STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION (SC)
SC-210 SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY/BUSINESS (3 Credits)
This course is designed to introduce students to developments in social media that are transforming the way we live and communicate. The class objectives are to provide students with an understanding of how those social tools relate to the practice of strategic communications including marketing, advertising, public relations, and nonprofits, as well as the impact of the social media such as wikis, Twitter, YouTube, personal blogs, Facebook and other relevant tools. Students will participate in virtual community discourse, create content and interact with other professionals in the field and reflect critically on the experience. New applications and social networks will come and go. However, this course will help foster the skill of applying the core principles and practices of strategic communications to social media in productive, creative and intelligent ways. It will also encourage students to be flexible, open to new communication channels and willing to experiment.
Prerequisite(s): Take JMC-101
SC-220 DIGITAL CONTENT & ENGAGEMENT (3 Credits)
As the field of communication evolves, so does the need to tell stories, including your own, across platforms. This course explores content development and engagement strategies for the fields of social media, digital publications, public relations, and business communication.
Prerequisite(s): Take JMC-111
SC-301 STRATEGIC WRITING & PROFESSIONAL COMM (3 Credits)
This business writing course helps develop business writing and strategic communication skills by teaching and practicing a wide variety of writing initiatives. Students will also create and deliver professional quality oral presentations.
SC-302 GLOBAL MARKETING & COMMUNICATION (3 Credits)
This course trains students to build successful global business relationships by studying other cultures and proper business training to understand the intricate processes of accomplishing business and strategic communications in a global environment. Set in the context of intercultural business communications, the focus will be on understanding the role of culture & language, cultural rules for establishing relationships, creating and organizing resonate messages, import and export laws, comparative management and communication styles, business protocol, etiquette and Franciscan business ethics, rooted in the tradition of Luca Paccioli.
SC-303 DIGITAL MARKETING (3 Credits)
This course underscores the importance that digital channels play in marketers' media options while building a proficiency in new media channels and digital marketing. As new developments in the media landscape continue to impact marketers and communication specialists, the multi-channel work of new media presents companies with enormous opportunities and considerable challenges. Students will be able to understand new media and digital marketing options, including these opportunities and challenges, so they can harness the power of "Digi-Marketing" to grow a business in a strategic communications environment.
SC-304 SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY & ENGAGEMENT (3 Credits)
Social media continues to re-write the ways marketing communicators and businesses connect with customers. Social media today is the front door for any business; globally, consumers interact with brands and each other first on social media platforms, before visiting a company's website, an online merchant, or a retail store. Business-to-consumer marketers must now create engaging digital interactions that acknowledge and respect their customers' voices and needs - or risk losing customers to more agile social media marketers. This course is designed to help you understand how a palette of digital interactions and resources - including content marketing, public relations, online advertising, and other marketing techniques - will equip you to build social media marketing strategies that captivate online customers. The course will also help you understand relevant industry structures, tools, and support resources that enable you to effectively participate in, and lead, a social media marketing process. Successful completion of the course will give you the insights, knowledge and practical skills to develop marketing strategies that leverage opportunities inherent in social media and consumer-to-consumer social interactions for achieving business goals. While social media has re-shaped how marketers share information across consumers and brands, all social media share three traits: they are always digital, they are always participatory, and they are always shareable. Note: this course is not a survey of online social media platforms that you know from using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. Such topics are covered in SC 210. These platforms are important, but we will go beyond these platforms to broaden students' perspectives and train you to approach Social Media Marketing from a communications strategist's viewpoint, rather than someone who tweets. To do this, we will look at audiences' social interactions, mechanisms (dashboard apps, analytic resources, etc.), various social media channels, and strategies and tools that you can use to market successfully on these platforms and track your programs' effectiveness.
SC-305 MEASUREMENT:SEO/SEM/ANALYTICS (3 Credits)
With ever-evolving communication technologies and communication tools, knowledge of SEO, SEM and analytics is increasingly important for communication practitioners. This course includes the basics of each with emphasis on implementation and evaluation.
SC-320 PRINC & PRACT OF PUB RELATIONS (3 Credits)
An introductory public relations course that examines the research assessments of the organization public relations environment, establishing goals and objectives, selecting appropriate courses of communication action, implementing those communication programs and evaluating performance. The goal is to familiarize students with the background and content of public relations management, helping them to understand the nature of managerial and ethical responsibilities of public relations practitioners.
SC-330 THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN (3 Credits)
The class will function as a full-service advertising agency in workshop format, encompassing an overview of advertising as the creative message in print, radio and television. Students will concentrate on the development of an advertising campaign for a particular client, readily demonstrating a strong command of media planning and research, layout, design, copywriting and conceptual thinking.
SC-340 ADVERTISING COPYWRITING:FINDING YOUR VOICE (3 Credits)
The focus of this class is the creative process through which advertising comes into being. By going through the conceptual, writing, visualization and executional steps, the student will gain an understanding of the way the creative process works: the strategic thinking, the drawing on reservoirs of knowledge from other liberal arts courses, the concepting, the trial-and-error, the intense executional discipline, the reworking, polishing and refinement, and the final presentation of one's finished work, in printed form, to either one's creative director or your client.
SC-341 MULTIMEDIA COPYWRITING (3 Credits)
This course will teach you to write lean digital copy that fuels a content marketing strategy, and engages your audience in social media, infographics, website content, and online video. Our goal is to engage audiences - consumers, employees, donors and more - and to compel them to connect with your organization and its message beyond "likes." You will create messages that shape a brand story they'll remember.
SC-350 SPORTS STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION (3 Credits)
This course examines the world of professional and amateur athletics from the tangent of the strategic communication problems inherent in each of the major sports. It aims to provide a historical perspective on the commercialization of college and amateur athletics, as well as a critical look at professional sports in the western world and North America.
SC-355 SPORTS MEDIA RELATIONS (3 Credits)
This course shows how and when the sports industry needs PR experts. It examines how public relations issues arise in the sports business and how PR approaches and thinking may be used to solve them by exploring the connection between strategy and communication as they apply to sports and PR. The course teaches the strategic and critical thinking essential for PR work and explores other various skills necessary in sport communications, including specialized areas of the field.
SC-401 SPECIAL TOPICS IN STRAT COMM/DIG MEDIA (1-3 Credits)
The course gives students the opportunity for in-depth study of Strategic Communication and Digital Media-related issues and topics. Students may also arrange for planned independent study in Strategic Communication and Digital Media under the guidance of a faculty adviser. School permission required.
SC-401A SP TOP: COPYWRITING (3 Credits)
The course gives students the opportunity for in-depth study of Strategic Communication and Digital Media-related issues and topics. Students may also arrange for planned independent study in Strategic Communication and Digital Media under the guidance of a faculty adviser. School permission required.
SC-401B SP TOP: AD AGENCY LEADERSHIP (3 Credits)
The course gives students the opportunity for in-depth study of Strategic Communication and Digital Media-related issues and topics. Students may also arrange for planned independent study in Strategic Communication and Digital Media under the guidance of a faculty adviser. School permission required.
SC-401EL DEMOCRACY? ELECTION 2024 (3 Credits)
SC-420 PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGNS (3 Credits)
This upper-level public relations class examines various case studies of public relations campaign strategies. The general intent is to place the student in a managerial, decision-making role in which the primary requirement is to think in planning and program-execution terms. Further, the student will be introduced to the formal rules of strategy selection, once goals have been specified, by appeals to the literature base covering the subject of decision theory and management theory.
Prerequisite(s): Take JMC-320
SC-422 INTERNAL ORGANZATNL RELATIONS (3 Credits)
This course will familiarize students with organizational relations and communication and to allow them to put what is learned into practice. Students will learn the various and numerous publics and audiences in an organization and how to interact and deal with each. Different organizations and different industries will be discussed. Students will have an opportunity to discuss their own experiences as well as examine how to put teachings into practice.
Prerequisite(s): Take JMC-320
SC-425 COMMUNICATION IN CONFLICT (3 Credits)
Communication in conflict will look at a history of conflict from organized labor to regional and world conflicts with a focus on crisis communication and planning. This class will also emphasize diversity in culture and other factors as an antecedent to conflict. New technologies, globalization, and current issues and crises will be discussed.
Prerequisite(s): TAKE JMC-111
SC-426 HEALTH COMMUNICATION (3 Credits)
Health communication will focus on stakeholders and publics in health care, the differences in communication in a health care setting, and the limitations and challenges with health communication. This class will also look at new technologies and current issues in health and sectors as well as worldwide public health concerns and trends as they relate to mass communication.
Prerequisite(s): TAKE JMC-111
SC-430 AAF CASE STUDY (3 Credits)
This course serves as the capstone advertising class, providing students with the opportunity to design a strategic advertising and media campaign for a corporate sponsor. Students present the finished campaign to various industry executive at the American Advertising Federation's National College Competition in the spring semester. This campaign project is recognized nationally as the "College World Series of Advertising."
SC-450 STORYTELLING WITH DATA (3 Credits)
Analytics, big data analysis and geographic informationsystems (GIS) have transformed the way the strategic communicators work. Growing dependence on visual displays of data to ease understanding of traditional communication concepts is the norm. Students will learn to present data and tell a story using numbers and associated graphics. Students will learn to use data in devleoping strategic communication campaigns both internal and external.
Prerequisite(s): Take JMC-399
SC-497 Agency Experience: Synapse I (3 Credits)
Synapse Matters offers students the opportunity to act as associates of a marketing communications consultancy in a business setting on campus. Students will learn valuable leadership, customer service and client relations, sales, budget and business skills. As with any wide-ranging consultancy, Synapse may draw on outside experts for lectures on specific subjects (e.g./ law, ethics). Additionally, students will foster an atmosphere of service learning, teamwork and professionalism by working on both for-profit and not-for-profit campaigns with real clients.
Prerequisite(s): TAKE JMC-202
SC-497A SYNAPSE:SYMPHONIC THINKING IN ACTION (6 Credits)
Synapse Matters offers students the opportunity to act as associates of a marketing communications consultancy in a business setting on campus. Students will learn valuable leadership, customer service and client relations, sales, budget and business skills. As with any wide-ranging consultancy, Synapse may draw on outside experts for lectures on specific subjects (e.g./ law, ethics). Additionally, students will foster an atmosphere of service learning, teamwork and professionalism by working on both for-profit and not-for-profit campaigns with real clients.
SC-498 Agency Experience: Synapse II (3 Credits)
Synapse Matters offers students the opportunity to act as associates/employees of a marketing communications consultancy in a business setting on campus. Students will learn valuable leadership, customer service and client relations, sales, budget and business skills. As with any wide-ranging consultancy, Synapse may draw on outside experts for lectures on specific subjects (e.g., law, ethics). Additionally, students will foster an atmosphere of service learning, teamwork, and professionalism by working on both for-profit and not-for-profit campaigns with real clients. This course continues the work of SC 497.
Prerequisite(s): TAKE SC-497
SC-499 COMPREHENSIVE EXPERIENCE (0 Credits)
Students in the Strategic Communication program will be expected to participate in a Program Assessment Comprehensive Interview in the fall of year four. The student is expected to select from a position and "apply" for a position. The student will then submit a cover letter, resume and portfolio for review by the assessment committee comprised of the faculty and alumni/professionals. Students will participate in professional etiquette seminars. In preparation for the interview, students will be expected to gather information about the company/organization, as would be expected in a professional environment. Students will be graded based on a comprehensive rubric Students will either pass or fail. Students who fail will have until the end of spring year four to make suggested corrections and submit again. It is also expected that before students receive a grade for this course, all 400 internship hours are completed.
Restrictions: RG.71+
SC-499A COMPREHENSIVE EXPERIENCE (0 Credits)
Students in the Strategic Communication program will be expected to participate in a Program Assessment Comprehensive Interview in the fall of year four. The student is expected to select from a position and "apply" for a position. The student will then submit a cover letter, resume and portfolio for review by the assessment committee comprised of the faculty and alumni/professionals. Students will participate in professional etiquette seminars. In preparation for the interview, students will be expected to gather information about the company/organization, as would be expected in a professional environment. Students will be graded based on a comprehensive rubric Students will either pass or fail. Students who fail will have until the end of spring year four to make suggested corrections and submit again. It is also expected that before students receive a grade for this course, all 400 internship hours are completed.