Comments on: PR educators’ pow-wow: an Ontario first!

By: Gary Schlee

Gary Schlee — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 02:19:25 +0000

It was a wonderful opportunity to meet other PR educators and find out more about how each of our programs operates. The discussion wandered through internships, facilities, provincial standards and many other topics. We’re already looking forward to doing it again next June, with even more participants.

By: Terry Flynn, Ph.D., APR

Terry Flynn, Ph.D., APR — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:10:07 +0000

Gary,
A great and provocative topic…hope did your gathering go with the other college professors and coordinators?
Terry

By: Gary Schlee

Gary Schlee — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:19:14 +0000

Thanks for your input Carol. I know that in the case of the Canadian Business Practices course in our program at Centennial, there has always been a clear need for developing business savvy. Most of our students have Liberal Arts degrees with little or no exposure to business. Maybe that’s the reason the course is typically not a crowd pleaser for students. We usually have a corporate communicator teach the course so that we can focus on the communicator’s relationship to business goals and practices.

We certainly appreciate the kind of internship experiences offered by agencies like yours, Carol. A student’s best appreciation of the realities of the workplace comes from being in it and getting feedback from practitioners.

By: Carol Panasiuk

Carol Panasiuk — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:10:20 +0000

Having hired hundreds of grads from the various PR programs over the years and being one myself, if I could suggest anything it would be to provide students with some knowledge/better understanding of how business works, how companies make money. They need to see the financial impact of the communications counsel/services they provide (regardless of the setting: agency, corporate, gov’t, not-for-profit) to their employer’s/client’s bottom line.

By: Gary Schlee

Gary Schlee — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:09:49 +0000

I’m all for that, Christine.

By: Christine Smith

Christine Smith — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 12:51:45 +0000

Kudos to Joan for leading the way in suggesting the Ontario PR program co-ordinators get together! Over the past 18 years or so I’ve worn both hats: as a fulltime PR educator and program co-ordinator and know that it’s critical we share ideas. Often, we aren’t as knowledgeable about other (rival?) programs and can’t adequately (honestly?) answer applicants when they ask: “What is the difference between your program and X’s program?” Here in the GTA it’s especially important when applicants consider offers from Centennial, Humber, Sheridan, Seneca and Durham colleges. While we might consider each other competitors for those program “seats”, our goal should be to get the best fit for the applicant. I look forward to reading about what comes out of your discussions and suggest we expand the invitation list next time to program faculty.

By: Gary Schlee

Gary Schlee — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:54:18 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts about sound communication strategy, Boyd. Along with setting objectives that are measurable, it’s a part of the planning that often poses challenges to students. I’d love to hear more about your strategy for conveying strategy — and perhaps have you in to talk to our students about it.

I’ll pass on your observations to the college educators — and it’s nice to see that Kerry from Loyalist is already tapping into this posting.

By: Inside PR » Blog Archive Audio comment: Gary Schlee on what you think PR grads should know

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:33:21 +0000

[...] got a post on his blog about how Ontario’s PR educators are getting together for the first time and he plans on [...]

By: Kerry Ramsay

Kerry Ramsay — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:07:38 +0000

I’m looking forward to the meeting, Gary! I agree this is an important step for us all in the field of PR education. See you there.

By: Boyd Neil

Boyd Neil — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:18:49 +0000

I have been teaching (online) for the past six years in the Royal Roads University M.B.A. program in public relations and communications (and looking to do more teaching.) Even among the mid-level professionals in this program, I sense a lack of two things — a sense of the components that make up sound communications strategy, in particular the need for a critical analysis of the challenges the strategy is to address, and a willingness to keep learning about new strategies, tools and techniques, in particular social media.