Crafting a new PR curriculum

Each year, thousands of graduates from accredited PR programs enter the workforce. There’s nothing like on-the-job experience to teach the nuances and de riguer tasks that go along with being a PR pro, but according to both PR educators and veterans, we could be doing a better job.

How do we fill the gaps to help newbies create a solid skill set? PR Daily canvassed professionals who teach and/or work with today’s graduates for their opinion.

1. Critical thinking: This is huge issue, according to educator and PR practitioner Lisa Brock, president of Brock Communications in Tampa, Fla. “Students must learn how to problem-solve and think through a problem. I see it in my practice, my classroom and via colleagues who are continually saying, “Send me someone who can figure out how to Google before they run into my office asking how to address a mayor in writing.”

2. Social media courses: Seems counterintuitive doesn’t it? Today’s students are probably the most attuned to the digital world, yet the fundamentals on how to work within the genre are in short supply.