Public Relations Executives View the Curriculum: A Needs Assessment.

"The problem with public relations education is this: When you've taken one public relations course, you've taken them both." Despite such derisive comments, which was offered by a participant in the survey to be discussed here, public relations is the fastest-growing area of study of all the communication-related disciplines. More incoming freshmen express interest in studying public relations than print or broadcast journalism, according to The Freedom Forum (Overby, 1996); and for the first time since tracking began in 1991, public relations students now outnumber advertising students, 15,352 to 14,607 (Ross & Johnson, 1997). Schools with established mass communication programs are expanding their public relations components to cope with the demand, and many schools without public relations curricula are either initiating them or seriously considering doing so. In the rush to meet the demands and wishes of incoming students, colleges and universities run the risk of ignoring the verities of the marketplace (O'Dwyer, 1993; Hendrix, 1992), and of discounting input from the women and men expected to hire the increased numbers of graduates and who have been "questioning the abilities of some graduates of public relations programs" (Wright & Turk, 1990). That questioning exists in all disciplines, to be sure, and the friction between teachers and practitioners is no greater in public relations than in other fields. Indeed, the Public Relations Division of AEJMC has a business-education liaison function specifically aimed at fostering cooperation, and public relations programs at a number of schools -- Boston University, Florida, Georgia, and Ball State, to name a few - have professional advisory boards. Yet, there is some friction. A report by the Institute for Public Relations Research and Education criticized public relations professionals for not encouraging and not using scholarly public relations research being done by educators (Wright & Turk, 1990). Practitioners return the sniping. Gibson (1992-1993) said, "Criticism of public relations education remains strident. A respected PR executive muses, `Somehow, PR schools have found a way to keep students in class for four years without teaching them anything useful. ... How do educators pull off this delicate balancing act?"'(p. 45). In an effort to further bridge the gap between educators and practitioners, to determine what the marketplace values in public relations education, a survey was conducted of senior level public relations executives in for-profit organizations. Statement of delimitation Many surveys on public relations education have looked at the field as a whole and given equal weight to the opinions of practitioners in all segments of a discipline moving toward increased specialization (Seitel, 1995, p. 471). It was felt that a needs assessment focusing on one segment would provide more specific information on the kind of training needed to prepare students for work in that segment. Although agencies and non-profit organizations also provide a wealth of opportunities for public relations graduates. the forprofit segment was chosen because; (a) the author's background in and familiarity with that segment; (b) the fact that the top jobs at agencies normally go to practitioners servicing corporate clients; and (c) the trend among non-profit organizations to add business-like functions such as marketing communication to their PR staffs. By surveying the top men and women in the for-profit sector, the study reached the people who ultimately are responsible for staffing public relations departments, even if underlings do the actual hiring. Since they are either a part of or close to the dominant coalition of some of the world's leading organizations, the public relations executives know what organizations expect from their public relations operations and the people in them. Obtaining the input of top public relations professionals can give educators a better understanding as to how expanding and burgeoning PR programs can help students qualify for jobs in what will become an even more competitive job market. …