Assessment Plan

This plan was created in 2002 with frequent revision by the faculty, most recently on April 10, 2026. 

Mission and objectives

The community of professionals and scholars in the Reynolds School of Journalism is dedicated to advancing the practice and knowledge of journalism,  public relations and advertising,  visual communication, sports media and film and media production, as well as media studies.  In this pursuit, we remain faithful to the enduring principles of professional media —  analytical thinking, clear writing, compelling production and presentation, ethical behavior and sophisticated use of technology and research. Objectives are directly aligned with core values and competencies established by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and are tailored to fulfill overlapping assessment expectations of the University of Nevada, Reno.  

This assessment plan describes the steps established for ensuring that the RSJ undergraduate curriculum addresses all 10 core values and competencies. The breakout boxes serve as a curriculum map of the core required courses which include the learning goals and objectives. Faculty are encouraged to annotate which topics and/or assignments fulfill these goals and objectives on their syllabi.

Learning goals and objectives

Our assessment plan is anchored by 10 curricular learning goals with corresponding objectives aligned with ACEJMC’s values and competencies and in some cases the UNR Silver Core Curriculum. They include the following:

Assessment measures

To assess the extent to which undergraduate students achieve our stated learning objectives, the Reynolds School employs the following direct measures: 

  • Pre-test/post-test of student knowledge: The pre-test is administered every summer during NevadaFIT, a required week-long orientation program for incoming students. This provides a gauge of student knowledge of topics related to core courses. The post-test is administered to graduating seniors toward the end of each spring semester.
  • Professional reviews: At least once each academic year, media professionals evaluate a random selection of student assignments from JOUR 307 Multimedia Writing and Reporting and JOUR 361 Writing for Public Relations and Advertising, using rubrics developed by Reynolds School faculty to address relevant elements of ACEJMC’s values and competencies.
  • Internship evaluations. Every student majoring in journalism is required to complete an internship or practicum. Their performance is evaluated by professionals or faculty using learning objectives aligned with ACEJMC’s values and competencies.

In addition to the direct measures listed above, the Reynolds School evaluates several indirect measures. These include: 

  • Retention and graduation rates
  • Student career outcomes
  • Student performance in contests and competitions
  • Senior exit surveys

Assessment process

The Reynolds School has a standing Assessment Committee charged with ensuring that appropriate data are collected, analyzed and shared with faculty. The Assessment Committee meets regularly with the school’s Curriculum Committee to develop proposals to present to the faculty for “closing the loop” and applying assessment data in the service of ongoing curricular improvement.