College of the North Atlantic will be one of the first post-secondary institutions in Canada to offer a journalism program online.
CNA’s Journalism (Post Diploma) program, available to university and college graduates, has been offered on-campus since 2000. Starting in September 2015, the program will also be available via distance through the college’s online learning platform.
“We’ve had inquiries in the past from people who want to do a journalism program via distance,” said Frank Carroll, the program’s instructional coordinator. “The online version will be convenient for people with work, family or personal commitments who can’t travel to our campus, and, of course, for students from other provinces and countries. At the same time, the program won’t sacrifice quality for convenience.”
The online version of the distance program will offer the same courses as the on-campus version. Following consultations with the journalism industry, the entire two-year and one-year Journalism (Post Diploma) programs were revised in 2014. All courses were updated and changes included the introduction of new audio and video storytelling courses, as well as an increased emphasis on social, mobile and interactive media.
The distance program will use the college’s Desire2Learn online platform to deliver courses covering core journalism competencies such as research, interviewing, writing, reporting, ethical decision-making and journalism law. It emphasizes a cross-platform approach to journalism that includes text, photography, video, audio and online skills. As in the on-campus version, students will be part of a student news team and will also complete internships with professional news organizations.
“There will naturally be some differences in the way the courses are delivered, but the technology will allow students to interact with instructors and other students both for real-time projects and for activities that can be completed at the student’s convenience,” said Brenda Tobin, CNA’s Dean of Academics, Applied Arts & Tourism.
Students may complete all 12 courses of the program in one year as full-time students or choose a part-time stream that will allow them to finish the program in two years. The aim is to offer a program that is flexible and accessible while maintaining high standards.
To find out more about the Journalism (Post-Diploma) program visit the following link:
Journalism (Post-Diploma)
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BACKGROUNDER
· College of the North Atlantic’s two-year Journalism program has been offered since 1983.
· In 2000, a one-year post-diploma option was added.
· Beginning in September 2015, the college will add a distance learning version of the post-diploma program.
· The two-year program offers a mix of journalism courses, related courses (such as history and political science) and electives. The aim of this program is to ground students in the principles and practices of journalism while also providing them with a solid liberal arts education.
· The post-diploma program, aimed at university and college graduates, offers core journalism courses to students who already have a post-secondary foundation.
· Courses in the post-diploma program include the following: reporting and news writing; journalism ethics and law; news photography; video storytelling, audio storytelling, online journalism; news production and a field placement (internship).
· The Journalism program underwent major revisions in 2014:
o Introduced new audio and video storytelling courses to both streams;
o In the two-year program, introduced new freelance journalism, advanced broadcast journalism, current affairs, economics, history, social research, oral communications and professional wellness courses, as well as a group capstone project;
o Revision of several existing courses. For example, online journalism was revised to focus more sharply on social, mobile and interactive media;
o Updated video and radio equipment;
o Established a new radio/TV studio.
· CNA’s program content is on par with current journalism education trends; in some cases, we are in the lead. Our Journalism program became the first program in Canada to include drone journalism. We have also developed a drone journalism code of conduct, and we will be among the first in Canada to offer a complete Journalism program online.
Media Contact:
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709-643-7938
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca