Cal State Fullerton will be introducing a new year-long public relations capstone course in the next academic year.
The class, COMM 424, will give students the opportunity to develop a campaign and compete with 75 campuses across the United States through the Bateman Case Study Competition — a new national student competition from the Public Relations Student Society of America.
During the fall semester, a client is announced. Then each competitor builds a research campaign on said client in order to understand their strengths and weaknesses, while also considering the target audience the organization is seeking to reach.
In spring, teams made up of four to six students will present their campaigns locally until February. After all teams have gone through the judging process, three will be selected to present their campaign directly to the client.
Enrollment in only one semester is necessary to complete the capstone requirement, but students need to be enrolled for two semesters to participate in the competition.
According to Ken Hagihara, a professor at CSUF and the faculty advisor for PRSSA, the university has participated in the competition twice in the past 10 years, receiving an honorary mention in 2021 for fourth place.
He explains that a small number of PRSSA students voluntarily created a campaign from September through March, balancing their other responsibilities and competition planning.
“That’s a lot to ask from students who also have their course loads, internships, jobs and personal lives to balance,” Hagihara wrote in an email to the Daily Titan. “Creating a capstone course that teaches them strategic public relations planning and enables them to learn experientially through a national competition, gives them experience and course credit.”
Those interested in taking this course must have completed the prerequisite courses, Principles and Ethics of Public Relations and Public Relations Writing, and must have at least junior standing.
To participate as a Bateman team, students must be registered with PRSSA in the fall. Those who are assigned to a four to six member team must be available for the development of the campaign in the fall, and the competition in the spring.
If a student is not yet registered with the CSUF PRSSA chapter and nationals, their membership will be paid by the campus chapter.
Hagihara explained that some universities already have courses solely dedicated to the Bateman Case Study Competition, such as University of Nevada Reno, Lee University and Missouri State.
CSUF offers two other capstones available for public relation students, Public Relations Management (COMM 464) and Student Agency (COMM 474) which is available for advertising and entertainment & tourism students as well.
According to Hagihara, both classes also incorporate a real-life scenario campaign project, where students are required to create a “research-based” strategic communications campaign, while also evaluating what a client in the “real-world” would need. The new class incorporates the same learning objectives, but through the Bateman competition.
“This is the first time we’ve offered the course, but as long as we achieve the minimum enrollment for the class, I would anticipate that this will be available every year and will become one of the most popular capstone courses,” Hagihara said. “This course has the potential to raise awareness of the quality of our college, especially our public relations program, at the national level among public relations professionals and global brands alike.”