The J-SAC is in business

We had a terrific first meeting with a small but enthusiastic group of J-Students. These members of the Journalism Student Advisory Council (J-SAC) will represent the concerns, issues and ideas that percolate up from you, their constituents.

The steering committee members of the J-SAC this year are Sherry Bagnall (bagnalls@msu.edu), Mike Hogan (hoganmi1@msu.edu), Vildana Kurtovic (kurtovi1@msu.edu) and Caitlin Scuderi (scuderi@msu.edu). Please contact them and/or me if you have any ideas or issues.

Here are two questions that came up at the meeting:

Why can students only take up to four credits of internship? The national accrediting body that we belong to (the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications) is very strict on its requirements. Internship credit is limited to a maximum of four credits. That's why we encourage students to take one-credit internships and build their experiences. I know many of you would like to take a lot more internship credits, but we want to make sure you have a well-rounded education because that will make you a better journalist...really!

Why can't J majors take more than 40 credits in journalism and other classes in departments like APRR, TISM and COM within the College of Communication Arts and Sciences? Again, it's a rule made by our accrediting body. You can exceed the 40 credit limit, but that means you will also have to graduate with more than 120 credits from MSU.

If you have similar questions, just let me know!

JBB