TOLEDO, Ohio – As the University of Toledo continues to deal with financial difficulties, the university plans to cut or merge 48 programs in fall 2024.
The university's media communications program is listed as one of several degrees that will disappear next fall when it becomes a major in communication studies.
In response to WTOL 11's coverage, our Head of Communications, W. Benjamin Myers, on Wednesday to tell us that even though the name of the program is gone, all the opportunities will remain the same.
“Nothing we know is going away,” he said. “The classes, the content and all the opportunities will still be there.”
It is a welcome move for future journalists and public relations representatives pursuing their higher education at UToledo.
While suspensions and mergers happen throughout the school in the name of budget, the end of the media communications program is not one of them, Myers said.
“It coincided with it, but it was not driven by the prioritization of the program,” he said. “We're a big, thriving department, and we're doing exciting things. I mean, communications jobs are the future of jobs.”
So, what's changing?
Media Communication is currently its own separate degree, but starting next fall, the concentration will fall within the regular Bachelor of Communications program.
But if it's so important, why change? Jimmy Ward, one of the professors who designed the curriculum change, said the goal is to give students more opportunities.
“A comprehensive program that gives students experience in many fields will give them more flexibility to change their careers if they choose to do so,” Ward said.
There will still be student radio news, a radio station, ESPN opportunities, and everything else previously offered. But they won't designate a communications student to be a journalist, PR representative, or social media strategist. They will be trained in all three areas.
“It gives them the skills to progress into different industries and do well,” Ward said.
At first, the change came as a shock to some current media students.
“The initial reaction was kind of surprise,” junior Logan McCurry said.
But the students said that department heads held a meeting with them to explain the changes and they left reassured.
“It's not so much about filtering as it is about assimilation,” senior Allen Woodson III said.
So, while McCurry and Woodson III will be some of the last students to earn a degree in media communications at UToledo, they have high hopes for the future of the communications program as a whole.
“Everything we experienced will still be there for generations to come,” McCurry said. “So this has eased our mindsets.”
The new modified communications program will be available to prospective students starting next fall.
