In the Fall of 2016 the Office of Student Media underwent a departmental program review to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs and services we offer the university community. Below are the recommendations and progress updates from our review.
HUMAN RESOURCES |
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| Personnel funding: Division of Student Life provide enough additional financial resources above the $300,000 already allocated to fully fund all professional staff salaries and benefits. | Completed |
| Front office: The accounting specialist position, now considered a temporary position, be made a permanent, full-time position fully funded by the division. | Completed |
| Advertising: Consider redefining the job of the assistant director/advertising to include ad sales. | Completed |
STUDENT STAFF DEVELOPMENT |
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| News App: Provide a Daily Beacon news app that sends breaking news push notifications. | Completed |
| Advisory Panel: Panel would offer advice to the director and professional staff concerning the best way for the department to prepare students for jobs | |
| Training: A fund should be created for coverage and training-related travel by students. | In progress |
| Collaboration: Explore the possibility of working more closely with WUTK, TVC and TNJN | In progress |
FINANCIAL RESOURCES |
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| Distribution: Study the Daily Beacon’s distribution strategy and develop ways to counteract poor pick-up rates. | Completed |
| Rates: Examine the existing advertising rate structure to align rates with value. | Completed |
| Revenue streams: Develop additional revenue streams to offset the loss of print advertising revenue – specifically graphic design. | Completed |
| Alumni: Launch an alumni development program to cultivate support and networking among UT student media alumni. | In progress |
FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT |
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| Computer equipment: The Office of Student Media should adopt a plan that places all computer equipment on a replacement cycle of three to five years. The computers should be replaced incrementally each year with funds from the university’s technology fee. | Completed |
| Software: A move to Adobe Creative Could software should be completed. A review of all print and digital production software should be undertaken now and periodically to ensure that the software is up to date and industry standard. | Completed |
| Software: Select one software system that handles all ad insertions, classifieds, manifests, page layout and billing/invoicing. | Completed |
| Facilities: Consider finding a different space to house the Student Media operation that improves visibility and is more conducive to collaboration. | |
| Equipment: Funding should be allocated for additional equipment purchases, especially for photo. The department needs to build an inventory of visual production equipment and software. | Completed |
OTHER |
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| Publisher: Revise governing documents of the department to establish the identity of the publisher. | In progress |
| Print Frequency: Reduce the print frequency of the Daily Beacon from five days per week. | Completed |
| Phoenix: Seek an additional revenue source to cover the printing and operational costs | Completed |