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School of Communication and Journalism

ACEJMC Standard 4: Diversity Statement

Revised and adopted on Oct. 2, 2024, by the School of Communication and Journalism faculty.

In alignment with South Dakota State University’s core values, the School of Communication and Journalism’s plan expresses the School’s commitment to diversity of community and ideas. We believe in a supportive, inclusive, collaborative and cohesive environment with a focus on access and opportunity for all. We actively seek collaboration, and we respect individuals with differing perspectives, backgrounds and areas of expertise. Further, we are committed to South Dakota State University’s land-grant mission and strive to offer a rich academic experience in an environment of inclusion and access through inspired, student-centered education, creative activities and research, innovation and engagement that improve the quality of life in South Dakota, the region, the nation and the world. In alignment with the university’s strategic plan, Pathway to Premier 2030, the School of Communication and Journalism maintains student success as a foundational program priority through the advancement of innovative strategies and initiatives that meet the needs of all students, enhance student belonging and wellbeing and support expanded access to higher education.

This plan has been developed by the School of Communication and Journalism at South Dakota State University in accordance with Standard 4 of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC Standard 4), with modifications based on SDCL §§13-49-14; 13-53-49 et. seq., 20-13-10, and 20-13-22 and South Dakota Board of Regents, August 3-5, 2021 Agenda Item: , as permitted by Standard 4 – “Accreditation site visit teams will apply this standard in compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations, as well as the laws of the countries in which non-U.S. institutions are located.”

With this plan, and in alignment with South Dakota State University’s core values, the faculty, staff and administrators affirm our collective commitment toward opportunity for all to access and benefit from education toward professional and personal success. This commitment occurs in three inter-related areas: 

  1. Optimizing the inclusivity of our school’s climate and culture. 
  2. Cultivating our curriculum and employee development efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion. 
  3. Recruiting, retaining, developing and providing accessibility to students and professionals who represent and augment knowledge from a variety of backgrounds. 

Diversity and Inclusiveness Statement

South Dakota State University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s mission emphasizes fostering the development of culturally proficient communicators as industry and civic leaders, scholars, professionals and educators in a diverse society through innovative curricula, research, practice and opportunities. Through our tripartite mission of teaching, research, and service, COJO faculty, staff and administration cultivate, advance and exemplify an environment of diversity and inclusion in the following ways:

  • Teaching invites and challenges students to respectfully and intentionally engage in difficult dialogues about complex issues connected to difference as they relate to communication and mass media disciplines.
  • Research and creative activities honor and elevate diverse perspectives through innovative intellectual contributions, harnessing the unique opportunity we have as communication and media scholars and practitioners to honor, empower and elevate diverse voices.
  • Service that leverages our lived experiences to create spaces of access to knowledge creation, engagement and empowerment.

School faculty, staff and administrators hereby affirm our commitment to the aforementioned principles and practices. We will work collaboratively to implement the plans outlined herein. A Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee will assist with the management and assessment this work. 

Key Performance Indicators

The School of Communication and Journalism will center efforts in the following three areas and measure them based on the key performance indicators (KPIs) indicated below. 

1. Climate and Culture: Achieving a supportive climate for working and learning and for assessing progress toward achievement of this plan.

KPI 1.1: We will measure faculty and staff perceptions of the inclusivity of our climate.

  • We will measure COJO faculty and staff perceptions of inclusivity of our climate based on the Nishii (2013) Climate for Inclusion Scale.
  • The benchmark across all of the faculty and staff-related measures is a 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.
  • We will complete this assessment every odd spring semester (e.g., 2025; 2027).

KPI 1.2: We will measure student perceptions of the inclusivity of our climate.

  • We will measure COJO students’ perceptions of inclusivity of our climate based on the Nishii (2013) Climate for Inclusion Scale.
  • The benchmark across all of the student-related measures is a 4.0 on a 5.0 scale. We will complete this assessment every odd spring semester (e.g., 2025; 2027).

2. Curriculum and Instruction: Achieving an inclusive curriculum.

KPI 2.1: Students will understand how multicultural history and professionals shape communication ().

  • We will measure this KPI through direct and indirect assessment measures (e.g., annual senior exit survey and professional project reviews of capstone projects every two years). The benchmark across all of those measures is a mean of 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.

KPI 2.2: Students will demonstrate culturally proficient communication (). 

  • We will measure this KPI through direct and indirect assessment measures (e.g., annual senior exit survey and professional project reviews of capstone projects every two years). The benchmark across all of those measures is a mean of 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.
  • We will measure CMST students’ response to SLO 5 in communication studies major outcomes, which is similar to this item (“Prepare for ethical public influence that embraces differences”). Every spring, we will measure this SLO via an indirect measure used in CMST 465: Capstone in Communication Studies. The benchmark is that 75% of Capstone students will report that they perceive their level of mastery to be between levels 4.0 and 5.0 on a 5.0 scale.

3. Recruitment, Retention, Access and Professional Development: Achieving a diverse, culturally proficient faculty, staff, and student population.

KPI 3.1: Increase amount and/or evidence of effectiveness of COJO recruitment, retention, access and professional development efforts.

  • The School of COJO’s director will gather data from the university tracing the trajectory and monitoring the success in recruitment and retention. 
  • School administration will gather and aggregate Panorama data on accessibility of our courses within the online learning management system, which is D2L. Ninety percent of COJO courses offered in a semester will score at or above 67% via Panorama in their courses, which is the benchmark set by the university beginning in 2022-2023.
  • The Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee will document annual professional development efforts aimed at enhancing their ability to teach courses that develop culturally proficient communicators via the COJO faculty/staff self-reports. COJO faculty/staff submit these reports at the end of every spring semester.

KPI 3.2 Increase faculty, staff and students’ cultural proficiency.

3.2.a. Faculty and Staff

  • Faculty and staff will be assessed regarding their cultural proficiency based on Hammer, Bennett and Wiseman’s (2003) Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
  • The benchmark is for 80% of COJO full-time faculty and staff to complete the IDI and to increase COJO’s group mean on the IDI by 5% the next time we complete the IDI in Fall 2025.

3.2.b. Students

  • We will measure students’ intercultural competence based on ADV, PUBR and JOURN assessment measures for . We will do so through direct and indirect assessment measures (e.g., annual senior exit survey and professional project reviews of capstone projects every two years). The benchmark across all of those measures is a mean of 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.
  • For our CMST program, we will measure students’ intercultural competence through Chen and Starosta’s (2000) Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS), which is assessed every four years through communication studies program assessment in CMST 470: Intercultural Communication. The benchmark is a 5% increase in intercultural sensitivity scores from the pretest to the posttest for CMST majors enrolled in CMST 470.

The School of Communication and Journalism utilizes the definition of diversity and other related terminology associated with diversity and inclusiveness outlined within the ACEJMC Principles, Policies, and Process of Accreditation booklet with consideration given to SDCL §§13-49-14; 13-53-49 et. seq., 20-13-10, and 20-13-22 and South Dakota Board of Regents, August 3-5, 2021 Agenda Item: .