four 1st Place awards and two students won three Honorable Mentions at the 1994 regional convention of Alpha Epsilon Rho.

A second area of concern on the part of the Journalism and Mass Communication faculty was that of the number of writing courses specifically for two of the broadcast majors: Sales/Management and Production. The curriculum review initiated by the department will address this weakness by increasing the variety and amount of writing in those sequences while at the same time keeping the number of credit hours required for the major at 36. Broadcast performances must first begin with the creation of a high-quality written script. Thus, reviewing the academic sequences to improve public performances is a logical move.