Reaccreditation members vist Gaylord Monday

Five members of an journalism accrediting organization will be visiting OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication next week to talk to students about their experience at the college and consider whether it deserves reaccreditation, a process that occurs once every six years.

The first meeting Monday, Feb. 16, will be with all Gaylord students and the Tuesday meeting will be divided by major. The members of the American Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) will be grading the college in nine categories, the most important of which, according to Gaylord Dean Joe Foote, who is the longest-serving member of ACEJMC at 13 years, is a college's curriculum.

Foote said for a university like OU, reaccreditation isn't a necessity as it is at a smaller college, but it can be a way to gain national recognition. "We're trying to lift our standards through (this evaluation)," said Foote, who added that he was at a similar evaluation last week at Arkansas State University.

Currently, about 108 universities are accredited, Foote said, and the ACEJMC Council will make its decision regarding OU in late April.