Students will work together, in teams, to complete a public relations campaign for a real client. As these are real clients, there are real consequences attached to the campaign. Full details of the campaign will be provided in Week 2, and students will be expected to commence implementation of the campaign immediately. The due date is dependent on the campaign, but will generally be within the final few weeks of term. Generally, the campaign will be budget neutral (no budget will be allocated for strategies). Students will need to consider types of strategies that can be implemented with no budget.

At the beginning of Week 2, the campaign choices will be posted. Team allocations will occur in Week 3. Details of this process are available on Moodle. By the end of Week 3 it is expected that the team will have arranged meeting times and provide a client contact person. Team members are likely to consist of Distance students, so meetings will need to be organised through a virtual platform (examples will be provided on Moodle), and students will need to communicate regularly as part of the process. How students communicate with team members, and when, will be up to the team, but all students are expected to maintain regular contact. The Moodle site will be updated regularly and students are expected to to maintain regular contact with teaching staff.

Students' ability to complete the campaign and evaluate it will be assessed in Assessment 2, which will be a group submission. This assessment, Assessment 1, is a draft public relations plan about the proposed campaign and requires students to consider their own contribution, and that of other team members. This is a pass/fail assessment. The team must pass this assessment in order to continue with the campaign.

There are three parts to this assessment:

1. A word document using the same headings as set out in Assessment 2, with dot points outlining the proposed way forward for the team. This is a planning document to help the team think through the required elements of the campaign. Some aspects of the campaign may change during implementation. (Don't forget to consider how the campaign will be evaluated once completed.) There is no word count as it will depend on the nature of the campaign - but aim for about 2000 words. This document may then form the draft of the final written document in Assessment 2.
2. A timeline of tasks (in the form of a GANTT chart). This must set out tasks of individual team members AS WELL AS a proposed timeline for implementation of the strategies and tactics in the campaign.
3. An oral presentation provided to the Unit Coordinator or tutor, where the document and timeline will be presented. Students will discuss the project with the Course Coordinator or tutor during this meeting. The presentation can take place at any time after the allocation of the project, but must be completed prior to the end of Week 5. Groups are responsible for arranging the meeting time with the Unit Coordinator or tutor. On-campus students may use tutorial times. Distance students are encouraged to schedule the meeting during the Unit Coordinator's set contact hours.

A pass grade means that the group has been given permission to implement the campaign, and the team can commence implementation immediately.

A fail grade means that the Unit Coordinator or tutor deems the project unsuitable or unachievable. Teams will have one opportunity to resubmit the plan. A pass grade must be achieved in Assessment 1 to pass the unit overall.

Once approval to proceed is given, the written document may be provided to the client, if the client requests it.

This is a pass/fail assessment. The document and GANTT chart must be submitted and the presentation must be successfully undertaken in order for the team to be given permission to implement the campaign. A pass grade must be achieved in Assessment 1 to pass the unit overall.

Students will implement the campaign from Assessment 1.

Students are required to complete a report and evaluation of the campaign. This is the report that will be provided to the client, which explains what the public relations project set out to do, and what was ultimately achieved.

This is a formal written report in the form of a public relations campaign report (using the same format as completed in COMM11110 Introduction to Public Relations) which will include the situation analysis, campaign goal, objectives, strategies, tactics, target publics, key messages and evaluation.

The following headings can be used as a guide:

• Introduction - broad outline of the campaign.
• Situation analysis - explain the need for the campaign, background to the organisation/client.
• Goal - achievable and relevant goal identified. (One goal only.)
• Objectives - realistic and measurable. (Up to two or three objectives.)
• Target publics - including justification of why publics were selected.
• Strategies - no more than three per objective; ensure strategies are achievable and creative; appropriate to target publics; and budget neutral.
• Tactics - explains implementation of strategies.
• Logistics of implementation - includes consideration of budgetary constraints, timeline, ethical issues. Explains any issues as a result of implementation.
• Evaluation - considered in terms of goal and objectives.

Presentation:

• Report to be written to be presented to the client at the conclusion of the campaign
• Report format with headings
• Double line spacing
• Professional presentation
• Word document
• Graphs and/or photos can be included but total file size cannot exceed 100MB.

There is no word count. One team member will submit the final report on behalf of the team.

It is up to the individual team members to negotiate how the final report will be written. Teams may choose to allocate different sections to each team member, or the team may allocate one member to write the report and each team member provides the relevant content to that member. It is strongly recommended that one team member be the coordinator of the final document.

Students will be assessed on the quality of the written report, and the quality of the evaluation. The report is a professional report and will be provided to the client upon completion of the campaign.

Please note: a project that does not achieve the campaign objectives will not necessarily result in a fail grade. If the objectives are not achieved, the reasons why they were not achieved will form part of the evaluation.

A marking matrix is available on Moodle.

Students will be assessed on the quality of the written report, and the quality of the evaluation. The report is a professional report and will be provided to the client.

Please note: a project that does not achieve the objectives will not necessarily result in a fail grade. If the objectives are not achieved, the reasons why they were not achieved will form part of the evaluation.

The assessment will consist of:

1. Reflective Journal (25%): Students are required to keep a record each week of what has been done, contribution to the team effort, and to the campaign as a whole. The weekly entries can include details such as:

• What did you do this week that contributed to the overall success of the project? Are you doing what you should? Can you do better? In what way?
• Is what you are currently doing challenging you in any way? In what way?
• How do you feel about your time-management skills? Can you do better? Why?
• What is puzzling about what you are doing at the present time? How do you intend to resolve this?
• What connections are evident between what you are doing, reading/viewing and the campaign?
• What are you learning about yourself from what you are reading/viewing/studying/doing? (Your own values, attitudes and beliefs.)

There is no word count for the journal. The journal can be completed as a word document or as a blog. Students must complete a minimum of seven journal entries, commencing in Week 3. Students are marked on the quality of the writing and the depth of academic reflection about the learning experience of the project. Journal entries that reflect on the lessons learned during the campaign will receive a higher grade than entries that simply list tasks performed from week to week.

2. Self and peer assessment (25%): In Week 11 students will be provided a link to an online survey via email. Students will grade themselves using the set criteria, and then grade each of their fellow team members using the same criteria. In order to be fairly graded by fellow team members, students will need to let team members know exactly what has been done during the campaign. If student work performance is poor, or communication skills are poor, the peer review mark will reflect this. This survey must be completed prior to the due date, when it will close.

The Unit Coordinator will allocate a grade based on a combination of the reflective journal, the self-assessment and the peer review mark allocated by fellow team members.

A detailed marking rubric is available on Moodle.

In relation to the journal, students will be assessed on the quality of their writing, the nature of the reflection of their own performance and that of the other team members, and the manner in which individual challenges were addressed.

Students will use the self assessment tool to grade their own performance against a number of criteria relating to team work (such as reliability, contribution to the team and communication).

Students will use the peer assessment tool to grade fellow team members against the same team work criteria.