Accreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) is a mark of quality for journalism and mass communications programs and assures students and their parents that they are receiving the highest-quality education that prepares them for their careers.

As part of this process, which occurs every six years, CJC identified its key strengths, including:

Quality of students

Student talent was evident, in part, in the number of student awards received in the past several years.

Quality of instruction

The College offers more than 50 skills courses and all departments offer students multiple specialization tracks that allow them to hone their skills in areas they are most passionate about. In addition, three CJC faculty members have been named UF Teacher of the Year in the past five years.

Immersion opportunities

CJC provides students with state-of-the-art venues and guidance from seasoned professionals to hone their career skills. Students also gain experience in student-organization-based opportunities, including the Elevate advertising agency, Alpha public relations agency, Atrium magazine and ChomPics film production.

Research productivity

CJC scholars have demonstrated a consistent increase in productivity. For example, in 2023, faculty peer-reviewed articles appeared in 111 journals, compared to 68 in 2017. During the review period, faculty were published in 224 journals and presented more than 700 research papers across major academic conferences, with 94 top-paper awards.

State support

The College has directly benefited from the Florida Legislature’s strong financial support of the University over the past several years. In 2023–2024 alone, CJC received nearly $400,000 in one-time funds from the President’s Office and $1.7 million in recurring funds for discretionary spending. CJC also received $720,000 in recurring funds to support its own strategic initiatives.

Career preparation and placement

The launching of the College’s Office of Careers and Corporate Partnerships in 2020, funded in part by a generous alumni donation, has allowed CJC to provide enhanced career preparation and placement opportunities. In 2023–2024, 49% of students were offered employment at the time of graduation vs. 38% in 2019–2020.

Commitment to community

To recruit students from different backgrounds and experiences, the College developed a program targeting community colleges in underserved communities. CJC revamped its faculty and staff recruitment process to ensure a balanced pool of candidates and an equitable evaluation process. It also developed a variety of new professional development and leadership programs.

There are areas that we will continue to improve on, including limited space for growth, better interdisciplinary integration and greater diversity of backgrounds and identities among our faculty, staff and students.