Waikato achieves international gold standard for PR

15 July 2016
For immediate release

Waikato achieves international gold standard for public relations

The University of Waikato’s Management Communication department has cemented its leading position as the only school in Australasia certified by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) – a global organisation that sets the gold standard for excellence in public relations education.

Waikato is one of just 37 universities in the world – and one of only five outside the United States – to be awarded PRSA certification, the Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR), which it achieved for the first time in 2009.

The Public Relations Society of America is the world’s largest organisation for public relations professionals, with more than 22,000 members and 10,000 affiliated students.

PRSA certification is a voluntary accreditation programme that recognises the outstanding quality of Waikato Management School’s public relations programme, in terms of teaching, practical student experiences and academic research. The School’s Management Communication department goes through a re-certification review process by the PRSA Educational Affairs committee every six years.

“We’re very proud of this result.” says Professor Juliet Roper, chairperson of the Management Communication Department. “We are recognised as the only management school in the southern hemisphere to carry both PRSA certification and Triple Crown Accreditation.”

“The PRSA certification says Waikato’s Bachelor of Communication Studies degree meets international standards and our graduates are ready to take a job anywhere in the world. Indeed, many of their graduates hold high-level positions in the United Nations, UNICEF, Boston Consulting Group, and Amazon, as well as in New Zealand companies such as Air New Zealand, Vodafone, Trustpower, Porter Novelli, Pursuit PR, Tourism New Zealand, and local councils.”

The CEPR review process usually takes about a year. Former PRSA President Judy Phair and Professor Doug Swanson of California State University, visited the University for three days in May to evaluate the department and interview students, alumni, employers of interns and graduates, as well as public relations practitioners and academics.

They concluded that the Waikato public relations programme "has grown in depth, diversity and reputation since initial certification in 2009. It has a strong research-teaching balance and active engagement with the profession."

The review team quoted employers of Waikato communications graduates, praising them as “excellent…first class… high quality”. Students cited the programme’s strength in developing writing skills and praised the enthusiasm of their instructors.

Dr Margalit Toledano, senior lecturer in management communication says: “We had to meet eight quality standards, related to areas such as our teaching curriculum, the faculty, facilities, workplace-based internships, and the opportunities that students are given to interact with practising public relations professionals.”

“Our teaching is well informed by current research but also very practice oriented and students to organise campaigns and events for real clients”.

Professor Roper says research-led teaching is a high priority for Waikato’s Management Communication department, which has won six of the country’s prestigious Marsden research grants. The department has built a strong international profile for its expertise in areas such as corporate social responsibility, health communication and literacy, and New Zealand’s global environmental branding.

For more information see www.prssa.org/about/Certification

Background notes:
• The University of Waikato is ranked within the world’s top 150 universities for Communications & Media Studies in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2016.Professor David McKie and Professor Debashish Munshi’s book Reconfiguring Public Relations: Ecology, Equity, and Enterprise (Routledge) won the PRIDE Award for the Outstanding Book of the Year in XXX, awarded by the NCA’s Public Relations Division.
• Professor Juliet Roper co-edited The Debate over Corporate Social Responsibility (Oxford University Press) won the Book of the Year Award (edited category) of the NCA’s Organizational Communication Division in XX.
• Professor Debashish Munshi’s co-edited Handbook of Communication Ethics won the Book of the Year Award (edited category) of the NCA’s Communication Ethics Division in XX.
• Professor John Oetzel is the consultant on a US-funded project looking at the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS services in New Mexico State
• Professor John Oetzel and Dr. Mary Simpson were researchers on a Health Research Council/Ministry of Health project investigating Maori health literacy and communication in palliative care (2011-2012).
• Professor Debashish Munshi won a prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Grant to organise an international symposium on climate change held in Italy in July 2015.
• Dr Margalit Toledano was inducted to the PRSA College of Fellows in 2007 and to the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) in 2012. Dr. Toledano won the PRSA Top Faculty Paper Award in 2013.

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