Self-Study Report for Accreditation

The School of Communication (formerly part of the School of Communication and Journalism and prior School of Journalism and Mass Communication [SJMC]) was reaccredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) in Spring 2022. The ACEJMC Council vote was unanimous, as the school was found to be in compliance on all nine accreditation standards for excellence. This is the fifth time that FIU’s program has been accredited since 1991. The committee’s vote capped a rigorous six-year accreditation process that intensified in the past two years. The school has made the self-study available in the interest of transparency and public accountability.

Public Accountability

The School of Communication provides the following information in accordance with guidelines from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC), which requires accredited programs to post their retention and graduation rates. The data include our undergraduate and graduate programs, both of which are accredited by ACEJMC.

Additionally, we have provided information about the diversity of our student body, our recruitment and enrollment numbers, and the average entry salaries of students.

Terms + Definitions

Cohort Year: The academic year in which the student first enrolled at the University.

Cohort: Includes bachelor degree-seeking students who enter the institution in the fall (including those enrolled for the first time the preceding summer term who continue into the fall term).

First-Time in College (FTIC): A student enrolled for the first time in any post secondary institution. With regard to admission to the university: a student with fewer than 12 hours of transfer credit after high school graduation. For data reporting, the count of FTICs for a fall semester includes enrolled students with a date of entry of either the preceding summer semester or the current fall semester.

Full-Time: An undergraduate student enrolled for 12 or more semester credit hours in a term.

Graduation Rates: A percentage calculated by taking the number of students from a given cohort who have graduated from the institution and dividing it by the total number of students in the cohort.

Headcount: The number of students enrolled for one or more credit hours in courses offered for degree. When student headcount is reported by academic division/department, the headcount is attributed to the department that administers the student’s primary program of study.

Last Term College: The College associated with the student’s most recent program of study.

Last Term Program: The most recent program in which the student is enrolled.

Part-time: An undergraduate student enrolled for less than 12 semester credit hours in a term.

Retention Rates: A percentage calculated by adding the number of students from a given cohort who have graduated or are still enrolled at the institution and then dividing that total by the number of students in the cohort.

Transfer Student: A student entering the institution for the first time or re-entering to resume a prior level and known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level. A student who was dual-enrolled at a college or university while still enrolled in high school is counted as a first-time in-college, not as a transfer student.

Year Count: The number of years elapsed since the first enrollment year at the University.