Proposals & Projects

Each proposal must include the student's qualifications including classes and experience which qualify that student as capable of producing the work as well as a detailed description and justification of the project. Refer to specific information below regarding proposals for different types of projects.

Proposals must be approved by all communication faculty before work begins.

The instructor will gladly share examples of good proposals from past projects.

Include clear statements about how this project/paper demonstrates the competencies related to the goals and learning outcomes of EC's communication major.

In choosing a project, be sure to consider questions like these:

	how accessible are the people and equipment needed? what will be the backup plan when someone or something falls through?
	is this financially affordable for a student's budget (tapes, film, automobile fuel, long distance phone calls, etc.)?
	will this require time beyond the required 100 hours for the course?

Projects are considered prototypes rather than a final product. Clients need to understand we are not giving them a ready-to-use product but rather a prototype from which they can modify, develop and produce their own product. The project belongs to the college; however, the college may choose to give the project to the client or make similar arrangements for use. It may be used by the student as part of a portfolio. The client nor the student may distribute it for profit or commercial benefit.

Based on the above point, the student still must justify the project to the client in terms of budgetary costs and benefits. It is not enough to have the technical ability to produce something. One needs to be able to demonstrate how similar projects have worked in other environments, and outline costs and projected benefits of such a product to the organization.

Other information to describe in the proposal includes what the need is, how will the project meet the need or improve what might already available, how will the project meet the goals and objectives of EC's communications program listed in the college catalog, what project have other colleges/organizations done which are similar to this project; will this have a newsletter, newspaper or magazine look? Be as specific as possible. Justification may certainly include an annotated bibliography as well as interviews with credible sources who are knowledgeable in this area of communication.

Examples of Types of Projects

Graphic Design

	Completion of cm211 desktop publishing and cm214 graphic design; cm212 photojournalism workshop and cm205 media writing would also be very helpful.
	Students must use Adobe InDesign (no exceptions), which is the desktop publishing software used in cm211 and available on lab computers.
	The publication will conform to the 12-page, letter-size, three-column format or equivalent based on approval from the instructor.
	Although students may include articles and photos/graphic which are not their original creations, these are limited. At least 50 percent the articles and 25 percent of the photos/graphics must be original to the student designer. Permission must be obtained in writing for anything not originally created by the student, and it must be credited in the publication.
	Students are required to include at least 20 photos/graphics with cutlines for each; all articles and photos/graphics must contain bylines or credit lines; the software's stylebox and table of contents feature must be used properly.
	A detailed grade sheet, which includes technical details, is available from the desktop instructor.
	Other Abobe software, such as PhotoShop, is available on lab computers; a scanner and digital still camera are available through the department.
	The project will be graded electronically and in hard copy.
	Before the final presentation to the communication faculty, a 3-5 page written narrative of the project must be submitted to all communication faculty.
	In addition to the 3-5 pages, be sure to include any copyright clearances and annotated bibliographies, which should contain no less than 10 entries demonstrating the student's research of the project.
	The final presentation to communication faculty requires one hard copy of the project per instructor and one electronic copy on the network (the InDesign file and a PDF version). The electronic version will be displayed on the big screen computer monitor in the classroom during the presentation.

Video Project

	Completion of all three video production classes (cm208, cm304, cm308) in sequence; cm217 and cm213 are also helpful.
	Write a script using correct video format, specify single-camera or multi-camera setups, and make storyboards coinciding with the script. After revisions and rewrites are completed, a final script must be approved by the supervising communication faculty member.
	Schedule/reserve video equipment per department policies.
	Direct the crew and call all shots if a crew is needed to help shoot projects.
	Shooting should start by mid-February at the latest. Students should budget four weeks to shoot projects and three weeks to edit projects.
	After completing field production, the supervising communication faculty member must review the footage to discuss strengths and weaknesses before editing begins. The project student should 1) edit a rough cut for approval, 2) edit a fine cut for approval, 3) output it to DVD and upload to the Web (see video instructor for more details).
	The finished video project should run between five minutes (minimum) and 15 minutes (maximum). In consultation with the students, the communication faculty will set the length as part of the approval process for the proposal.

Public Relations Project

	Completion of cm320 public relations, cm205 writing for media, cm211 desktop publishing or department approval; cm215 journalism workshop and cm470 photojournalism are recommended.
	Students must use Adobe PageMaker, the desktop publishing software used in cm211 and available on lab computers, to complete any layouts contained in the project.
	Submit a three-page proposal justifying the project: what is the need, how will this project meet the need or improve what might already available, how will the project meet the goals and objectives of EC's communications program listed in the college catalog, what project have other colleges/organizations done which are similar to this project; have all printed materials been listed and describe in detail? The justification may certainly include an annotated bibliography as well as interviews with credible sources who are knowledgeable in this area of communication.
	Clear identify the problem or need which prompts the need for this pr project. Be sure to identify all publics affected.
	Describe the goals and objectives of the project.
	Describe in detail the monitoring and evaluation process to measure success and effectiveness.
	Use on of the following problem-solving strategies to outline this project: RACE, ROPE or Broom & Dozier's 10 steps.
	Although students may include articles and photos/graphic which are not their original creations, these are limited. At least 50 percent the articles and 25 percent of the photos/graphics must be original to the student designer. Permission must be obtained in writing for anything not originally created by the student.
	Abobe Photoshop software is available on lab computers; a scanner, digital still camera and color printer are available by appointment with the desktop instructor.
	The project will be graded both electronically and in hard copy.
	The final presentation to communication faculty requires one hard copy per instructor and the electronic version displayed on the big screen computer monitor.

Research Paper

Submit a three-page proposal justifying the project: what is the need, how will the project meet the need or improve what might already available, how will the project meet the goals and objectives of EC's communications program listed in the college catalog, what project have other colleges/organizations done which are similar to this project? The justification must include interviews with credible sources who are knowledgeable in this area of communication as well as an annotated bibliography.

The length of the paper is 50 pages and should conform to either APA or MLA style.

See the course syllabus for more details.

Purchase the required text for the class:

Rubin, R.B, Rubin, A.M., & Piele, L.J. (2000). Communication Research: Strategies and Sources (5th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

"This text presents strategies for selecting, refining, and researching communication topics, placing special emphasis on using library resources to search for literature and demystifying the research process by teaching students library skills, scholarly writing, and acquainting them with the latest research technology tools" (http://www.communication.wadsworth.com/rubin).

The following text is recommended but not required:

Reinard, John C. (2001). Introduction to Communication Research (3rd ed). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.