Resource and Academic Development and Integration On Campus May ’14 – ’15 — $30,000
With the money for this project, CIVL was able to hire a full time staff member, (RADIO Campus Officer) former SUS President and long time executive, as well as one of CIVL’s longest running volunteers, Jay Mitchell, responsible for researching, soliciting interest in, and running projects that students can accomplish for class credit as part of active UFV sections, while contributing to CIVL’s operational and functional goals.
Jay developed a proposal document to present to the VP Academic’s office, and Vice Provost Dr. Peter Geller, which then prompted the office to forward a memo to all UFV Department Heads and Deans, encouraging them to work with CIVL to achieve this program’s goals if they see fit, and authorizing students’ activities for CIVL being awarded course credit where the courses objectives according to UFV’s Institutional Learning Outcomes are met.
Over the summer, as a pilot project, three sessions of Think Fun Philosophy Camp students from the ages of 5-10 were welcomed to a tour of CIVL, shown cursorily how the microphone and recording equipment worked, read a children’s book together focusing on a theme encompassing philosophical ideas such as moral relativity, aesthetics, etc, and had a recorded discussion about the story in the studio as a group.
In the first semester of full initiation of the program, two classes engaged in the project for course credit.
1) Media and Communications Studies (MACS) 130 — Under Revision, Augmentations Being Made
Students mimicked the structure of a CIVL Radio Demo Tape, found here in order to produce thematic content of their design for intended broadcast. Approximately 30 students visited CIVL, conducted a training session with the RADIO Campus Officer in order to be oriented to the technical operations of CIVL studios, and was tasked with preparing and recording a passable demo under supervision, in groups of two or three.
2) Kinesiology (KPE 360) Health and Wellness — Ongoing, 4 semesters running
Students were tasked with doing research for 1 minute’s worth of scripting focused on providing CIVL listeners with information intended to help them stay healthy and keep well. In groups of two, approximately 30 students booked time with the RADIO Campus Officer to record their scripts for inclusion into CIVL’s PSA bank, so that CIVL listeners are constantly hearing about healthy tips from 3rd year UFV Kinesiology students!
3) Music History (MUSC 150) — Ongoing, 1 semester annually, 3 years running
In groups of 3 or 4, students booked time to do a technical training in CIVL’s on air studios, and worked together to research, write, read and record scripts and playlists that focused on a specific decade of music in the 20th century to feature, and eventually go to air.
4) Communications/Journalism Introduction to Broadcast (CMNS/JRNL 301) — Ongoing
In groups of 2 or 3, students signed up to take a technical training session with the RADIO Campus Officer, and to brainstorm what kinds of projects they would like to work on. Some hosted morning shows, one group assisted with broadcast board operation, interviews, and score updates for Campus Athletics during a live UFV basketball team broadcast, and other similar functions. One student, working alone, developed a brand new CIVL Jingle that now airs regularly on the station!
5) Communications Practicum — 2nd #CIVLBattle Round, 4th CMNS Practicum Round
Communications Practicum student Timo Franke coordinated CIVL’s 3rd Battle event, the #CIVLUFVBattle! This took place in U-House, featured 10 performers made up of UFV bands and artists, with winners playing the Abbtosford Arts Council’s Arty Awards, the Envision Concert in the Park at Mill Lake, and receiving free recording of a full length record.
6) High School Co-op — Ongoing, 3 overall high school co-ops have been completed at CIVL thus far.
Turner Gentry spent his co-op term researching, writing, and recording community events and promo listings on a weekly basis.
7) Communications/Journalism Journalism Writing (CMNS/JRNL 300) — Ongoing
In groups of two, a different pair of students received the CIVL news writing guidelines in advance, and were instructed to book time to visit the station with the station manager in order to edit, record, and produce a 2-3 minute news update each week, full of stories relevant to the following week. Two students participated in a UFV Cascades basketball project as in the previous semester.
8) Business Research Methods — (BUS 320) — 1 Research Survey Conducted
One group of 4 did research through on campus surveys of students, looking into their feelings on CIVL, developing a survey intended to gather feedback on students’ opinions and knowledge about CIVL, helping to identify ways forward. Significant findings indicated that 70% of students want more opportunities to hear the station on campus in various ways, and most suggest additional promotion of the station is necessary.
9) Applied Business Technology Practicum (ABT) — February 22nd 3 wk Pilot Begins
The Applied Business Technology program provides students with a 3 week full time administrative business placement. In this case, the student will be responsible for collating policy documents, assisting policy committee with the draft board manual preparation, taking minutes and preparation for the upcoming CIVL AGM, development of new electronic documents revolving around Program Reviews, Volunteer Intake, and Policy housekeeping/Board of Directors coordination.
10) Introduction to Journalism in Canada (JRNL/MACS 235) — 1st Semester Winter 2016
From the course outline:
Instead of one of the assignments or the student-led activity, create an audio production, 7- to 10-minutes long, for CIVL Radio. The alternative project is due by April 12, but you can hand it in sooner. I hope that ultimately you will submit your project to The Cascade or CIVL Radio, as the case may be. In fact, with regard to CIVL, Station Manager Aaron Levy would prefer it if the projects were produced with airplay in mind.
With regard to the audio project, Mr. Levy would especially welcome contributions to Cascade Check, a program dedicated to sports at UFV, broadcast once a week during the winter and fall semesters.
You can listen to podcasts of the show at http://civl.ca/podcast-single/?show=Cascade Check. However, Mr. Levy writes that there are many other options:
Weekly events listings, hourly news updates, a series of long-term promotional messages for non-profit initiatives, campus engagement messages, UFV Hold Line content, live UFV Cascades Basketball sports broadcasts, or coverage of inequality, pride, feminist, immigrant, senior, disability issues. Our studios are open for students to use for these projects if they are able to book them in advance with me, and I’ll make myself available to support their work after I take them through basic CIVL training in order to make sure they can get started on their own and have the ability to complete the projects as desired.
11) Library Technology Sciences (LIBT 265 Practicum Project) — 1st Semester Winter 2016
Initiative: Station Library Database & Interface Development
Department: Library and Information Technology
Course:LIBT 265: Practicum Project
Course Outcomes Satisfied:
1. Acquisitions
2. Cataloguing and Indexing
3. Selection
9. Technology Skills
10. Workplace Skills
Description of Project, Duties and Reporting Structure:
LIBT 265 presents the opportunity for a student to work as a part of CIVL’s Music Department, under direction and supervision of the Station Manage, to develop an internal music media library databasing system for use at 101.7FM CIVL Radio, as well as populating the server with catalogued content from CIVL’s physical libraries. As the station grows, so does our media library. Practicum students would bring CIVL’s volunteer programmer database access in line with a well documented library platform that stores item specific catalogue information, including but not limited to the artist, album title, song name, release date, label of release, type of media, and library number. This system would be adopted for permanent use by CIVL, providing a user friendly interface and simple operation instructions.
This project requires the student to undertake and/or direct the following operations:
1. Implementation of access at CIVL to Library Technology Sector standard cataloguing database system which has the capacity to house cross referenced information relating to the contents CIVL’s physical and digital music library.
2. Conversion of the cataloguing information currently applied to items included in CIVL’s physical and digital libraries, such that they are in line with the platform utilized as implementation of #1 above.
3. Selection and decision making in regards to what categories of vinyl records (approx. 5,000 are physically housed, uncatalogued and unorganized in the CIVL studios currently) will be converted into digital audio files to be housed on the CIVL music servers.
4. Coordination with UFV faculty, CIVL staff and volunteers, in order to ensure maximal accessibility/functionality of the contents and usage of the above mentioned platform
5. Coordination of volunteers in order to make more efficient the potentially 8001250 hours that would be required for one individual to simply catalogue the CIVL physical vinyl library, in addition to the over 2650 titles currently preliminarily catalogued in our physical and digital CD library.
Training Provided:
CIVL requires/offers three general training modules to all of it’s volunteers and staff, depending on their role and objectives within the organization. These include:
A) General orientation regarding the function, structure, history, and distinct roles of Campus/Community Radio and CIVL in Canada and the Fraser Valley, respectively. This provides the practicum student with a complete background of who we are, what we do, and how this project will fit in to CIVL providing the service we do, and why it’s so important for us to do so better all the time.
B) Programming Orientation regarding rules, rights, responsibilities, and comprehensive requirements of on air programming, such that the value of having improved cataloguing service, and opportunities to provide added functionality where appropriate or possible, are illuminated and discussed for better understanding of the impact of this project on the wider volunteer base. Included here is information regarding CIVL’s Standard Operating Policies in regards to Harassment, Abuse and Discrimination, as well as CRTC legislation, Industry Canada requirements, and more.
C) Technical Orientation, in the case of the LIBT Practicum Student, will not be mandatory unless the student engages in the process of digitizing the audio contents of physical vinyl records at the station (as decided by the MD and LIBT Faculty head), or if they otherwise desire to engage in on air programming outside of the scope of their practicum commitments. The student will be trained on the basic function and purpose of CIVL’s current Microsoft Excel based music database, in order to understand and experience the library’s function from the perspective of a volunteer.
Sustainable Impact:
This project is intended to, at the very least, get the ball rolling on rejuvinating the CIVL music library.
While there is far more work than one practicum student could accomplish in one semester, the implementation of a new format for CIVL volunteers and staff to search through our music library would greatly impact their ability to produce higher quality radio content, and encourage more effective involvement with the station on a long term basis. The project could not feasibly be completed within a year without significant increase in the volunteer involvement within CIVL’s music department, but this initiative is the best way to encourage and grow that engagement from within CIVL’s current volunteer base, as well as our UFV student members!
Co-op Placement; Program Manager
Today, CIVL has established a permanent, full time component to the RADIO Campus Project:
Every 1-3 semesters, CIVL hires a student enrolled in UFV’s Co-operative education program through the Career Centre, and this student becomes CIVL’s full time Program Manager for the duration of their co-op placement, administering, training and executing radio and volunteer coordination operations.
