Needs of Students
While the number of student graduating with degrees in communication has grown 65 percent in the last ten years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011) and the Princeton Review (2012) lists CS as one of the top ten undergraduate programs in the nation, students at Baruch College have not had this choice.
CS majors not only have intellectual appeal, but have been demonstrated to prepare students for a growing number of careers and further study. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections (2012), many of the careers for which CS prepares students have faster-than-average job outlooks. Examples of job titles include communication specialist, human resource specialist, meeting and event planner, social and human services manager, speech writer, media relations specialist, and non-profit outreach coordinator. In addition to careers in CS, the transferrable communication skills at the core of the major (oral and written communication skills, teamwork skills, skills in the use of communication technology) contribute to success in a wealth of other careers (National Communication Association, 2011; Princeton Review, 2012). Furthermore, significant numbers of Baruch College students wish to pursue graduate and professional degrees in fields, such as education, international affairs, law, and journalism, for which an undergraduate program in CS will be highly suitable preparation (Willett, 1984).
Needs of College
Baruch College’s Strategic Plan 2013-2018 (2013) identifies the goal of establishing the Weissman School as a destination liberal arts college. One way to address this goal is to develop and implement new programs that are nationally recognized and have positive employment prospects. The Strategic Plan names the major in CS as a program well-suited for this purpose. In addition to addressing the need for excellence in communication skills outlined in the College’s Strategic Plan, the CS major will address the stated goals of promoting internationalization, new media and technology, and civic engagement.
Needs of University
The CS major will provide a program that fills an academic need for the City University of New York. With the popularity of CS majors nationwide, the absence of such a major at CUNY constitutes a significant missed opportunity for the University—an opportunity we would like to fill. Existing baccalaureate programs related to communication at CUNY are either limited in scope, with communication being only one aspect of interdisciplinary degrees (e.g., Brooklyn College’s B.A. in Communication) or focus on speech, speech pathology, performance and theater, journalism, and film or media studies. By contrast, the proposed CS curriculum reflects the range and complexity of communication as a pivotal social and cultural force. It will thus be well-positioned both to deliver a valuable service to CUNY and to capitalize on the extraordinary nationwide growth in the importance of CS as a field of inquiry, study, and practical training.
The CS major reflects CUNY’s mission (CUNY, 2012) to promote personal excellence and civic leadership in an increasingly complex society and to prepare students for 21st-century careers. According to the findings of the CUNY Jobs Task Force, success in these careers requires oral and written communication skills, cultural competence, and the type of understanding of the world that is advanced by a well-rounded liberal education. The planned CS major addresses these issues through a curriculum that provides broad knowledge across the communications field and immersion in concentrations relevant for today’s society. In a survey of the discipline, Morreale and Pearson (2008) found that communication education is “vital to developing as a complete person” (referencing the link among communication, self-confidence, and relational success) and that communication education plays a central role in equipping students to meet 21st-century challenges.
Needs of Community
As in many other institutions nationwide, communication programs at SUNY are well established and popular (State University of New York, 2013). An example of the thriving communication programs at SUNY is SUNY Buffalo, which has a well-established Ph.D. program and more than 800 undergraduate majors. With respect to CS, CUNY is clearly behind the SUNY system in serving the needs of its city community.
Needs Related to Economy
In part due to the increasing importance of online media and internationalization, careers in communication have experienced significant growth (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012; Michigan State University, 2011). The CS major will prepare its graduates for a growing number of communication-specific careers as well as for non-communication-specific careers that require a wide range of communication skills for successful employment. Included are careers in arts and entertainment, business, education, government, healthcare, information services, law, non-profits, and social and human services. Graduates will be prepared to enter these careers because of the applicability of the communication knowledge they develop in CS coursework and their concentration of choice. In addition, students will be able to apply general communication skills and experience in the workplace. Morreale and Pearson (2008) reviewed literature from 1998-2006 pertaining to the importance of communication and found that a student’s background in communication is linked to career success and improvement in the organizational processes they encounter in the workforce. Specifically, the study identified oral and written communication skills as most important to career advancement. Other essential skills include listening; interpersonal, intercultural, and small-group communication; and conflict resolution. Likewise, Cline (2005) reports that 96 percent of executives in a survey of 330 industry leaders rated communication and interpersonal skills as the most valuable employee traits; while White (2013) reports that more than 60 percent of employers say applicants lack communication and interpersonal skills, a jump of about 10 percentage points in just two years. All of these employable skills are built into the CS curriculum.
Needs Related to Nation
Government and non-governmental agencies have stressed communication competency, highlighting the importance of communicating in interpersonal and group/team settings in ways that promote public goods rather than destroy the civic fabric. The White House Open Government Directive (2009) instructs federal agencies to increase and make easier opportunities for participation and collaboration with the public in decision-making. A college curriculum that improves the public’s capacity for this kind of involvement takes one step toward changing the “civic achievement gap” our country faces (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 2007; National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). A major in CS thus contributes to the quality of life beyond the workplace. Students who seek to be good citizens or just good neighbors will find that the CS major enriches their lives and those of others.