Will UNT's Mayborn School of Journalism Be Downgraded?

We live in an age when facts can be interpreted as opinion and vice versa. Information and disinformation are easier than ever to dispense thanks to the rapid cycle of the internet and social media circles.

That's why we have journalists. That's why we need journalists.

The University of North Texas' Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism is a nationally accredited program that offers the only master's degree program in journalism in the state. Now it's in danger of being downgraded from a school to a department.

The UNT student newspaper North Texas Daily (NTD) discovered a proposal drafted by the executive dean's office of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) that would restructure the entire CLASS program, effectively demoting the Mayborn School. Faculty members in the journalism school received the proposal in mid-September.

The proposal would transform CLASS into three schools, named "Green," "White" and "Eagles." The Mayborn School would be lumped into the "School of Green" as a department alongside media arts, broadcasting, communications, dance & theater, and game design, according to the NTD report.

"It would be a department under a school," says Randy Loftis, the faculty advisor for the NTD student newspaper. "It would no longer be a semi-autonomous school."

The proposal has not been put into effect. Loftis says a three-person committee, composed of associate professor Suzanne Enck, chair of communication studies; Jean Schaake, CLASS associate dean of academic affairs; and James Mueller, associate dean of the Mayborn School, will conduct research on the effects of the proposed school design in the fall. They'll compile a report for CLASS Executive Dean Dr. Albert Bimper Jr. and the dean will then consult with UNT Provost Michael McPherson before making a final decision.

"We don't have any indication what that's gonna be," Loftis says.

UNT's journalism school could lose more than just the name of the Mayborn family, whose company owns Texas newspapers such as the Temple Daily Telegram and the Killeen Daily Herald. It could lose a key component of its reputation.

"In the world of journalism education, most programs that really have a good, national reputation are schools of journalism or communications," Loftis says. "What we're worried about is it might signal a de-emphasis on journalism itself during a time when the nation desperately needs great journalists."

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) conducts a thorough audit of journalism schools and programs across the country, and the Mayborn School is one of the 119 accredited schools on ACEJMC's list.

"There's not many accredited master's programs in journalism, and ours is," Loftis says. "Going from a school to a department doesn't necessarily cost you your accreditation, but the autonomy of the school is one of the things they look at."

Students of the journalism school are also concerned how it could affect the perceived value of their degrees if its accreditation changes under the new proposed plan.

"One of the [students'] concerns is preserving the value of their diploma and what it might mean for future recruiting," Loftis says.

The CLASS executive dean's office hasn't released any further details since the NTD broke its story on the restructuring proposal. The chart outlining CLASS's new structure was originally distributed only to faculty members. Attempts were made to reach Bimper for comment, but he told NTD, “Nothing is determined as I mentioned — nothing is decided upon.”

"As journalists, we're always concerned about transparency and there doesn't appear to be a level of transparency that would make us all feel comfortable," Loftis says.