CLEVELAND, Dec. 9 –– There are some great things happening with Media & Journalism Studies at Cuyahoga Community College in 2025. First off, Ohio University has approached Tri-C and has entered into a transfer agreement with us. The agreement means that students can begin studies for a journalism degree at Tri-C and seamlessly transfer after their fourth full semester with us to Ohio University in Athens. 

Ohio University has one of the nation’s top schools for the study of journalism and is one of only two colleges in Ohio to receive accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). [Kent State University is the other.] Tri-C has had some terrific students who’ve gone on to earn degrees from Ohio University and have terrific careers in fields such as public relations and journalism. One Tri-C/Ohio University graduate is working for a company in California you’ve probably heard of, Meta.

If you are interested in this transfer sequence and Ohio University, please let your academic advisor and me know. We can assist you with selecting courses which will help you successfully navigate your way to Ohio University. Here is the transfer sequence:

Of course, for almost 10 years we have had a transfer agreement in place with Cleveland State University (CSU) as well. I’m excited about that because CSU receives a plurality of Tri-C students transferring to a four-year college, and we have a track record of some excellent Tri-C graduates going on to earn degrees at CSU and land terrific jobs in the journalism or promotional communications. Here are two files explaining that transfer sequence:

Additionally, the Ohio Department of Higher Education has approved Tri-C offering a Certificate of Study to earn a certificate as a Social Media Influencer.  This is an interdisciplinary course of study which includes courses in Visual Communications, Marketing, Communication Studies, and MJS. If you take just six course (plus two English courses), you gain the Social Media Influencer certificate.

A “working draft” of a flyer explaining this is just below for you.

Each semester — for several years now — I receive phone calls from people in the public asking about how they can gain social media communication skills. We have a terrific course in this area, MJS 1320 (Social Media Communication) which we’ve offered for some time. But now, with the Certificate of Study, we can help lots of people achieve more. We’re also seeing more and more situations where employers are wanting to add social media communications responsibilities to an existing employee, offering them a greater salary for the additional work. With this certificate, we are letting both employers and employees know that there’s a speedy and effective way to gain the skills needed to become a top-class social media communicator.

Additionally, we have an aggressive line-up of courses in the Spring 2025 semester, including offering several “2000-level” or sophomore year classes. Screenwriting, Multimedia Journalism, Sports Reporting and Broadcasting, and Principles of Public Relations are some of these courses. Here is a link to a video which my colleague, Professor Bruno Tatalovic, has made about our Spring 2025 MJS courses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vK9-nIUaSs&t=69s

Not that some of these courses are offered only once a year. The sports and public relations courses are offered only once every two years. So, sign up right away if you are interested. If you think “I can wait” you might well miss out — unless you plan to wait until up to 2027.

Here’s the link to the college’s MJS program sheets:
https://www.tri-c.edu/programs/creative-arts/media-and-journalism-studies/index.html

Finally: With many thanks to Rebecca Temerario, Manager of Social Media and Interactive Marketing at Tri-C, glad to share with you her “Generation Z Writes the Marketing Script” video, featuring me. Rebecca deserves a lot of credit for the script and for somehow making me look half-decent as well. Take a look, share on your social media feeds, and let me know what you think!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/495355320201391

John Kerezy, MJS program coordinator
john.kerezy@tri-c.edu or 216-987-5040
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