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Spring Session of APR Online Course begins January 28

Jan 9, 2020 | APR, Member, Professional development

The next session of the APR online course begins with an Orientation on Jan. 28 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. This course is invaluable to help you prepare for the APR exam.

Participants in this course are PR and communications professionals from all over the country. Facilitators are senior PR professionals who hold the APR designation as well as senior level positions at private and public organizations across the U.S. They often speak from experience to the various topics at hand.

The course is supported by a Study Guide as well as several textbooks. Over the course of 13 weeks, you will delve into the 10 modules, or chapters, covered in this course. Chapters include: Public Relations: A Management Function, Applying Ethics and Law, Communication Models and Theories, Managing Issues and Crisis Communications, Leading the PR Function, Managing Relationships, and, of course, Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (RPIE), the 4-step process that is at the heart of all successful public relations campaigns

During the final week of the course, you’ll have a chance to discuss your ideas for a Communications Plan utilizing RPIE. This information will be especially helpful in preparing your individual Panel Presentation, which must be presented and approved before you can take the APR exam.

The course is very convenient; it will be held completely online for one hour each week during the evening from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. The PRSA member price is $195 (group discounts are available), and participants may take this course up to three times a year – in the spring, summer, and fall.

For more information on the APR online course, click here,

For the Spring 2020 course schedule or to enroll, click here.

 

PRSA Maryland Announces Four New APRs

Dec 16, 2019 | APR, Member, Professional development

Photo caption: PRSA Maryland Chapter Accreditation Manager Dianna Fornaro, M.A., APR (center) with Janice Smith, Ph. D., APR (left), and David Marshall, Ph.D., APR, at BIM19 in Dec. 2019. (Not pictured: Christine Frey, APR and Kelly Stoll, APR.)

PRSA Maryland is proud to announce our chapter’s four newest APRs! The four were first announced at our Best in Maryland (BIM) Awards Gala on December 4.

The APR is our profession’s only national post-graduate certificate program. It demonstrates a PR practitioner’s or educator’s commitment to the highest standards of the profession, to ethical conduct, and to professional excellence.

Unlike the credentials required for competence in many other professions, the accreditation process for PR professionals is voluntary, Consequently, the APR credential is held by very few today. Currently, only 19% of PRSA members are accredited, according to PRSA National.

PRSA Maryland Chapter’s four newest APRs are:

Christine Frey, APR
Senior Corporate Communications & Patient Education Manager
American Urological Association

David Marshall, Ph.D., APR
Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Strategic Communication
Morgan State University

Janice Smith, Ph.D., APR
Asst. Professor & Director of The Strategy Shop, Morgan’s in-house PR agency
Morgan State University

Kelly Stoll, APR
Senior Strategic Communications Specialist
AECOM

Congratulations to all of them!

Congratulations to our Chapter’s newest APRs!

Sep 4, 2019 | APR, Member, Professional development

Congratulations to the Maryland Chapter’s newest APRs – Christine Frey, APR, Senior Corporate Communications & Patient Education Manager at American Urological Association, and Janice Smith, Ph.D., APR, Assistant Professor in Morgan University’s Dept. of Strategic Communications.

Christine received her accreditation in June, and Janice received accreditation in August. Their accomplishments represent a year’s worth of hard work and commitment to the public relations profession!

Christine Frey, APR

Connect with Christine on LinkedIn

Janice Smith, Ph.D., APR

Connect with Janice on LinkedIn

If you’d like information on obtaining your APR, contact Dianna Fornaro at dfornaro@ceiwc.com or on LinkedIn.

APR Boot Camp scheduled for April 10-12, 2019

Jan 16, 2019 | APR, Professional development

The PRSA Mid-Atlantic District is hosting its fifth annual APR Boot Camp April 10–12 at Harrisburg University in Harrisburg, PA.

The APR Boot Camp is a 3-day intensive course for APR candidates to prepare and advance through the Panel Presentation (formerly called the Readiness Review™) and take the computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

The cost of the APR Boot Camp is $400. There is an additional $385 fee to take the APR exam on April 12 at 2 p.m. Spots are limited to 18 participants, so register soon, as this popular session fills quickly.

Click here for more information or to register. 

SPRING 2019 APR Online Study Course Open House is Jan. 22

Dec 17, 2018 | APR, Professional development

The APR Online Study Course will have an Open House web meeting on Tuesday, January 22 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time [noon Pacific]. In the Open House, PRSA Maryland Chapter members interested in getting their APR can learn more about the requirements for obtaining the APR designation. You will also learn about what’s involved in taking the online course. 

The Spring session of the online course begins on Tuesday, January 29 and runs for 15 weeks, to Tuesday, June 4. You can find the spring schedule here. The online course is “self-paced” over 10 modules, each of which is focused on the KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) required to pass the 4-hour APR exam. After completing 75% of the course materials and the milestone activities, course facilitators are confident you will pass the exam. Click here to register for the online course. 

Candidates are encouraged to work together with others in their cohort groups or by finding a mentor, coach, or study partner. They are also encouraged to tweet, share, and encourage others to support them in their pursuit of the APR using the hashtag #APRPREP. Contact Michael Henry, Technical Facilitator of the APR Online Study Course, if you have questions about the course. 

Calling all APRs! Serve as a Panel Presentation judge and keep your accreditation current!

Nov 5, 2018 | APR, Professional development

The PRSA Maryland Chapter currently has 8 APR candidates who will soon be ready to give their Panel Presentations. We are putting the word out now for those APRs interested in serving as a Panel Presentation evaluator in 2019.

You can earn 1 point for each Panel Presentation you evaluate, which counts toward the 5 points you must earn every 3 years to keep your accreditation current. We will be hosting two types of panels:

  • Final Panel Presentations –This would involve an in-person meeting during one evening after work at a Baltimore-area business or organization yet to be determined.
  • Practice Presentation – We would also like to offer APR candidates an opportunity to practice their Panel Presentation before giving the real thing. This would involve about an hour of your time via video chat or conference call with the candidate.

Please contact Dianna Fornaro, APR Chair, at dfornaro@ceiwc.com if you are interested in serving as a Panel Presentation evaluator on one of the panels, or would like more information on this important volunteer opportunity.

Thank You to Our Chapter Sponsors

Thank You to Our Chapter Sponsors