Communication department strengthens its standards for undergraduate education

Michael Stephenson is coordinator of the initiative to enhance the undergraduate experience.

The Department of Communication has increased efforts to help students make the most of their undergraduate years through the “Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience” initiative.

“The program has grown incredibly in the last five years and has undergone significant changes in order to offer the best education possible,” said Michael T. Stephenson, associate professor and coordinator of the initiative.

Stephenson said the changes started several years ago with the conversion of all 400-level classes to a writing-intensive format so every graduating student would have a background in writing.

But more recently, the program has expanded to not only impact upperclassmen but to benefit communication majors from the beginning of their college careers.

Creating a community of learners to keep majors

“The freshman year is a time when many universities – including Texas A&M – lose students as a result of inadequate assimilation to the university or to the department,” Stephenson said.

To combat this problem, the department integrated its required introductory course with the college’s “Common Ground” initiative, which aims to help freshman liberal arts majors adjust to university life through a summer reading assignment that is then incorporated into various classes and discussion groups.

Stephenson teamed with Nancy Street, a senior lecturer and coordinator for undergraduate advising, to incorporate the 2007-2008 book (Rebekah Nathan’s My Freshman Year about her experiences enrolling as a first-year student while in her mid-fifties) into the introductory course.

Stephenson’s graduate students led the freshmen in small-group discussions about issues raised in the book, such as that of identity in an unfamiliar environment.

“Many of them reported that it was such a relief to have a place to sit and talk about the changes they were going through with someone a little bit older than they were,” Street said.

Nancy Street, coordinator for undergraduate advising, incorporated the 2007-2008 Common Ground book into her classroom.

Another major area of focus has been undergraduate research opportunities.

Last fall, Street organized the first annual Freshman Communication Research Conference, where her first-year students presented their research on topics ranging from Facebook to past presidents’ rhetorical styles.

“They did just amazing things,” Street said. “I think when you get out of people’s way and let them ask a question that they are sincerely interested in, the result is 10 times better than with assigned topics.”

Upperclassmen had a similar opportunity to showcase their research during Parents’ Weekend in April. Stephenson said participation in the research conference engaged the students in critical thinking and allowed them to work closely with faculty members, in addition to showing parents “they have invested their money in the best way possible.”

More improvements in store for students

“We have lots of goals,” Stephenson said. These include developing a capstone experience and converting courses from the lecture style of teaching to an inquiry-based style, which focuses more on students’ ability to find their own answers.

In addition, he said, “We’re trying to get every communication major involved in some form of internship, study abroad or undergraduate research.”

Contact: Dr. Michael T. Stephenson, mstephenson@tamu.edu, 979.458.8093

For more information about the communication department, visit their website.

Jaclyn Upshaw