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Jan. 10, 2024
This is the first in a series of three stories on the deletion of Arkansas State University’s degree program in journalism and broadcasting.
By Roy Ockert Jr.
Journalism education at Arkansas State University, rooted in the 1930s, is sick but not dead.
That’s the most optimistic conclusion one can reach from an intensive review of what happened to the bachelor’s degree program that has produced some of Arkansas’ best journalists, broadcasters and communicators.
The review included a request and study of related documents under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, as well as interviews with students, faculty and others who played a role in what happened and-or will be important to bringing journalism back.
ASU-Jonesboro Chancellor Dr. Todd Shields said in an interview that he is waiting for faculty action but that the university will have a journalism program.
What’s most clear is that beginning with the past fall semester, no ASU student could start a major in journalism. The 18 student majors who had declared a major in multi-media journalism by June 30 are being allowed to complete their degrees.
In an Oct. 24 letter to those students Dr. Brad Rawlins, interim dean of the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Communications, wrote: “We want to assure you that you will be able to complete your degree in this program as long as you remain continuously enrolled at A-State and are making progress towards completion of this major.”
No time limit was specified, but Rawlins added: “We are dedicated in helping you complete your current degree or transitioning to another if that is a better fit for you. We are excited to announce that this program is being redesigned in a newly configured format and more information will be forthcoming.”
Unfortunately, no redesigning is yet in sight.
The decision to end ASU’s undergraduate degree program in multimedia journalism came during the quarterly meeting of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board on April 28.
The board is charged by state law with coordinating higher education in Arkansas and assuring “an orderly and effective development of each of the publicly supported institutions of higher education.” In 2010 new academic program productivity standards were adopted. Staff members of the Department of Higher Education each year identify existing certificate and degree programs that do not meet certain standards for viability.
In the case of bachelor’s degree programs an average of six graduates per year is considered the minimum. Programs that don’t meet the minimum over three years go on a nonviable list. Programs then have two years to meet the standard. Any program that doesn’t will be considered for deletion.
For its 2022 report the ADHE initially identified 452 programs as nonviable, according to the board minutes for April 28. Eighty-eight programs were voluntarily deleted by the institutions. About 150 were not past the 2-year window or had met the standard in the previous report. Most of the remainder were waived or exempted for various reasons.
Mason Campbell, ADHE assistant commission of academic affairs, reported to the board that 16 programs were recommended for deletion. (However, an accompanying chart, shown below this story, listed 17.) Nine of those were ASU-Jonesboro programs, including multi-media journalism, and another four were ASU-Three River programs. The remaining four were from Northwest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville).
The minutes indicate that the board had no questions, and the report was approved unanimously.
Ironically, presiding was the board chairman, Graycen Bigger of Pocahontas, a 2009 A-State photojournalism graduate. Making the motion to approve the report was Al Brodell of Jonesboro, who went off the board in May.
The full report showed that the multi-media journalism program averaged only 4.3 graduates per year from 2020-22. Only in 2021 did it hit the minimum of six. Its student major count declined from 59 to 36 over that period.
Rawlins, who had been director of the ASU School of Media and Journalism until becoming interim dean in June, said in a recent interview that he did not know the program was in danger until receiving an April 5 email from Dr. William McLean, ASU’s associate vice chancellor for faculty relations, calling for a meeting on April 19 to discuss the programs identified as nonviable.
Also invited to the meeting were Dr. Carl Cates, then dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication; Dr. Gina Hogue, associate dean; and Dr. Len Fry, executive vice chancellor for finance and administration and interim provost.
That meeting took place only nine days before the state board was to meet.
Apparently Cates and Hogue did not attend, but Dr. Lillie Fears, professor of multimedia journalism and coordinator of the program, did.
Two days later Rawlins produced a set of talking points “to justify our current MMJ program” and sent them to McLean. On April 26 Fears sent a similar list to the other three multimedia journalism faculty members, asking for input.
[To read these “talking points,” click here.]
They thought ASU would be able to defend the program at the board meeting. That was not the case.
In fact, A-State officials had missed the opportunity to defend programs on the list by several months. The FOIA request for related documents showed that Campbell on Nov. 10, 2022, sent a copy of the 2022 Viability Report for ASU institutions to Dr. Alan Utter, then ASU provost and vice president for academic affairs and research. Campbell pointed out that the deadline for comment was Dec. 16 and also listed three earlier question-and-answer sessions via Zoom.
Copies went to McLean and the provost’s executive assistant, Alyssa Wells. Less than a week later Campbell sent the same information to Eric Atchison, vice president for strategic research for the ASU System. Atchison provided copies to Frey and Dr. Todd Shields, chancellor of the Jonesboro campus, on Dec. 13.
When McLean asked ADHE in February for a copy of ASU’s response to the 2021 viability report, he was told the department had no record of an ASU response.
In March McLean provided comments on the ASU programs in a chart showing all programs on the bubble. For multimedia journalism it was noted: “While enrollment has declined over recent years, incoming new freshmen increased by 50 percent last year. Further, curricular revisions being considered to increase enrollments. Additionally, the journalism program fits the mission of the university to enrich the lives and be a catalyst for progress in Arkansas, particularly the Delta region. Through Delta Digital News Service, the journalism program is addressing the need of news deserts that are growing in the Delta region.”
Brad Rawlins
On March 21 Campbell returned the staff response: “Are you requesting lower viability standards based on institutional mission? If so, please identify the standard you wish to adopt if the 5-year window standards are lowered.” Nine ASU-Jonesboro programs remained on the nonviable list.
A-State was on spring break at that time, and two more weeks passed before the meeting was called with Rawlins and others.
On April 24 McLean sent a message to Shields and Frey, saying that he had just spoken with Campbell: “He said he was having individual briefings with each of the board members this week at their request, which is something that has never been done before.” The message also relayed information about what Campbell said when asked whether the MMJ program could be reconfigured.
Thus, if board members discussed the programs on the nonviable list, it was outside the boardroom. [Such briefings could have violated FOIA.]
[Excerpts from the board minutes and agenda can be found here.]
McLean said in a December interview this was the first time that academic programs had actually been deleted. Administrators previously had been able to defend programs in trouble and keep them going.
McLean, Frey and Shields sat in on the board meeting via Zoom. One or more system representatives attended, according to Jeff Hankins, vice president for strategic communications, but he did not name them.
The slowness and-or failure of internal communications may have been due at least in part to transition within the ASU administration.
In the fall of 2022 Shields was in his first semester as chancellor. Utter resigned as provost on Nov. 30, effective at the end of the semester. Frey was appointed as interim provost on Jan. 10, but he continued as the university’s chief operating officer. McLean was in his first year in a newly created position. Cates resigned March 10 as dean of the college, effective June 30.
Even after the April 28 board meeting administrative changes continued. Rawlins became interim dean in June, and Hogue took on additional duties as interim director of the School of Media and Journalism, although her academic qualifications are in social studies. Fears was to be on sabbatical for the fall semester.
“We were shocked, absolutely shocked when we got cut,” Rawlins said in a Dec. 1 interview. “I had never seen anything to indicate this was coming [until the April 5 call for a meeting]. I told the chancellor this is a big concern. There is no way we can go forward without journalism.”
Prior to the April 5 email, Rawlins said, he and other faculty members had been working on a response to an ASU internal study that challenged the viability of two mass communications master’s degree programs of the school — journalism and radio-television. Both received low viability scores and were recommended for a merger into one program.
Multi-media journalism had a higher score and was recommended for the list to “maintain.” That report was finalized May 31, 2022.
Next: How did the A-State journalism program reach non-viability?
Ockert, a 1967 A-State journalism graduate and former instructor in the program, is a retired editor of daily newspapers in Batesville, Russellville and Jonesboro.
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