Journalism program to be temporarily suspended by U of R

The University of Regina (U of R) is temporarily suspending its journalism program as the school looks to address a shortage of professors and students.

The U of R will take a year off to determine how to revive interest in the program.

Many current journalism students could see the writing on the wall.

“We could see it all turning. We had our head of the J School change in our first year there, with professors coming in and out. This year our lab for our writing class got dropped. You know there was just signs throughout the past year of what was to come,” fourth-year student Braeden Wozniak said.

The Journalism School was down to two professors with anticipated enrolment for next fall in the single digits.

“We are pausing admissions because we are really down to a skeleton staff and we want to free up their time to be able to really change the curriculum and the programming,” Shannon Dea, Faculty of Arts Dean said.

The decision is creating challenges for those wanting to take a class.

“I’m old enough to read the newspaper and watch television and I tell my friends I’ll be the last subscriber of the paper version of the Regina Leader Post but many people don’t do that and there’s certainly an undercurrent in society that denigrates the main stream media,” student Nigel Salway said.

Just over 20 students now in the journalism program will be able to complete their studies and graduate, although class choices may be limited.

“I was able to switch out the advanced broadcast class for an advanced print but I will really just miss the learning opportunity that it would have provided me with and is something that could impact my career,” fourth-year student Hannah Polk said.

A pause to enrolment may cause uncertainty for students wanting to enter a journalism program. The University of Regina said its journalism program will continue with improvements made to better prepare students for a career in the profession.