After seeing this article being retweeted on Twitter, I set right to writing a comment reply. However, when the reply started going beyond 600 words, I realised that not only would it probably not fit in the reply box, but it was worth writing my own blog about the topic and not completely overtaking the comment section of the article up!
The issue raised on Behind The Spin is one that I have been battling for a while now and this is a blog post that has long been on the back burner. It is that of teaching (or lack of) social media on PR courses at universities. The writer of the original article studies at Sunderland University, one of the first in the country to have a module on social media (and a good one by the sounds of it, giving that lectures are only ever planned out a few weeks in advance due to the ever changing nature of social media).
I study PR on the Leeds Metropolitan course. Now I intern at Wolfstar, a PR, social media and WOM agency. So you can understand why this topic is one I have a particular interest and involvement in.
Since my first year when my tutor (and editor of this site, Richard Bailey) encouraged us to set up our own blogs, I began to start thinking about building and maintaining my online profile and what this would mean for my future within this industry.
The PR course taught us much about theory, communication and even marketing, but there was and still is a huge gaping void in the social media department. It hasn’t been left out completely, but I do not think that a guest lecture everyone once in a while is really going to get PR students ready for the giant shake-up this industry is going through. As long as total emphasis on traditional media and AVEs is still being taught (despite being blasted at the European Summit ) PR students are not going to be ready to do this job or fight off the incredible amount of competition that affects every graduate.
Enjoy the image while you can. PR is nothing like this and is about to become even less so.
For some employers, there has always been a ‘dark cloud’, if you will, around the idea of a PR degree. Some argue that it doesn’t really teach PR and only work experience is needed along with a ‘more academic’ degree. Indeed I have worked with and watched students in my class who do very little work and have poor attendance go on to make it through to the next year; something that a student studying subjects like English or Chemistry would not have been able to do. My colleague at Wolfstar, Jed Hallam, has even blogged about how a PR course is not needed to practice.
Not teaching what will soon become a core skill of anyone working within PR (social media and online communication) is just another crutch keeping up the PR course. There is already evidence that social media is a skill dominated by PR practitioners, so it doesn’t make sense not the teach it. I have spoken to employees and managers of a few PR agencies now and the general feeling from most is that though they understand how hard it would be to integrate into the course, it is a skill that we need to know.
For my final year electives, I have a choice of several topics. I feel this is the perfect opportunity to give my current student year a boost in their knowledge and understanding of social media before they graduate. However, the subjects include ‘Celebrity and The Media’ reinforcing the PR image that many frown on our industry for.
I haven’t chosen my electives yet as I feel a little let down on the choices. I would love a module delving into the theory and mechanisms of how social media and its participants work, really looking into the theories behind human behaviour and how this is reflected in our choice of networks and brands online. A module that explained what the semantic web is and what it could mean for both the future of PR and the internet as a whole would be incredibly useful. Perhaps a module that touched on topics like search engine optimizations and basic HTML and web design; all useful skills to add to any PR practitioners CV.
The Semantic web. Pretty, confusing, but irrelevent?
These are all things that I take it upon myself to learn if university won’t teach me them, and I am lucky enough to work in an office that supports us and encourages us to build these skills. It still frustrates me though that my university won’t help me out nor will it enlighten others who have not had the work experience opportunities that I have had.
I would love to know how other PR students feel about this issue, and also how practitioners within the industry feel. How much do you value a PR course? What is your experience with working with/employing PR degree graduates? Should social media become a module, and what should it include?
After seeing this article being Retweeted on Twitter, I set right to writing a comment reply. However, when the reply started going beyond 600 words, I realised that not only would it probably not fit in the reply box, but it was worth writing my own blog about the topic and not completely overtaking the comment section of the article up!
The issue raised on blog is one that I have been battling for a while now. It is that of teaching (or lack of) social media on PR courses at universities. The writer of the original article studies at Sunderland University, one of the first in the country to have a module on social media (and a good one by the sounds of it, giving that lectures are only ever planned out a few weeks in advance due to the ever changing nature of social media).
I study PR on the Leeds Metropolitan course. Now I intern at Wolfstar, a PR, social media and WOM agency. So you can understand why this topic is one I have a particular interest and involvement in.
Since my first year when my tutor (and editor of this site, Richard Bailey) encouraged us to set up our own blogs, I began to start thinking about building and maintaining my online profile and what this would mean for my future within this industry.
The PR course taught us much about theory, communication and even marketing, but there was and still is a huge gaping void in the social media department. It hasn’t been left out completely, but I do not think that a guest lecture everyone once in a while is really going to get PR students ready for the giant shake-up this industry is going through. As long as total emphasis on traditional media and AVEs is still being taught (despite being blasted at the European Summit ) PR students are not going to be ready to do this job or fight of the incredible amount of competition that affects every graduate.
For some employers, there has always been a ‘dark cloud’, if you will, around the idea of a PR degree. Some argue that it doesn’t really teach PR and only work experience is needed along with a ‘more academic’ degree. Indeed I have worked with and watched students in my class who do very little work and have poor attendance go on to make it through to the next year; something that a student studying subjects like English or Chemistry would not have been able to do. My college at Wolfstar, Jed Hallam, has even blogged about how a PR course is not needed to practice.
Not teaching what will soon become a core skill of anyone working within PR (social media and online communication) is just another crutch keeping up the PR course. I have spoken to employees and managers of a few PR agencies now and the general feeling from most is that though they understand how hard it would be to integrate into the course, it is a skill that we need to know.
For my final year electives, I have a choice of several topics. I feel this is the perfect opportunity to give my current student year a boost in their knowledge and understand of social media before they graduate. However, the subjects include ‘Celebrity and The Media’ reinforcing the PR image that many frown on our industry for.
I haven’t chosen my electives yet as I feel a little let down on the choices. I would love a module delving into the theory and mechanisms of how social media and its participants work, really looking into the theories behind human behaviour and how this is reflected in our choice of netowkrs and brands online. A module that included the idea behind semantic web is and what it could mean for both the future of PR and the internet as a whole would be incredible useful. Perhaps a module that touched on topics like search engine optimizations and basic HTML and web design; all useful skills to add to any PR practitioners CV.
These are all things that I take it upon myself to learn if university won’t teach me them, and I am lucky enough to work in an office that supports us and encourages us to build these skills. It still frustrates me though that my university won’t help me out nor will it enlighten others who have not had the work experience opportunities that I have had.
I would love to know how other PR students feel about this issue, and also how practitioners within the industry feel. How much do you value a PR course? What is your experience with working with/employing PR degree graduates? Should social media become a module, and what should it include?
Good article Clare – I’m going into my third year of a marketing management degree and it boggles the mind to think that some of my fellow classmates have no idea about what a great tool twitter, blogging and ~social networking~ as twee as it sounds, can be! Social Media as a module would be a great asset to all PR, marketing, journalism degrees, Sunderland Uni are really leading the way here.
Something I thought of when I read this blogpost was when I was doing a marketing module where one of the lectures touched on product placement etc. That was the week Lady Gaga released “Telephone” and I forwarded on the youtube link to my lecturer – she got back to me saying she had to sign up to youtube as it was an over 18 video, but “doesn’t sign up to sites like that” … this is a marketing lecturer… and she seemed almost scared of Youtube? I just didn’t understand it. If lecturers don’t feel up to date with whats happening with vlogs, twitter, linkedin, blogs… how can they expect to give 100% to their students who are more knowledgable than their instructor on social media?
Hi Adele, thanks for checking my blog.
Was the lady gaga video the cringe-worthy obvious Virgin promotion by any chance? I also find it incredible that a marketeer would not sign up to YouTube to keep on eye on what’s going viral etc. I think the problem is the huge divide in the marketing and PR industries about the worth of social media. Half of us swear by it, and yet the other half are resisting the change or as you say, scared of it.
I think no matter what your opinion on the issue, you cannot ignore social media or deny that it will have an effect on brands and organisations around the globe. Those who accept this and make the most of it are the player that will do well from this change. Those that choose to bury their head’s in the sand or ignore this shake-up are the ones who will be left in the dust. It just scares me that universities are allowing their graduates to fit into the latter by not introducing and educating them about this topic before they go into the industry.
You have hit the nail on the head with your last sentence. The tables really have turned when the lecturers we are paying to teach us know less than we do about the topic.
I’m glad you picked up on the Behind the Spin article, Clare.
There’s not only an opportunity to improve teaching, there’s a chance to tackle the attendance and participation problem you mention too.
A social media module would offer conventional lectures and tutorials, but the assignments would be available through social media sites – and student work would equally be open to public scrutiny.
Non-attendance would not in itself be a problem, but a lack of participation would not only result in poor grades but could be damaging in terms of search results.
There are people within universities who are keen to protect students (and lecturers) from this public scrutiny – but my view is that it’s a competitive world out there and we do students no favours by being overprotective. By choosing a PR degree, a student has signed up at the very least to do some rudimentary personal PR.
I totally agree with you Richard. When we graduate and start sending out pitches to journalists and outreaching bloggers, we give our names along with the company we represent. I cannot even begin the count the number of blogs and articles I have come across that name and shame PR practitioners who have spammed journalists and approached bloggers in completely the wrong way.
Students should not be wrapped in cotton wool and instead learn how to practice in the real world by (believe it or not) actually ‘practising in the real world’. Social media lectures that encourage this would be a welcome change. Students would also be able to get training and guidance on the wider issue of how you present your self online and in social networks. Everything from what you should and shouldn’t say on blogs, how you should behave on Twitter and what is okay to have on your Facebook would be covered in a social media module and would undoubtedly reduce the number of graduates that are rejected from interviews due to their social content. You don’t need a poor reference any more if you have photo proof of poor character on Facebook…
Sticking with the ‘wrapping our students in cotton wool’ angle, it should go across all modules. I think PR courses aren’t respected (and in turn the students that do try hard and get good grades are also not respected) because there is the idea that PR is easy and you don’t have to try hard to pass. I hate to admit is, but this is true! It IS hard to get a first, but getting 40% is not hard work on this course, especially when you rely on others to drag your marks up in group work.
This needs to stop. Students that don’t work hard should not be allowed to pass their year, and the reliance on group work on PR course is something that is unanimous on all PR courses judging by the people I have spoken to. Yes, you do work in groups a lot in PR, but you also do a lot of work, research and presenting alone and this should be reflected more in the way modules are marked and the criteria they are marked on.
Sorry to go off on a tangent but I guess as much as I like and respect many of my lecturers and some of the modules on this course there are also big issues with it that I think are the same issues faced by many other similar degrees in other universities. It is if the universities listen and act on the criticism, like Sunderland University has done by started a Social Media course, that makes the difference and improves the teaching experience for students and the reputation of both the course and the university itself.
Since I don’t disagree with this, I’ll single out where I do differ from you.
You feel that your tuition fees are high, but in truth they are low and do not reflect the cost of a quality education. Speak to some US students if you want to know the true cost of higher education.
But I do agree it’s more useful to talk about value than cost….
We had a course blog where the lesson plan was detailed each week.
One of the things I learnt from my social media module was that the internet has created a new form of transparency causing business to become exposed and vulnerable making it harder for the practitioner to manage their reputation.
Your job as a practitioner is to manage that transparency. Before you work in PR your job is to manage your own reputation and transparency to ensure you get that job in the first place
I agree about managing transparency. We’ve got a hard job ahead of us! And teaching students to manage their own transparency in university is a great way to not only give us a head start but teach is valuable skills that they can make the most of in their career.
I envy you for having such a good social media module and learning the theory behind it. I was never a fan of theory until I started my internship I began to listen to the theories behind such of social media and the semantic web, and suddenly it got more interesting!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ClareSiobhan Callery, ClareSiobhan Callery. ClareSiobhan Callery said: Should social media be taught on PR courses? Join the debate http://bit.ly/98idxl Please RT! #social media #pr [...]
Excellent! This is what we need. A complete student revolution.
Lets put it this way, if you are not able to explicate the strategy behind the internet mediation affecting your client do not collect £100, do not pass go and get out of PR.
Being some fancy amateur in PR, that is, a practitioner or teacher who can’t and won’t learn to fundamentally understand internet richness, reach, transparency, porosity and agency in an ear of neo-ubiquitous, interactive communication, is no longer an option.
This means you can be aggressive with universities, professional institutions and practitioners who are now rubbing along.
So well done Clare. You should, expect your University to have one compulsory module this year called ‘online public relations’ or something similar.
This is the reality, and I may be able to publish the numbers in a few weeks: The numbers of practitioners working in agencies who are not actively engaged in social media for clients is shrinking. The rate of attrition is accelerating. There are no comparative in-house statistics but I can guess.
[...] discussed sparked discussion and debate, and I took the opportunity to bring up my debate about the lack of social media teaching on PR courses. From the look on the faces of those in the room, it was clear many people had no idea that the PR [...]
Great post Claire, I’m a bit late commenting on this but I picked it up through GuardianLeeds today after the Mashable meet-up.
Just wanted to say, I took my Master’s degree in PR at Leeds Met (08/09), and whilst I did some heavy theory modules; my electives did include a PR and New Media module. It was very practical, was assessed by the blogs we had set up, and the amount of commenting, content and reciprocity we created. It also served as a brilliant introduction to Digg, Delicious, Flickr etc (which were all still pretty new back then!).
I know that I and all my classmates use what they learned in this module on a daily basis. Thats not to say I don’t think theory has its place, you can’t beat a bit of Grunig and Grunig! But you are right, I think it needs balancing with the ‘practical’ side of PR, and social media does still have a lot of traditional PR theory behind it.
I think this theory/practice balance is key, along with social media module, the PR and Writing module with Richard Bailey was really useful. Learning how to write for public relations, for instance how to write a news release is still an essential skill; and one which I again use every day.
It’s a shame that some undergrad PR degrees appear to not bridge this gap; maybe the answer is to do an MA Clare!?
PS – I agree with Richard on the tuition fees front, we might feel hard done by, but we’ve got it pretty easy here! Fees seem high but are still relatively heavily subsidised; we still pay nothing near the full cost of teaching and delivering our degrees. I would love to study in the US though – but I need to win the lottery first!
Michelle
@m_allison
Count yourself lucky Clare, you should have seen what my journalism course gave me. God knows why but I remember a huge chunk of it being taken up with the history of journalism. So, once I graduated I knew a bunch of stuff regarding early newspapers and the importance of the printing revolution but very little about actually being a journalist.
Since leaving university I’ve worked in publishing (about 5 years) and I learnt more about journalism in 3 months than 3 years of a degree.
That said, a degree is more than knowledge it shows commitment to the subject but anyone who thinks a degree is all they need is crazy. You need to show further dedication through what you do outside of the course. So, even if all courses gave top SM lessons students would still have to do more outside of course.