Describes a curriculum review of the Department of Speech Communication at North Carolina State University, including the strategy the department used and the results of the process--a new curriculum package. (MS)

This document reports and interprets the survey data produced by the National Center for Education Statistics regarding course offerings and enrollments in secondary speech communication courses in 1961 and 1973. The purpose of assessing this data was to help identify the states with model programs, identify the values shown in standard-setting…

Suggests methods of curriculum development in the speech communication discipline that would offer students opportunities to acquire information and master skills that will enhance academic success and career development. Available from: ACA Bulletin, Robert Hall, Editor, Speech Communication Association, 5205 Leesburg Pike, Suite 1001, Falls…

A study of 178 secondary school teachers in the California was motivated by the passage of the Ryan Act of 1970, which eliminated the high school speech credential and subsumed it under the English umbrella. The result has been that the speech communication subject matter is expected to be integrated into the English courses in the state. The 1987…

This paper proposes a high school curriculum that incorporates education in oral communication as an essential graduation skill--a skill taught systematically by trained instructors in a communication course. The paper points out, however, that other innovative arrangements are possible as long as the instruction is systematic; follows…

This paper reviews the historical experience of a new public relations program housed in a speech communication department (rather than in a journalism department, which is traditional), discusses some of the internal and external struggles experienced in the implementation and administration of the program, and reports on the placement of its…

One problem that surfaced with the speech communication basic course (COM 105) at Valdosta State University (Georgia) was that the actual content covered by individual instructors varied widely, so widely that two given sections taught by different instructors may bear little resemblance to one another. This problem was addressed first through a…

Recent surveys have shown that the basic speech communication course, designed to introduce students to the discipline and to meet their basic proficiency needs, is alive and growing rapidly. While this is generally good news, a more critical examination reveals a variety of issues in need of resolution. A significant amount of course time is…

A total of 106 college graduates who had taken a basic communication course was surveyed to obtain their perspectives on communication training. Although the alumni rated communication skills as being highly important, three-fourths of them did not receive communication training after college. Most of the alumni felt either "fairly well" or "okay"…

This paper provides an example procedure used to design and install a program of assessment to improve communication instruction through a competency-based core curriculum at a mid-sized, urban university. The paper models the various steps in the process, and includes specific tests, forms, memos, course description, sources, and procedures which…

Discusses some problems associated with curricular matters in communication departments. Offers suggestions for dealing with the problems. Discusses departmental philosophical decisions (theory versus skills, developing curriculum, internal politics and curriculum, and curriculum overexpansion); understanding upper-level administration…

Oral communication across the curriculum programs initiated at universities and colleges are likely to experience several problems, including high costs and heavy workloads for faculty. An Oral Communication Program (OCP) designed to overcome potential problems was instituted at Radford University, Virginia. Results of the program's first year…

When designing a contemporary curriculum in communication, it is important to adapt the specific set of skills and knowledge to the needs of the marketplace. The change in the transformation from speech to communication to communication/information technology is reflected in the various names of university departments. Schools that have changed…

This paper discusses the effects of reestablished or redefined core curriculum requirements on college speech communication programs, based on the survey responses of speech communication faculty members at 104 four-year schools. The following conclusions and recommendations are presented as a result of the survey: Although many employers consider…

Intercultural education can be integrated into existing core speech communication curricula in secondary and higher education in a functional way that will enhance the discipline of speech communication but neither overburden the curriculum nor compromise the integrity of the field. Intercultural education through speech communication curricula…