This session will present the results of a study in the design of the capstone course which included real-world, simluated learning and career services components for students completing the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Integrating real-world current events and career scenarios into the online environment is essential for students enrolled in a skills-based online journalism and mass communication program. This session focuses on research conducted on a capstone course that was designed as a simulated, real-world environment where students worked in news teams and attended live budget meetings to create fictitious publications for a specific audience that was focused on current and breaking news. This simulation required students to make decisions about what to include in their publications during three weeks of the course. The course also contained career components requiring students to update their electronic portfolios and prepare an application packet for a real-world job, graduate school, or a funding opportunity depending on the path they will take following the completion of their degree program. Additionally, media professionals will be queried on their thoughts of a simulated course design for students obtaining a degree in journalism and mass communication in the online environment who may not have the opportunity for an external internship. The observations from this research will better inform skills-based program such as those in journalism and mass communication an effective approach for brining real-world elements into the online environment to prepare students to compete with those in traditional programs.