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Case Study:

IUP Communications Media

Annual/Periodic Reports on the Department or Organization:

All annual reports for IUP's College of Education and Communications can be viewed here.

*This report was edited and distributed for the 2018-2019 school year, and is current as of 2:06 p.m. EST, August 5, 2020

List of Services the Department/Organization offers to internal and

external clients:

IUP's Department of Communications Media reaches out to community businesses and offers volunteer services for producing human interest stories that will air on IUP-TV. In addition, businesses around Indiana County reach out to the department for services to help produce training and safety videos, special event packages and any other non-commercialized videos or media packages.

Organizations and projects that the department has worked on in the past:

100th Anniversary of the Indiana Regional Medical Center
Training videos for IndiGo Bus Lines
Videos for local apartment complexes
Projects for the Governor's office
Middle States Accredidation
Recording an album for a faculty member - Eastern Standard, and working with IUP's Department of Music both in and out of semesters.
Restoration of Cogswell Hall's organ
Sutton Hall art project video
Episodes for The Swoop - A departmental organization that focuses on profiles, human interest stories and on-campus promotions.

Brochures and/or Other Printed Materials that present the corporate image of the site:

"As a professional and theoretical emphasis area of higher learning, the Department of Communications Media of IUP is committed to the creation, preservation, expansion, and transmission of knowledge,"

- IUP Communications Media mission statement

IUP's Department of Communications Media's website is edited and updated by the department's faculty, staff, students and interns.

The website highlights different services the department offers for students, both of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral standing. It breaks down all volunteer opportunities that are offered throughout the department with photos showing students getting a hands-on learning experience.

The department also packages productions of The Swoop on its YouTube channel as shown above. The link to the channel is below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ2TA8eH0yAebqOJIM9ZVwg

Price List of Services and Fees

Most work is done in forms of class exercises:

Some work is contractual
IRMC offers donations to the department for projects
Videos for apartment complexes are charged on a unit basis.

The department has a "rule of thumb for charging":

For non-profit purposes: do not charge.
For profit: Account for whether we go to them or if they come to us.

All pricing is determined through the department's Center for Media Production and Research (CMPR), not through IUP-TV, WIUP-FM or any other departmental organization.

Description of the Site's Marketing Strategy:

IUP's Department of Communications Media does not explicitly advertise their services, and it is normally discovered through word of mouth. One major reason is that universities are contacted regularly in helping accomplishing tasks.
- Example: IUP has a current agreement with a local GED ceremony to supply photographers to cover it. It has been a long-standing agreement between the two institutions for multiple years.
The department is not seen by businesses as a commercialized media company, but rather a resource that is found through the community.
Lastly, they produce content for their own department.
- IUP-TV programs - students film, edit and produce shows.
- Live IUP sports coverage - students assemble equipment and produce live streams of IUP athletic events.
- WIUP-FM shows - students plan and air original radio programming.

Job Descriptions of Who I Worked With:

Dr. Mark Piwinsky - Faculty, IUP-TV/WIUP-FM Internship Supervisor

Dr. Piwinsky acts as the main liaison between the students involved within the internship and the university itself. He met with students every Monday and Thursday during the internship period to gauge where interns stood with projects, how different groups resolved conflicts and to update interns of any potential opportunities IUP has for students to participate in.

In addition, Dr. Piwinsky communicated with other faculty supervisors within IUP's Communications Media department to gauge progress on interns, and to see who would fit in different areas within the internship.

Source: IUP Communications Media web page - accessed August 5th, 2020.

Sarah Everett - Site Supervisor - IUP-TV/WIUP-FM Internship

Sarah was the day-to-day operations manager for the internship. She kept records for when students clocked in and out for daily operations, resolved conflicts, both technical and personal, and oversaw production for Public Pictures Theater and, occasionally, podcasts. Lastly, she met with interns every Monday and Thursday for progress reports, any issues interns had and project planning for the fall.

Sarah will begin working within the department as a teaching associate in the Fall 2020 semester.

Source: IUP Communications Media web page - accessed August 5th, 2020.

Marques Ross (picture not available) - Site Supervisor - IUP-TV/WIUP-FM Internship

Marques oversaw day-to-day operations for the Audio Theater group during the internship. He not only made sure scripts and production elements were completed in an efficient manner, but he was also tasked with editing all audio theater productions as part of his internship experience.

Interns with whom I worked closely with:

Sean Mellor - Public Pictures Theater, Audio Theater and Podcasting

Gram Drumgoole - Public Pictures Theater, Podcasting

Patricia Pinson - Public Pictures Theater, Audio Theater

Tristan West - Public Pictures Theater, Audio Theater

A copy of their resumes can be downloaded on the right.

A Description of the Professional Development Strategy of Your Internship Site Supervisor including a list of professional readings and organization memberships

Dr. Piwinsky constantly reads articles that come to his email. Those articles include:

Articles regarding new technology in the communications field.
New information on the media production industry.

He also gives students a chance to learn and develop by giving them opportunities to get hands-on experience with this internship. He helps facilitate the transitions of going from a student to a professional. He achieves this goal by encouraging students to:

Hone their skills by practicing ones they already possess and by gaining new ones as they go.
Get into the professional mentality by turning the IUP-TV/WIUP-FM internship into a 10-6 p.m. workday with regularly scheduled meetings, checking in with groups to gauge the efficiency rate and by putting students into groups based off their prior experiences and their interests.

Description of how the site budget is monitored and recorded:

The site budget goes through the IUP Center for Media Production and Research. All budgetary needs are funneled through here.

Departmental organizations, such as IUP-TV and WIUP-FM, sends out labor and other physical needs to take care of the production.

Description of Who Assigns Personnel to Projects and How They Are Evaluated:

Personnel:

Everyone fills out an interest sheet during the application process. If an intern is accepted, they will be assigned to their top pick on the first day, and will be evaluated for other projects as the internship progresses.
Groups are always changing, and the progress of interns within a certain group determines where they are progressing efficiently.

Evaluations:

When you are making positive contributions and showing dedication to the internship, you will get more tasks assigned to you.
All supervisors look for interns who emerge as leaders and take charge on projects.
1. Ex. interns who volunteer for extra work and work more hours than needed to get things done.

How is assignment production time monitored for various projects:

There is always a plan of action in place for monitoring production time. During the course of the internship, we had three ways of recording hours spent working:

On The Clock - a timesheet mobile application.
- Unable to use halfway through due to an expired subscription.
Emailing hour totals - We would email Sarah Everett every Saturday the total amount of hours worked every week.
- Stopped using after two weeks due to interns forgetting to email hours.
Microsoft Excel sheets
- Used throughout the remainder of the internship.
- Wrote down hours worked, what we worked on and how many tasks we did.

One major focus during the internship was to be flexible and understanding when things went wrong.

Copies of or Descriptions of Forms or Other Systems Used to Make Assignments and Maintain Quality Control:

For incoming and prospective interns:
- Go through the application process.
- Consistently inquire about grades (grades meaning your skill sets and putting them to work.)
- Strive to get recommendations from professors and those you work closely with.
  - Always remember to keep a positive reputation, as it is key in the professional world.
  - Have a minimum of three references from professors/employers.
- Push your digital portfolio in an interview and while employed.
- Always show potential, talent and a willingness to work.
For Projects:
- Encourage reviews as often as possible. You can only learn from what others tell you.
  - Getting as many eyes on a project not only increases feedback, but increases ideas for tackling projects.
  - Dr. Piwinsky always told us interns:
    "Nitpick them to death."

Not Applicable Items: Advertisements for products offered by the site. No advertisements are used since they are either voluntary projects or the department is sought out by local businesses.