Senior Assessment

Advisor Panel members participate, as do other industry professionals, in Senior Assessment.
This is an opportunity to meet with students, review their progress and offer guidance.

The Advertising Department strives to be recognized as the premier strategic communication program in the world. To develop and maintain a program of this caliber requires ongoing assessment and constant improvement. We look to our students, alumni and other industry professionals to help us stay focused and committed to that goal.

Ad Department Assessment
Students enrolled in the Advertising program have a variety of career goals. Some want to work in management and develop strategic plans. Others are interested in working as copywriters and art directors in creative departments. Research, media, sales, digital and many other areas all offer possibilities. The strategic communication background allows students to work in advertising, public relations, marketing communication, sales promotion and other disciplines.

Given this diversity, Senior Interviews offer the most flexibility in assessment. Every student enrolled in the department’s capstone course, J4970 Strategic Campaigns, is asked to participate in a 20-minute interview with a working professional.

The Senior Interview is designed to assess the Advertising Department program. Some students may use this opportunity to practice interviewing skills, put in a plug for a job or ask for a critique of their book. Certainly the Senior Interview can provide these benefits. Ultimately, however, the focus is on the program.

Timing
Senior Interviews are conducted every fall and winter semester. We work with each interviewer to determine the best date(s) for his/her schedule. Senior interviewers within driving distance of Columbia will usually be on campus for one day. Those who travel from out-of-state usually conduct interviews for 1–2 days.

Senior Interviewers
The Ad Department selects alumni and other strategic communication professionals to participate in its Senior Assessment interview program. Every attempt is made to select representatives from different disciplines, job titles, ethnicities and gender, work settings, geographic locations and years of experience. This diversity provides valuable perspectives from all angles of the strategic communication industry.

It is important for the interviewer to differentiate between students’ likes/dislikes and the program’s strengths/shortcomings. For example, some students may not realize the value of some courses and activities until they have been out of the program for a year or so. Or, some students may have had different expectations than what the program actually was intended to deliver. Even in these instances, though, knowing this type of information might indicate we need to be more upfront about what our program covers and prepares students to do after graduation.

Interview Schedule
The Ad Department will work with each interviewer’s schedule. Most start at 8 or 9am, with new interviews taking place every 30 minutes until lunch. The afternoon schedule usually concludes between 4-5pm.

Interview Content
While every Senior Interview is different given the diverse career interests of advertising students, what the interviewer attempts to assess includes the following:

The student’s understanding of the role and function of strategic communication disciplines such as advertising, public relations, marketing communication, sales promotion, digital and others;
The student’s proficiency of the core competencies of strategic communication to include general principles and theories, research, writing, visual communication and the ability to think strategically;
The student’s ability to demonstrate an entry-level readiness in the student’s desired career area;
The student exhibits a variety of attributes critical to success to include professionalism, attitude, work ethic, common sense, the ability to use industry terms and vocabulary correctly and knowledge of current events; and
An overall assessment of the student and of how well the Ad program prepared him/her for a career in the field.

Assessor Report
Those who conduct senior interviews are asked to submit a report of their conversations within three weeks of the interviews.

The reports should be written from a group, not individual student perspective.
There is no set length; rather, the report should cover the findings of the interviewers. Most reports are in the 2-4 page range.
While there is no set format, the report should include the following:

Name of the interviewer and date(s) on campus.
Number of students interviewed.
Career interests of students. (For example: 3 interested in creative, 6 in management, 1 in research, 5 undecided.)
General impressions.
Program strengths.
Key concerns.
Interviewers’ perspective on findings.
Suggestions for improvement.
Resources we should tap to improve our program in any way. This could include people, materials, books, trade publications, site visits, guest speakers and the like.
Miscellaneous items not covered in another section.

The report can be e-mailed to the Ad Department administrative assistant: SharpK@missouri.edu.

Next Step
When all Senior Interviews have been conducted for the academic year, the department chair shares the findings with other Ad faculty. The department identifies how to use the information to improve the program and develops an action plan to implement these ideas. The department chair develops a report for the Provost and submits it by the deadline specified.