Changes to Massey journalism degree sparks confusion

Changes to the Bachelor of Communication Journalism major's compulsory papers has sparked another series of portal issues and confusion among students.

Massey University has changed the degree outline for its Bachelor of Communication Journalism major, making changes to which papers are compulsory and available.

Under the current system four papers were compulsory with six additional optional papers to choose from. Under the new system there are six compulsory papers, only one of which was previously compulsory.

This has resulted in changes to the previous courses that journalism students could choose from.

The compulsory paper Editing and Publishing is now only available via distance, and previous optional courses Freelancing & Feature Writing and Investigative Reporting are no longer being offered.

Head of the School of Journalism, James Hollings said changes needed to be made in order to make sure the major was giving students the skills necessary to find future jobs in journalism.

On the back of these changes, issues have now arised on the Massey Portal system. Old papers remain as part of the degree outline and new courses cannot be selected as options by existing students.

Hollings said current students “can and should” take the new course options.

“Due to a software issue, some students may not be able to see the correct, new courses available for the journalism major or minor. We are endeavouring to get this fixed asap,” said Hollings.

Current students told Massive Magazine they had not been informed of changes made to the major or how to complete their degree. One student said Student Central informed them they had to continue the previous course structure.

First year Bachelor of Communications student Rachel Le Roux said she noticed how the structure of the course was different on the Massey website than on her enrolment form.

"[It] was very confusing as I didn’t get any information sent to me telling me if my course would be affected by the changes."

Massey University Corporate Communications Director James Gardiner said it was not a problem with the portal, rather a delay in providing advice.

"[This is] regretted and will remedied as soon as possible.”

Hollings said any students having difficulty enrolling in the courses they want should contact their Academic Advisor, Heather Liu by email at, H.Liu4@massey.ac.nz.