Late Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

If you find you cannot submit your assignment on time, please apply for Special Consideration through AskMQ. Make sure you read Macquarie University's policy regarding Special Consideration requests before you apply: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Additional information

For unit assessment requirements and standards for this unit, please refer to the Assessment Policy (Schedule 1): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment

To achieve the full benefit of learning in this unit towards successful completion of assessment tasks, it is crucial to engage with the lectures, read the set readings, and actively participate in the tutorials. The tutorials will be heavily focused on discussing important knowledge and understandings of the industry introduced in the lectures, workshopping ideas, working through scenarios, and developing projects that will form the basis of your assessments, as well as practicing important related skills relevant to a career in public relations and social media.

Lectures and Tutorials MMCC2100 consists of a 1-hour live lecture (online) and a 1-hour tutorial (online or on-campus depending on tutorial, check timetable). Lectures begin in Week 1, while tutorials begin in Week 2. 

Students are expected to engage in the lecture (live or recorded), read the assigned readings, and engage with any set tutorial/workshop tasks prior to their tutorial to ensure they are prepared for class discussions and activities. All details will be provided on ilearn and/or in the lectures.

Audio-Visual Materials 

Audio-visual materials including recorded lectures, lecture slides, tutorial materials and online readings will be available via iLearn.

Readings 

All required readings will be available electronically and linked to the weekly topics in Leganto/ilearn. It is recommended that you start with the set textbook first where listed and move on to other readings to assist with your assessment tasks if you have more time. A weekly reading guide will be available on ilearn.

Textbook

The following book is the set texbook for this unit:

Sutherland, K., Ali, S. and Khattab, U. (2019) Public Relations and Strategic Communication. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. 

The chapters in the book form the weekly readings for most weeks. Knowledge of content from both the lectures and this book will provide a solid basis for the assessment tasks and may be referenced in assessments along with any other readings relevant to your specific project or case study. 

The textbook will be available via ilearn/Leganto/the library as an e-book. As a limited number of students will be able to access the book at any one time, it is highly recommended that students purchase their own copy in case they are unable to access the library copies when needed.

If you are relying on the library copies please download relevant chapters early (there will be a download limit based on copyright restrictions) or read online (if you have reached the download limit) and log off ASAP to give everyone an opportunity.

If you'd like to purchase your own e-book you can get 20% off the e-book by using the code SAVE20 at the checkout: 

https://www.oup.com.au/books/higher-education/media,-journalism-and-public-relations/9780190304614-public-relations-and-strategic-communication-ebook?id_op=rQl9OuV-3o90

If you would like to purchase the book in print, you may try the following distributers.

Booktopia

Amazon

Technology required

You are expected to access iLearn: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/ at least once a week before your tutorial and keep up-to-date with lectures, announcements and new materials. You are also advised to check your student emails regularly for ilearn and unit updates. You should be able to access relevant scholarly and professional information from the library online and from broader online, media and social media sources.

You will be required to create a video capturing face-to-camera as well as slides. The suggested platforms for recording this assessment are Zoom, Echo360, or PowerPoint. If you have any issues with access to technology, please consult with the unit convenor or your tutor as soon as possible. You are advised to test out technology in the first week of the unit (don't wait until the week your assignment is due). If you have any technical difficulties please contact onehelp@mq.edu.au for assistance.

PR FOUNDATIONS, ETHICS AND CRISIS COMMUNICATION

Week 1:  Introduction to PR and the Unit

Week 2:  History of PR, PR Ethics and Key PR Theories

Week 3:  Key Concepts and Best Practice Principles in PR: Organisation, Agency, Publics, Reputation, Relationships, Channels, Objectives, Messages

Week 4:  Issue and Crisis Communications: Theories and Cases

MEDIA RELATIONS

Week 5:  Earned/Media Relations Strategies: How to engage with journalists

Week 6:  Technology in PR: AI and Media Release Writing (Assessment 1 – Part A: Media Relations Strategy Video Due 30%)

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Week 7: Social Media, Owned Media and Earned Media in a Crisis

Week 8: Review / Crisis Simulation (Assessment 1 - Part B: Media Release/Reflection on AI Due 30%)

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

PROACTIVE CHANGE CAMPAIGNS

Week 9:  Community, NGO and Activist PR

Week 10: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)                  

Week 11: Government PR

Week 12: PR Research, Analysis and Essay Writing Skills

Week 13: No class (Assessment 2 - Essay Due 40%)