FIRST COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION JOBEXPO DRAWS CROWDS AND KUDOS

Seventy-three College of Communication and Information (CCI) students. Fifty recruiters from 25 companies. One room, one afternoon. Hundreds of connections.

These were the vital statistics of CCI’s JobExpo2013 – Kent State’s first job and internship fair specifically for juniors and seniors from every undergraduate degree program in the Schools of Communication Studies (COMM), Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) and Visual Communication Design (VCD). JobExpo2013, held on April 26 at The Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland, attracted an impressive array of regional employers, including national advertising agencies, integrated marketing communication agencies, TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, healthcare insurers, banks, national corporations, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But the numbers behind JobExpo2013 tell only part of the story. The real value of JobExpo was measured in contacts and connections. Students spent nearly three hours in one-to-one conversations with hiring managers and industry professionals, and employers had the opportunity to meet CCI’s aspiring professionals, review and collect resumes and offer advice.

JobExpo2013 closed to great reviews from industry professionals and CCI students, including these:

Industry Perspectives

• “Kent State has one of the top communication programs in the country. There is great benefit for us to meet these students and for the students to see the wide variety of employers Cleveland has to offer – all in one room.” – Cari Jeanne Steiner, Fahlgren Mortine

• Your students are fantastic! I’m impressed with their professionalism and enthusiasm. They are well prepared, they ask relevant questions, and they’ve done their research. The event itself is a great idea because communication majors are in demand. We’re hoping to connect with a few Kent students this summer for fall internships.” – Monica Conklin, Cleveland Cavalier

• “As job fairs go, this one was exceptional for what we need. The narrow focus on communication and media compared to other job fairs is fantastic! My time was well spent.” – Susan Pace, WJW Fox

• “The students are definitely well prepared compared to others I’ve met, and go to college campuses throughout Ohio. The students dressed well, they were ready to ask questions and they were not afraid to put themselves out there.” – Kimberly Joyce, Medical Mutual

Student Perspectives

• “JobExpo was a wonderful event. I’m so happy the College did this for us. We can never go wrong increasing our network of contacts.” – Thomas Jessup, senior applied communication major

• “Through the Expo, I learned that there are many broadcasting opportunities outside the newsroom. This was a great networking opportunity, and journalism is a who-you-know business. It’s at events like this that we get to know people.” – Jonathan Jankowski, senior broadcast journalism major

• “There were so many businesses and agencies I didn’t know about. I definitely recommend CCI do this again. What a great opportunity!” – Whitney Gibson, senior magazine journalism and information design major

• “This was a good experience and a beneficial event. Even when agencies aren’t hiring designers, they take my resume because they know someone who might be.” – Crystal Chow, senior visual communication design major

• “I learned how to show myself in the best light, and I learned different ways to make my resume stand out.” – Matt Orzag, senior public relations major

JobExpo2013 was principally organized by John Butte, JMC’s new coordinator for career services, whoalso sponsored resume workshops with industry professionals prior to the event. “The ability of juniors and seniors to have structured conversations with perspective employers and professionals in their fields is extraordinary. For example, the news director of Cleveland’s WOIO/WUAB was here all afternoon talking to long lines of students,” Butte said. “Through JobExpo, we are introducing our best and brightest to Northeast Ohio employers. For a region long concerned with brain drain, we are taking positive steps to keep our best talent right here.”

“This first internship and job fair was a tremendous step toward increasing the level of service we provide to our students,” said JMC Director Thor Wasbotten. “We look forward to showcasing our students to prospective employers in the future.”

How to Overcome a Bad Grade in College

By Britany Ruby

The U.S. News recently wrote an article about how college students react to a bad grade. The article focuses on what students should do to recover after receiving a not so pleasant grade. After you get your final grade and realize it’s lower than expected you can either do one of two things: complain about it or accept that the grade you received was actually what you deserved. However, most students decide to complain about it. For example, some students know they didn’t turn in their best work, but will fight the bad grade. The proper thing to do would be to bow out gracefully and try to do better next time. Teacher’s gave the following tips on how to properly handle a bad grade.

1. Get some perspective: Ask yourself if you really deserve an above average grade for the work you turned in. Receiving a letter grade of “A” means that you work you have done is excellent. Can you really say that the work you have done is top-notch?

2. Set up a meeting: Talk with your teacher about why you received the grade. If you come to realize that the grade you received is the grade you deserved, set up a plan to do better in the future.

At the end of the day, the best way to handle a bad grade is to be honest with yourself and face the situation head on. Instead  of  complaining to your friends about how unfair the teacher is, find out why you received the grade. In the future, always find out what you can do to help yourself grow as a student.

Britany is a Marketing Assistant for the College of Communication and Information

Why are there so many course fees?

By Anne Dudley

What is the point of all these VCD class fees?

While riding the bus one day, I overheard some students talking about course fees and printing costs (Disclaimer: I do not know them nor do I know their majors/programs of study). They were wondering why some of their art related courses allotted for printing fees while others did not. The students were discussing that when printing fees are not included in tuition, they are forced to pay out-of-pocket. This situation got me thinking about our Visual Communication Design (VCD) students.

So, what is the point of fees? How are they determined?

LuEtt Hanson, Associate Dean of the College of Communication and Information and AnnMarie LeBlanc, Director of the School of Visual Communication Design were able to help me, and hopefully you as well, understand.

Purpose: The purpose of course fees are to cover additional expenses, depending on the needs of that course.

How are they added or changed?

Well, it’s not an easy or quick determination. According to Hanson, the process is similar to changing curriculum. Departments must first fill out a form justifying the fee. Then the fee has to be approved by the department or school, then the College, then the office of Tim Martin, Associate Vice President for Academic Budget and Resources, and finally, the Board of Trustees. All of that! Just for a fee!

And, the above groups can vote against the fee, ask for more information or description, or change the amount at any step in the process! Who knew it could be this complex!?

The ‘Recommendation to Change Special Course Fees’ form lists several reasons for changing course fees such as cost of materials that students will use or retain, activities or field trips off-campus, purchasing of tools or items for instruction or testing, purchasing of products that are significantly cheaper to students if bought in large quantities, such as art supplies, or fees that may allot for special types of instruction that are more costly, such as in flight programs.

Course enrollment numbers and projections of enrollment are also taken into consideration (this has to deal with how much income the course can expect).

Hanson offered some insight as to the printing question that began this post.  Some printing costs may not be fully covered in VCD courses because last year, VCD tried to increase some of their course fees and their request was amended, ultimately lowering it.  So, students may be covered until the funds from the fee run out, and then will have to pay per print. With many students relying on loans to pay for tuition and fees, out-of-pocket expenses can be a challenge.

LeBlanc added, that if the fees were approved as they were submitted, all printing would be covered. Because only some of the fee was covered, only some of the printing is covered currently.

According to LeBlanc, the goal of these fees were to:

1) eliminate the need for printing off campus,

2) to provide quality control,

3) to provide a lower cost per item,

4) assure consistency among the students’ output.

“The dollar amount of the assessment was determined by multiplying the number and size of required prints by costs per print (as indicated by the printer manufacturer). The fee will pay for paper, ink and printer maintenance. The School of Visual Communication gains no profit,” LeBlanc said.

Image from Everystockphoto.com

Fee differences may also be the result of the nature of the class itself. Photo Illustration classes have a set number of prints that students will need to make. Other courses may not be as consistent in the number of required prints.

As students, we sometimes think that fees are like little penalties that we don’t necessarily understand. It’s nice to know that a lot of time, energy and thought go into them!

Note from the author: Policies and processes are subject to change. Even as I wrote this article a process in applying course fees changed. Writing this post reinforced my understanding of the amount of consideration our faculty and staff take in applying fees and the great extent to which they have the student’s best interest in mind.

Anne Dudley is a master of public relations student and graduate assistant in the Dean’s Office of the College of Communication and Information.