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Working Party to review IF94 Graduate Certificate in

Advertising, IF96 Master of Advertising (Strategic
Advertising) and IX96 Master of Advertising
(Creative Advertising)

Working Party Members

Associate Professor Terry Flew, Head of Media and Communications, Creative

Industries Faculty (Chair)
Dr. Gayle Kerr, Senior Lecturer, School of Advertising, Marketing and Public
Relations, Faculty of Business
Professor Stephen Towers, Director of Academic Programs, Creative Industries
Faculty
Associate Professor Michael Docherty, Head of Communication Design, Creative
Industries Faculty.

Background

In 2004, QUT commenced offering a revised postgraduate program in Advertising,

which included a new study area in Creative Advertising. This involved a new
Graduate Certificate in Advertising (IF94) jointly taught by the Faculties of Business
and Creative Industries, and the option for students enrolling in the Graduate Diploma
or Masters courses of choosing a Study Area in Strategic Advertising or Creative
Advertising.

The area of Strategic Advertising would focus upon the key areas of consumer
behaviour, advertising management and planning, media strategy, and market and
audience research, while the area of Creative Advertising would focus upon
copywriting and art direction, creative concept development, production management,
and portfolio development.

In 2004, the two faculties agreed to discontinue the Graduate Diploma, and to
constitute two degrees: IF96 Master of Advertising (Strategic Advertising), and IX96
(Creative Advertising). While both Faculties offer required and elective units into
these respective degrees, administrative responsibility for IF96 resides with the
Faculty of Business, and IX96 with the Creative Industries Faculty.

In the course documentation that accompanied the initial approval of these programs
in 2003, it was noted that ‘these courses would be subject to review in 2005’.

Terms of Reference

The following are proposed as issues for consideration by this Working Party:
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1. Determining whether the respective courses (IF94, IF96, IX96) have

demonstrated sufficient student demand to warrant their continuation;
2. Determining whether the distinction between Strategic Advertising and
Creative Advertising is sufficiently understood by prospective students, and by
the sector itself, so that both IF96 and IX96 meet distinctive needs in the
advertising industry;
3. Establishing the success of the new courses in meeting the demands of the
industry through student employment outcomes;
4. Determining how well the cross-Faculty administrative and content sharing
arrangements are working;
5. Identifying whether the courses draw sufficiently upon the range of expertise
and resources (human, technical, production) available in both Faculties;
6. Determining the degree of student satisfaction with the new courses, both in
an overall sense, and at the level of individual units;
7. Identifying future staffing needs, and where courses are best administered into
the future.

In all of these areas, it is important that the Working Party identify opportunities for
improvement, and recommendations that will support such outcomes.

Review Process

In undertaking its enquiries, it is proposed that the Working Party seek information
and input from:

• Academic staff, including both those involved in the courses and others with
an interest in the area;
• Technical and professional staff with an interest in the area;
• Current students;
• Recent graduates;
• Representatives of the advertising and related industries.

This will be undertaken in the following ways:

• Call for submissions based on the Terms of Reference;

• Interviews and focus groups with relevant stakeholders identified above;
• Gathering of relevant quantitative data (enrolments, attrition rates, graduate
outcomes, CEQ data, SET and SEU data, break-even financial analysis).

Members of the Working Party will meet again in November to discuss the findings
from this Review Process, and to prepare a Draft Final Report to be presented to
relevant Committees in the Faculty of Business and the Creative Industries Faculty. A
Final Report will be completed in early December, with recommendations to be
implemented from 2006.