U48 Comm 203 Writing for Business Communication

Effective and appropriate written communication skills are a distinct advantage to any employee and an essential requirement for today's manager. In this course we will take a creative and active approach to increasing your knowledge of communications principles and formats as well as your ability to express yourself in a variety of written forms, including memos, proposals, presentations and reports. Communications strategy, and the importance of how the message, medium and an understanding of the audience all relate to affect communications outcomes, will also be reviewed. Prerequisite: one college-level course in English composition.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 204 Writing for Survival

The focus of this course is clarity of expression in written documents and verbal exchanges, with an emphasis on effective communication in the workplace. Students will study and practice writing business letters, memorandums, proposals, reports, press releases, and speeches. Additionally we develop and deliver presentations using adaptive learning technology. Using writing and presentation skills acquired in the course, students will propose and develop a nonprofit organization, focusing on a strategic communications strategy for this new organization.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 211 Introduction to Journalism

This course provides an overview of hands-on journalism skills with an emphasis on clear, accurate, and persuasive writing. Students will learn how to get the story, conduct interviews, report the story, and proofread their work. We will study and practice the art of pursuing a story, digging up and verifying facts, sorting fact from opinion, and uncovering information using principles of fairness, truth, and accuracy. As the format for news distribution varies and changes regularly, the course prepares students to use all platforms, including newspaper, television, radio, Facebook, Twitter, social media, citizen journalism, blogs, and all other formats.
Same as U49 JRN 211

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLH

U48 Comm 2111 Introduction to Public Speaking

Public Speaking is an essential skill for success in a student's professional career and in public life. This class is geared for students to succeed. The focus of this class is to develop each student's innate ability and the confidence necessary to speak effectively in public. The presentation skills we will work on are: structuring an effective speech, writing to be heard and not read, and using the voice and body successfully. Students will present an introductory speech, an informative speech and a persuasive speech.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 211M Introduction to Public Speaking

This course is the online version of U48 2111. Public speaking is an essential skill for success in a student's professional career and in public life. This online version is particularly geared toward virtual public speaking and presentation. The focus of this course is to develop each student's ability as well as the confidence necessary to speak effectively in public. Students will learn to structure an effective and ethical speech, write to be heard and not read, use the voice and imagination successfully, and look and sound professional in a virtual meeting or job interview. Students will present a special occasion speech, an informative speech, and a persuasive speech.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 218 Website Design and Development

This course covers website development using the three methods that have been used since web design first began: hand-coding HTML using a text editor; building webpages using a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver; and using the most modern method, a Content Management System that separates design from content while making it easy for nontechnical users to update a site. We will cover design principles, Cascading Style Sheets, server-side vs. client-side technologies, web browsers, and web servers. We will conclude the course with a brief overview of the future of web development: XHTML and XML.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 234 Foundations of Communications

Foundations of Communication is designed to help you be a more effective communicator by examining the principles and contexts of human communication. It introduces fundamental elements (including self-awareness, perception, listening and responding, and verbal and nonverbal messages) and models of communication, basic communication theory, interpersonal communication, small group communication, and public speaking, with an emphasis on a practical application at each level. Students will learn the skills and techniques essential to effective communication and will be expected to demonstrate those in each communication context throughout the semester.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 260 Marketing Communications

An introduction to advertising, public relations, and promotions and how they influence communications, journalism, and mass media. Students explore each of the "three sisters" of marketing and how they are used to build integrated marketing programs. Specific tools, including special events, direct mail, sponsorship, and press materials, will be discussed. In addition, the class will examine current and memorable marketing campaigns, view new technologies, and learn techniques and trends from professionals in the marketing field.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLH

U48 Comm 262 Integrated Strategic Communications

Strategic communication programs enable organizations to accomplish business goals by building and maintaining trusted relationships with their most important communities. A strategic communication plan includes clear and measurable objectives, is based on positioning that clearly differentiates the organization, and takes advantage of appropriate and effective tactics. This course provides an overview of all aspects of strategic communication and how they relate to each other in corporate, agency and not-for-profit environments. It covers the critical concepts needed to manage diverse communication disciplines — including marketing, branding, advertising, public relations, promotions, graphic design, traditional and new media. This course provides the foundation in theory and practice required by today's business executives and professional communicators to create and manage successful programs, using all available strategic communication techniques.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 282 Fundamentals of Public Affairs: Messaging Strategies, Public Policy and Advocacy

This course examines the relationships between the public and influential institutions, especially different levels of government and media communication networks. Students also study how changes in communications and media, including the internet, print, and social media, have influenced the field of public affairs. Related course topics include lobbying, publishing, and entertainment, their interface with political, economic, and social issues, and their influence on the work of public affairs professionals. We also will analyze how changes in the media impact international communication, and how these influence our understanding of other cultures, regions, and countries.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 300 Independent Study in Communications

Credit variable, maximum 4 units.

U48 Comm 305 Market Research and Communications Strategies

This course provides an overview of market research techniques with an emphasis on planning for communications campaigns. The course provides a hands-on look at several popular market research techniques used in supporting communications, such as focus groups and phone surveys. No previous knowledge of statistics is necessary. Recent case studies are used to illustrate how research results have influenced communications campaigns.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 306 Digital and Content Marketing

Students in this course will learn how to incorporate a strategic digital marketing plan into broader marketing strategies in best practices organizations. Studying how content marketing converts interested buyers into customers, we will learn and practice the four E's of content marketing — educate, engage, encourage, and embrace repeat customers — and study essential digital marketing skills and practices such as inbound marketing and website search engine optimization (SEO). We also look closely at successful email marketing strategies and how they optimize the website conversion funnel, all along learning and using reliable data analytical tools such as Google analytics. Students will be able to connect and fully understand the relationship between a company website, marketing strategy, current and prospective customers, and an effective inbound marketing program.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 308 Making the Cut: Editing Digital Video

This course introduces students to video editing: reducing hours of recorded video to compelling moments and creatively weaving together the best parts to attract and hold viewers. Students will use supplied video material to learn how to guide the viewer's attention, build suspense, and inform the audience. We will also learn tricks to fix common mistakes made in the field and explore higher-level production methods (e.g., color correction, picture-in-a-picture technique) to achieve a professional look. By the end of the course, students will be proficient in making simple edits to create the equivalent of a basic short narrated video package or promotional video. Students will also learn to improve their videography skills by seeing what works in the editing suite.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLH

U48 Comm 3090 Social Media for Public Relations

This class introduces students to the various ways social media may be used in the practice of public relations and marketing. We use the traditional steps of research, strategy, and measurement and apply them to online campaigns. We learn about various emerging social media technologies--including blogs, wikis, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn--and how they have changed the world of PR and marketing.

Credit 1 unit. UColl: OLH, OLI

U48 Comm 313 Communications Technology & the Law in the Digital Age

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 316 Sports, Media and Society

This course is aimed at preparing journalists for the challenge of covering contemporary sports in America, but it is not a class about sportswriting so much as a class about the issues sportswriters — and intelligent sports fans — need to understand. We will take a critical look at a number of sports-related issues and study the role of the media in the multibillion dollar industry that is big-time spectator sports. Discussion also of the roles sports serve in modern American culture.
Same as U49 JRN 316

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 318 Advanced Website Design and Development

This course focuses on one of the most important parts of Web development: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which allow developers to set the formatting and positioning of content in webpages. We will cover topics such as CSS selectors, media-specific styles, animation, navigation, layouts with Flexbox and Grid, and lightboxes. We will also take an in-depth look responsive web design via Bootstrap and other frameworks. Prerequisites: U48 Comm 218 or instructor permission.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 3240 Intercultural Communication

This course is designed to further students' sensibility toward cultural variables and to cultivate their practical skills in managing cultural diversity in everyday life and business. Our interrogation focuses on how cultural variables affect the thought, behavior, value systems, the transmission and interpretation of messages, and characteristics of interpersonal and cross-cultural communication. We learn key concepts in this field (verbal and non-verbal communication, individualism and collectivism, stereotypes and ethnocentrism, etc.) and issues of particular concern in the current world (inter-ethnic/racial relations, and intercultural communication in classrooms, medical care, and international business, etc.).
Same as U43 IS 324

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U48 Comm 326 Blogs to Wikis: Building Community in a Virtual Environment

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 328 Online Journalism

The internet continues to have a major impact on the practice of journalism. All major newspapers now maintain web sites; journalists routinely use the worldwide web for research and communication purposes, including interviews; many newspapers maintain themselves online as information portals; and the web itself has given birth to a wid variety of online journals, magazines, and newsletters. Some have said that the internet is "democratizing" journalism, in that a major capital investment is no longer necessary to participate in the journalism marketplace. This course will examine the rapidly developing state of online journalism, including how traditional print newspapers and news magazines are utilizing the worldwide web; "webzines" and other online publications; how online journalism differs from print and broadcast journalism in style, technique and content; and how the web both simplifies and complicates journalistic research.
Same as U49 JRN 328

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 330 Photojournalism

This course introduces students to the tools, techniques, and concepts of visual journalism; the mechanics of photography and its uses as a language of communication. Students develop an awareness of visual literacy and establish a point of view through shooting assignments. The benchmark for success is understanding concepts, not photographic expertise. No darkroom work. Access to a digital or film camera and a flash is recommended. Cell phone cameras are acceptable.
Same as U49 JRN 330

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLH, OLI

U48 Comm 331 Technical Writing

For those whose professions require them to present complex information precisely, logically, and efficiently. Examination of the audiences for technical writing and effective methods of organizing information to meet their needs. Variety of formats: letters, memos, trip reports, progress reports, proposals, and informal reports. Prerequisite: U11 203 or 203M.
Same as U11 EComp 331

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 3411 Technology for Managers: Tools and Strategies

This course is designed for managers involved in making business decisions involving technology. Students are expected to know how to use a computer, but this course is not a hands-on tutorial. Instead, we will discuss a range of issues focusing around modern technologies used by businesses around the world. Topics include networking, communications, open source software, content management systems, computer based training, web services, website usability, wireless, productivity tools, and more.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 3451 Effective Editing

Today's communicators don't just write, they also must edit their work for posting on a website or publishing in print. Learn about editing, including the basics of professional-grade grammar, punctuation and style usage. Most editing today involves not just copyediting, however. Communicators must know how to spot sexist and racist language, poor organization and imprecise sentences. This class will help students edit others' work, and, most importantly, their own.
Same as U49 JRN 345

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 350 Public Relations Principles and Practices

This course provides an overview of public relations and its social media and online components. We will consider theoretical and practical applications of communications with various publics: media, employees, consumers, the community, and shareholders.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLH, OLI

U48 Comm 372 Crisis Communications

Both profit and nonprofit organizations are increasingly embroiled in controversies and crises. Consequently, demands are growing for public relations practitioners to help restore an organization's good name and reputation, along with its financial stability. In learning to construct, implement and evaluate a crisis communication plan, students will research and analyze an organizational crisis, identify the communication demands of various audiences affected by a crisis, and develop strategies and communication tools for managing a crisis.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 374 Communications That Work

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 378 Communications Technology and New Media

This course explores concepts, production, design, publications, strategies and practical applications of interactive media. The course focuses on emerging topics and technologies to help students develop strategies for addressing and resolving both basic and complex issues associated with interactive media. Case studies will be introduced to examine a range of interactive media topics including photography, blogging, videography, ethics and social media marketing.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 381 The Business of Communications

This course presents the business side of journalism and media organizations, from publication and creation of content to day-to-day operations. Students will study business practices and procedures of all types of media organizations, with emphasis on sales and marketing, product distribution, production, and audience identification and engagement. We also will learn to develop publications and products which speak to readers and viewers.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U48 Comm 383 Politics of Encryption: Snowden, Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment

In 2013 Edward Snowden disclosed the existence and extent of worldwide government surveillance, leading to important debates about encryption, surveillance, and control. This course uses the implications of Snowden's revelations as a takeoff point to explore the politics of encryption. Topics include encryption and secure communications, the use of encryption by terrorists and criminals, United States and international laws concerning encryption, and the clash between businesses like Apple and U.S. intelligence agencies.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 385 Digital Communications Analytics

For the last quarter century, organizations, companies and brands have entered into an increasingly evolving world of digital communications, offering unbridled opportunities to reach and engage their key stakeholder audiences. This course delves deep into how to uncover and utilize data analytics and their related insights to better understand, plan and optimize communications within digital channels and platforms. It goes into detail on how the digital ecosystem has evolved and is still evolving due to technological advances, regulatory actions, and other cultural impacts. It explores how to use digital data to better understand audiences and their behavior as well as for specific marketing and communications objectives, such as launching a new product and planning for a crisis.

Credit 3 units.

U48 Comm 400 Independent Study

Credit variable, maximum 3 units.

U48 Comm 4160 Communications Ethics and the Law

In this course, we will analyze principles that influence ethical judgment in the newsroom, the public relations firm, and the broader communications business. We will look at historical foundations of ethical thought in communications, study laws governing mass communications, and examine tools and strategies for ethical judgment in the field. We will also consider how one's personal ethical framework influences judgment, and we will use case studies to analyze ethical questions associated with social responsibility, commercial speech vs. political speech, and censorship.

Credit 3 units. UColl: ML, OLI

U48 Comm 453 Internship in Public Relations and Advertising

Credit variable, maximum 3 units.