Where to start with our needs? PBA is a great small school with a lot of heart and a few eager students. Our challenges come from the top down.
First off, the president of the university doesn't really trust student publications (students want to cover things like campus crime, not one of his favorite topics.) So he's not thrilled about an online version of the student newspaper.
Second, the university's marketing dept has blocked our efforts to teach blogging, because they're pretty nervous about what students will say (too many controversial myspace pages.) No, I'm not joking, the marketing dept has weighed in on decisions affecting curriculum.
Third, our Tech Services Dept is very limited, and their philosophy is to keep a tight reign on things. Ports are shut for ftp, skype, video ichat, etc. Can't do any of it from campus. OK, I got my own ftp folder for my own use, after I hassled a vice president.
Like everyone, we could use more money and gear, and time to use it. We need to cooperate more with our broadcast dept, who doesn't really undestand how our video is different from theirs.
That's about it.
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Denise McGill
Asst. Prof. Visual Journalism
Palm Beach Atlantic University
LLG 456 (Gregory Hall)
DENISE_MCGILL@pba.edu
561-803-2618
