Practicums   Practicums are special audio or video production projects or professional communicator experiences in a campus setting, which complement study in radio, television/cable, public relations, and corporate communication.   Communication Practicums can be repeated with permission of the instructor and appropriate but different communication opportunities on the APSU campus, and the willingness of a University unit to sponsor the student practicum including providing a site supervisor whose duties include the direct supervision of the studnet.   A Communication Practicum requires 48 working hours in the APSU unit for one (1) semester hour of credit.   Prerequisite: Permission of instructor; I require that student be of upper level standing and Communication Arts majors or minors. In addition, students in the public relations concentration or who are focusing on public relations as a minor must have completed COMM 1200, 1400, 2000, and 3910 prior to registering in COMM 426A-H, Communication Practicum (1). students in the mass communication concentration and the corporate communication specialization must have completed COMM 1200, 2400, 3010, and 3910 prior to registering in COMM 426A-H, Communication Practicum (1).   Go to Dr. Parcells' Practicums Index by clicking here.

	Practicums Index   Simply click on the area of interest in the index fo view that section on Internships. General Practicum Information Appropriate Practicum Areas APSU Office and Department Networking Finding a Practicum Practicum Objectives and Textbook Practicum Procedures Practicum Requirements Practicum Evaluation Practicum Syllabus Download

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	General Practicum Information Communicaiton Practicumis are intended to provide paid or unpaid service(s) of an APSU student majoring or minoring in Communication Arts to a unit or professor within Austin Peay State University. Communication Practicums in public relations or corporate communication could be served in such APSU units as: Marketing, Public Relations and Publications; the Foundation; Sports Information; Student Acticvities, Information Technology, and many others.   It is presumed that there is an obligation on the part of the APSU unit and its assigned site supervisor to provide the practicum student with a profitable, learning experience. Such practicum students are not intended to serve only as cheap labor, offering "go for this or go for that" services to the unit and/or site supervisor.

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	Appropriate Practicum Areas Relevant areas of study for the Communication Practicums in public relations and corporate communication at APSU include: All Academic Departments Academic Affairs Admissions Office APSU Foundation African American Cultural Center Allstate Newspaper Athletic Marketing and Promotion Business Affairs Cable 99 Channel Campus Police Centers for Excellence Child Learning Center Financial Aid Grants and Sponsored Programs Greek Life and Special Events Information Technology Intramurals Learning Center Public Relations and Marketing Records and Registration Sports Information Student Affairs TN Small Business Center University Center Veterans Affairs WAPX-FM Radio Women's Studies Woodward Library

	APSU Office and Department Networking As you study in your Communication Arts major or minor, it is important that you pay attention to the individuals on campus wtih whom you interact as you go about your daily on campus routine. It just could be that individual in the Athletics Department or the APSU Foundation, that could provide you with an ideal Practicum opportunity.   The practicum concept is that students get some practice working on appropraite corporate communication or public relations projects on campus in an office or department, before they go off campus with an internship. It's really a way of proving to yoruself and your directing professor that you can deal effectively with an off campus internship, and the skills you develop in your practicum can then be further refined with a communication professional in the business world.   Think about the offices and departments listed in the previous section of this document, and use those areas as examples of possible opportunities for on campus practicums.

	Finding an Practicum It can be an extremely frustrating and difficult task for a student to find a useful and appropriate practicum, but that only occurs when you limit your opportunities to just the typical corporate communication or public relations practicum. The search for a meaningful practicum could well include offices and departments at APSU which students would not normally consider relevant for such a learning experience.   For example, a studnet could do a practicum at the library where his or her responsibility could be to develop some type of special event or promotion bringing the library closer to a very specific APSU student target audience.   It's really time to move "our of a shell" and see APSU as a land of opportunity and options for on campus practicums. Talk to individuals in different departments and offices across campus, and see what you could do for them and they, in turn, for you through a communication practicum.

	Practicum Objectives The objectives of an practicum through Dr. Parcells are for students to: apply communication theories, tactics, strategies, and skills within a university setting. practice the communication tasks and functions under the close supervision and direction of a university site supervisor. experience the time frame and productivity demands of the current area of focus within a specific unit at APSU. observe the communication responsibilities and duties of university administrator, faculty, or staff person as they encounter their daily schedules and situations in the workforce.

	Practicum Procedures Students are expected to apply for a practicum by completing the Communication Practicum Application available as a Microsoft Word document by clicking here. Return the completed document with all required items to Dr. Parcells by mail or placed in his mailbox in the APSU Communication and Theatre Department office in MMC 173. When the initial application for a Communication Practicum is approved, students must then develop an Practicum Agreement form which outlines the terms and conditions of the practicum and is signed and approved by the directing professor, and the department's or office's site supervisor. Download an Internshp Agreement form as a Microsoft Word documentby clicking here. When the Practicum Agreement form has been completed, signed by the department's or office's site supervisior, it must be returned to Dr. Parcells by mail or placed in his mailbox in the APSU Communication and Theatre Department office in MMC 173. Upon Dr. Parcells' approval of the Practicum Agreement, the practicum student will be provided with the call number and section number to register for COMM 426A, B, and/or C, Communication Practicum. Practicums are not listed in the APSU published Schedule of Classes so that only students completing all of the above procedures can register for the Communication Practicum.   Students can register for a maximum of 3 semester hours of any combination of COMM 426A, B, C completed in any single semester. A maximum of 6 semester hours of any combination of COMM 426A, B, C can be completed within a Bachelor's degree for Communiucation Arts majors at APSU regardless of whether the Practicum is counted as electives within the 120 hour degree requirements. A maximum of 3 semester hours of COMM 426A, B, C can be substituted for coursework in the public relations concentration or the mass communication specializations of corporate communication or Internet Technology within the Communication Arts major.

	Practicum Requirements     Item  Description   Value (points) Self-Assessment Students complete a self-assessment instrument targeted to force student focus on achievement of Communication Practicum and Liberal Arts goals and objectives. Click here to download a copy of the Self-Assessment form.  200        Site Supervisior Evaluation Students must be evaluated by their site supervisor both at midterm and at the end of the semester. Students download the Communication Practicum Site Supervisor Evaluation form for this purpose, print out a copy, and give it to the site supervisor to complete and send by return mail to Dr. Parcells. Download a copy of the Site Supervisor Evaluation form by clicking here now.   500        Internship Logs Students maintain Practicum Logs in which they record the (a) hours, days, and dates of their interning activities and (b) a brief description of the activities completed within each time frame. Students are to turn in these completed, approved forms to Dr. Parcells on a weekly basis. The Practicum Log requires the signature of the Site Supervisor to verify all hours worked and activities completed . Download a Practicum Log Sheet as a Microsoft Word document by clicking here.   300       Internship Journals Students maintain an Practicum Journal in which they keep a written record on a day by day, week by week basis of the (a) activities they complete in the practicum, (b) their recollection and reflection on the value and usefulness of those activities for their concentration or specialization area of study within the Communication Arts major, and (c) they make notations of special learning experiences or suprising facets discovered during the practicum experience. Download a Practicum Journal sheet as a Microsoft Word document by clicking here.   500       Evaluation Paper               Students must complete a Practicum Evaluation paper (a maximum of 7 typewritten, double-spaced pages) using the APA Publication Manual (5th ed.) writing style and form which evaluates the practicum learning situation. This evaluation employs a systematic self-analysis and self-assessment of the entire practicum experience, including: notations about special learning experiences or suprising facets of the practicum experience; comments on the training, assistance, helpfulness, and accessability of the site supervisor; an overall reaction to the type of duties involved in the practicum [news release writing, planning, tactical implementation, commercial copy writing, etc.]; statements about the achievement or nonachievement of goals and/or objectives identified and specified in the Practicum Agreement; and, relating the criteria, values, and goals/objectives outlined in the textbook to the practicum experience. This paper must be completed and turned in to Dr. Parcells as a Microsoft Word document as an attachment to an email message by the last day of classes during the term in which the student is registered for internship credit at APSU. Send the email message with the paper attached to Dr. Parcells at the following address: ParcellsF@APSU.edu.   700

	Practicum Evaluation Students are evaluated based upon all of the above criteria. An practicum is a graded, liberal arts learning experience, and the use of the English language is an important part of the evaluation.   Students are evaluated by the directing professor, site supervisor, a self-assessment instrument, and the the other course ingredients outlined previously.   Grading Scale  Grade  Explanation Point Range Percentage          A B C D F  Superior Very Good Good Poor Failing 1980 to 2200 1760 t0 1979 1540 to 1759 1320 to 1539 0 to 1319  90% to 100% 80% to 89% 70% to 79% 60% to 69% 0 to 59%            Grades are rounded up at .5; anything below that remains static. Extra credit is not possible so please do not even ask.

	Practicum Syllabus Download Download a copy of the internship syllabus as a Microsoft Word document by clicking here.