The Manship School of Mass Communication received a positive scorecard from an accreditation team that scrutinized the school throughout the week, Manship School Dean John Hamilton announced on Wednesday night.   Team members from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication found the school complied with all its standards for accreditation — a good indication the school will receive reaccreditation later this year.  The AEJMC requires accreditation evaluations every six years.”This accreditation team was the most demanding I’ve seen,” Hamilton said. “That makes this [positive report] doubly impressive.”But Hamilton was insistent the report was a draft — which doesn’t guarantee the school’s reaccreditation. A final report will arrive next month, and the AEJMC Accrediting Council will make a final decision on reaccreditation in April.  Hamilton said it’s unusual for the council to vote against the recommendation made in the report, but “things could happen,” he said.  “This was very welcome news,” said Joe Coussan, mass communication College Council president.  “I’m very proud of the student effort.”  The report highlights several strengths in the undergraduate program, like “an astute and effective dean” and “a mix of seasoned veteran professors and young professors, who appear collegial, student-oriented and productive researchers.” The report did find two weaknesses with the undergraduate program — a heavy expectation for new professors which could inhibit their pursuit toward tenure and “a curriculum that leaves little room for electives and may not serve all concentrations as effectively as it could.”  But Hamilton stressed the school remained in compliance with all AEJMC standards despite the weaknesses.Another part of the accreditation process involved meetings with students to field compliments or concerns with the Manship School.”Students praise the high expectations placed on them by faculty and the ‘real world’ experiences provided in the upper division courses,” the report said about a meeting with advertising students.  As with the strength and weakness summary, the student input in the report primarily reflected a positive attitude toward the school, though there were some complaints.”Students feel ‘behind’ in their knowledge of and ability to apply advertising principles to the digital world,” the report said.Hamilton said he is confident the school satisfies the two most important skills for mass communications students — to develop good writing and critical thinking — despite the complaints about the curriculum.Students will be able to view the final report when it comes out next month, Hamilton said.   –Contact Nate Monroe at [email protected]