OATdb Archive

2014 - 2015

Global Center For Journalism And Democracy (GCJD)

Goal
Building Recognition And Credibility
The GCJD strives to bring more recognition and credibility to SHSU's dept of Mass Communication.

Objective
Educating Journalists
Educating journalists about specific topics

Indicator
Workshop Evaluations
For each training, attendees will complete a locally developed evaluation containing qualitative and quantitative questions to measure both experential and learning gains. This evaluation is given at the end of the training experience.

Criterion
Knowlege Gains
At least 70% of respondents indicate a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Finding
Knowledge Gains Documentation
Based on a comprehensive survey of a selection of past training participants, 92% of respondants indicated their knowledge level was improved either moderatly or a lot.

Criterion
Instructor Evaluation
At least 70% of attendees will score trainers with an overall average of "4" or higher.

Finding
Instructor Evaluation Findings
Based on post-training evaluations, we met our goal of at least 70% of attendees rating trainers with an overall average of "4" or higher.

Action
Improving Trainings
Based on training attendee feedback, GCJD will ensure that trainers do not present superficial information during sessions. We will also ensure that trainers include visual aids. Additionally, we will push trainers to use more interactive tools within their sessions.


Objective
Journalist Trainings
GCJD will develop and implement 3 topic-based journalist trainings each year.

KPI
Workshop Tracking
GCJD will track the number of journalism training workshops it conducts annually. GCJD will also track the number and types of participants that attend each workshop.

Result
Workshop Tracking Results
In 2014-2015, GCJD conducted the following journalist trainings:
1) Philippines- Natural Disasters
2) Beirut- National Security Coverage
3) Texas High School Journalism Teacher Workshop- Visual Storytelling
4) SHSU Journalism Student Workshop- Visual Storytelling
5) SHSU Journalism Student/Faculty Workshop- Women in the Media
6) Beirut- Data and Privacy
7) Germany- Non-Profit Journalism

In 2014-2015, 633 people attended our trainings.

Action
Workshop Tracking Actions
GCJD will streamline our attendee contact information process so that we can better track our attendees.

Objective
On-Campus Events
GCJD will host at least 2 social awareness events annually on one of the SHSU campuses.

KPI
On-Campus Event Tracking
GCJD will track the number of on-campus events it conducts annually, and when possible will track the number of participants.

Result
On-Campus Event Tracking Results
 1)      Modern Day Slavery Awareness Campaign

2)      Bearkats Vote

3)      Modern Day Slavery Guest Speaker

4)      Read-to-succeed Author’s Forum presentation

5)      Race relations awareness campaign (multiple events on-campus)

6)      Visual Storytelling Guest Speaker

7)      Visual Storytelling student workshop

8)      Photo essay contest and display in LSC

9)      Presentation at Global Education Issues Conference

10)   Women in the Media guest speaker

11)   Mental Health Awareness Campaign

12)   Terrorism Awareness Campaign

13)   Terrorism Guest Speaker

14)   World Press Freedom Day

More than 950 people attended out guest speaker events. While we did not track the number of people who participated in our awareness campaigns, our social media following doubled.

Action
On-Campus Event Actions
GCJD will strive to better track the number of people we engage with our on-campus awareness campaigns.


Goal
Engaging The Student Body
GCJD also hopes to engage the student body in new ways to challenge students to become more valuable citizens.

Objective
On-Campus Events
GCJD will host at least 2 social awareness events annually on one of the SHSU campuses.

KPI
On-Campus Event Tracking
GCJD will track the number of on-campus events it conducts annually, and when possible will track the number of participants.

Result
On-Campus Event Tracking Results
 1)      Modern Day Slavery Awareness Campaign

2)      Bearkats Vote

3)      Modern Day Slavery Guest Speaker

4)      Read-to-succeed Author’s Forum presentation

5)      Race relations awareness campaign (multiple events on-campus)

6)      Visual Storytelling Guest Speaker

7)      Visual Storytelling student workshop

8)      Photo essay contest and display in LSC

9)      Presentation at Global Education Issues Conference

10)   Women in the Media guest speaker

11)   Mental Health Awareness Campaign

12)   Terrorism Awareness Campaign

13)   Terrorism Guest Speaker

14)   World Press Freedom Day

More than 950 people attended out guest speaker events. While we did not track the number of people who participated in our awareness campaigns, our social media following doubled.

Action
On-Campus Event Actions
GCJD will strive to better track the number of people we engage with our on-campus awareness campaigns.


Objective
Student Travel
GCJD will sponsor SHSU students to participate in our international trainings when possible.

KPI
Student Travel Tracking
GCJD will track the number of students that accompany it on overseas trips and have each student participate in the trainings, write a reflection, and if applicable, produce a finished product for their resume or portfolio. 

Result
Student Travel Tracking
During 2014-2015, GCJD had 6 students particpate in international trainings. Their reflections can be found here: http://www.shsu.edu/global-journalism/our-work/raising-awareness.html

Action
Student Travel Action
GCJD will get students involved earlier in the planning, marketing, and implementation of the international trainings they are selected to attend.

Goal
Forming Community Bonds
GCJD is also intent on forming new bonds between SHSU and the community it serves.

Objective
Educating Journalists
Educating journalists about specific topics

Indicator
Workshop Evaluations
For each training, attendees will complete a locally developed evaluation containing qualitative and quantitative questions to measure both experential and learning gains. This evaluation is given at the end of the training experience.

Criterion
Knowlege Gains
At least 70% of respondents indicate a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Finding
Knowledge Gains Documentation
Based on a comprehensive survey of a selection of past training participants, 92% of respondants indicated their knowledge level was improved either moderatly or a lot.

Criterion
Instructor Evaluation
At least 70% of attendees will score trainers with an overall average of "4" or higher.

Finding
Instructor Evaluation Findings
Based on post-training evaluations, we met our goal of at least 70% of attendees rating trainers with an overall average of "4" or higher.

Action
Improving Trainings
Based on training attendee feedback, GCJD will ensure that trainers do not present superficial information during sessions. We will also ensure that trainers include visual aids. Additionally, we will push trainers to use more interactive tools within their sessions.


Objective
Journalist Trainings
GCJD will develop and implement 3 topic-based journalist trainings each year.

KPI
Workshop Tracking
GCJD will track the number of journalism training workshops it conducts annually. GCJD will also track the number and types of participants that attend each workshop.

Result
Workshop Tracking Results
In 2014-2015, GCJD conducted the following journalist trainings:
1) Philippines- Natural Disasters
2) Beirut- National Security Coverage
3) Texas High School Journalism Teacher Workshop- Visual Storytelling
4) SHSU Journalism Student Workshop- Visual Storytelling
5) SHSU Journalism Student/Faculty Workshop- Women in the Media
6) Beirut- Data and Privacy
7) Germany- Non-Profit Journalism

In 2014-2015, 633 people attended our trainings.

Action
Workshop Tracking Actions
GCJD will streamline our attendee contact information process so that we can better track our attendees.

Objective
On-Campus Events
GCJD will host at least 2 social awareness events annually on one of the SHSU campuses.

KPI
On-Campus Event Tracking
GCJD will track the number of on-campus events it conducts annually, and when possible will track the number of participants.

Result
On-Campus Event Tracking Results
 1)      Modern Day Slavery Awareness Campaign

2)      Bearkats Vote

3)      Modern Day Slavery Guest Speaker

4)      Read-to-succeed Author’s Forum presentation

5)      Race relations awareness campaign (multiple events on-campus)

6)      Visual Storytelling Guest Speaker

7)      Visual Storytelling student workshop

8)      Photo essay contest and display in LSC

9)      Presentation at Global Education Issues Conference

10)   Women in the Media guest speaker

11)   Mental Health Awareness Campaign

12)   Terrorism Awareness Campaign

13)   Terrorism Guest Speaker

14)   World Press Freedom Day

More than 950 people attended out guest speaker events. While we did not track the number of people who participated in our awareness campaigns, our social media following doubled.

Action
On-Campus Event Actions
GCJD will strive to better track the number of people we engage with our on-campus awareness campaigns.


Objective
Community Partner Trainings
GCJD will develop and implement at least 2 trainings for entities such as law enforcement, civil society groups, or political parties each year.

KPI
Community Partner Training Tracking
GCJD will track the number of Community Partner trainings it conducts and the number of participants.

Result
Community Partner Tracking Results
During the 2014-2015 year, GCJD conducted the following community partner trainings:

1) Region VI High School Journalism Teacher Training
2) Law Enforcement Trainings- 14 TOTAL over the year
3) Corrections Management Trainings- 4 times over the year

For each of the Law Enforcement trainings there were 75-150 attendees.

For each of the Corrections Management trainings, there were at least 25 attendees.

13 high school teachers attended our workshop.

Action
Community Partner Trainings Actions
GCJD will work to form new community partnerships to increase and diversify our work.

Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement The GCJD is a new Center at SHSU and the 2014-2015 assessment cycle will be its first.
Plan for continuous improvement Following our first full year collecting and analyzing evaluations from our international trainings and domestic events, GCJD has ambitious Plan for Continuous Improvement.

The successful development and implementation of our training evaluations has provided valuable data about the quality of our training program assessment, and is allowing us to identify areas for improvement in the development of our training programs. Specifically, we received feedback that training attendees wanted some trainers to go more in-depth into their topics, and to develop better visual aids in conjunction with their verbal presentations. Therefore, during the 2015-2016 cycle, GCJD will work much closer with workshop trainers to assist them in developing strong, in-depth curriculums, and will require all presenters to include visual aids with their presentations.

During the summer of 2015, GCJD conducted a mid- to long-term impact evaluation of our international trainings. One of the primary challenges in sending out the survey was that we no longer had accurate contact information for many of our past attendees. To combat this issue, GCJD will begin electronically collecting contact information during each training (to avoid issues with reading handwriting) and will send periodic updates on our work and requests for information updates to former attendees.

GCJD experienced huge growth in on-campus events in 2015, and we by far exceeded our goal of 2 on-campus social awareness events (14 events were held on campus during the 2014-2015 cycle). While we did track the attendance at our formal guest speaker events (more than 950 attendees), and we passed out evaluations at those events, we did not accurately track participation in our less formal events. In the 2015-2016 cycle we will strive to better track attendance and participation at our other on-campus events, and will test various electronic surveys to gauge impact and engagement during these events.

A continuing primary goal of GCJD will be to engage the student body in meaningful ways. We will continue to do that through our on-campus events and inviting selected students to travel with us when we conduct international trainings. Students currently write a reflection after returning home, and also work on projects when applicable. While these tools allow us to measure success, we will also have students answer questions from the GPI in conduction with SHSU’s assessment office to help gauge growth in areas of cultural and social awareness.

Also,  for the students that we invite on our international trainings, we will work to get them involved earlier in the planning and development process in order to engage them on a deeper level, and give them more practical experience.

Forming stronger community bonds through our domestic initiatives (community partner trainings) will also be a strong focus for GCJD in the 2015-2016 cycle. After our hugely successful initial foray into working with high school journalism educators, we will continue to try to offer at least one teacher training workshop or local journalism training per year.  We are also planning to host a high school journalism summer camp in 2016.

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