COMM11110 - Introduction to Public Relations

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In Introduction to Public Relations, you will demystify public relations practice and investigate the strong future of the PR industry by exploring the wide range of careers available to you. As the core unit for students studying a PR major, you will engage with the fundamental concepts and key theories which underpin the discipline. You will consider ethical public relations practice through the investigation of real case studies. You will also apply your knowledge by creating and pitching your own authentic public relations campaign.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2023

Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Presentation 20%
2. Case Study 35%
3. Report 45%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 77.78% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 27.27% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student Satisfaction Survey
Feedback
The unit content would benefit from being continually updated, including more recent case studies
Recommendation
Continue to monitor and update learning material, including contemporary case studies.
Action Taken
The unit content was updated throughout the term as necessary, including contemporary case studies.
Source: Student Satisfaction Survey
Feedback
Students found teaching staff to be approachable and willing to help
Recommendation
Continue to provide an excellent level of support to students.
Action Taken
Teaching staff continued to provide an excellent level of support to students.
Source: Teaching Staff Evaluation
Feedback
Unit content needs to have clearer relevance for students not planning careers in the communication and media industry
Recommendation
Expand content to better express the value of public relations skills outside the communication and media discipline
Action Taken
Content was expanded to better express the value of public relations skills to non-communication disciplines, however this is an ongoing effort.
Source: Student Evaluation Survey
Feedback
Students considered assessment feedback was timely, specific and useful for enhancing their understanding.
Recommendation
Teaching staff will continue to focus on providing students with timely feedback which students can use to expand their knowledge of the unit topic and academic skills.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Evaluation Survey
Feedback
Students saw opportunities for unit content to be more tailored to their individual career interests and discipline areas.
Recommendation
Enhance unit content to demonstrate the applicability of public relations skills in a wide range of disciplines.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Define and situate public relations in contemporary society
  2. Apply ethical reasoning, standards and codes of practice through case study analysis
  3. Explain the elements of a public relations campaign using real-world examples
  4. Pitch and develop an authentic public relations campaign
  5. Identify methods of evaluation used within a public relations context.

Not applicable

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Presentation •
2 - Case Study • •
3 - Report • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice • • • •
9 - Social Innovation •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Presentation • • • • •
2 - Case Study • • • • • •
3 - Report • • • • • • • •