Since Ohio University President Roderick McDavis arrived last summer, college rankings have been prominent in the news several times. The administration viewed some placements as benchmarks for improvement, such as the U.S. News & World Report ranking that placed OU at No. 98. But administrators disregarded other rankings, such as The Princeton Review party-school ranking, where OU was No. 5.
McDavis acknowledged that he would like the university to become better-ranked academically in his inaugural address. But one ranking garnered special attention from President McDavis: the reputation of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
McDavis said Scripps -as one of OU's best schools -should be targeted for further improvement. I simply raised the question
what would it take for us to be the best? he said.
However, he has not challenged any other schools at OU the same way. As I get to know the quality of programs when I see programs in the top 10 top 20
then they may be targeted as well
McDavis said.
After Scripps faculty members received a direct challenge from McDavis during Fall Quarter, they have been seeking ways to become the No. 1 journalism program in the country, said Thomas Hodson, director of Scripps.
It's a four-step process: pinpoint who our competitors are
what we might do better than they do already
what we do about the same as they do and what we might need to add or enhance or change to elevate our status. This is the last step that we're in right now
he said.
At the end of Winter Quarter, Hodson said he will submit a strategic plan to the College of Communication for approval, Hodson said.
Scripps faculty members and a student advisory board are considering several areas of change: student body, teaching and research facilities, the number and kind of faculty members, the structure of the school within the university, curriculum and special programs.
Our faculty is taking it very seriously
Hodson said. It's a blueprint for the future of the school.
Hodson said the schools most similar to Scripps are Northwestern University, University of Missouri at Columbia, University of North Carolina, University of Florida, Indiana University and Columbia University, even though it only has a graduate program.
Where Scripps compares best is in the quality of students attending, Hodson said. We ranked much higher than many of our competitors. We produce students that get jobs in the industry.
In fact, 83 percent of Scripps graduates get jobs within six months of graduation, while the national average is 78 percent, Hodson said.
Scripps' admissions standards are among the strictest on campus. This year's freshman class had an average ACT score of 28, an average SAT score of 1350 and most were in the top 9 percent of their high school class, with a 3.9 average high school GPA, Hodson said.
Hodson said one potential plan to move Scripps ahead is to create more programs. Other schools may also have more specialized areas of study -for instance, Missouri has a program in agricultural journalism.
We're talking with the College of Business to look at the whole concept of business journalism. We're looking at partnering with the College of Business to offer a specialization in media management for people five to 10 years out in the profession
as a masters or supplement program
he said.
Multicultural journalism is another possible program. If the media is going to survive and thrive in the future
