Professional development through a student association : case of the Student Public Relations Association (SPRA) at University of Johannesburg

Student associations are traditionally established to enrich student life with the aim to enhance academic, political, social or religious interests of students (UJ website, 2013). Most institutions of higher learning both locally and internationally have a wide variety of student organizations as part of their structures with the aim to complement formal academic curricula with “real hands on” experiences. These activities may include volunteering for a charity, developing projects or campaigns for not for profit organizations (NPO) or helping their academic institutions to build its reputation in a specific community. Exploring how academic objectives and experiential learning practices may form part of student association activities will be the focus of this paper. The Student Public Relations Association (SPRA) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) was established in 2012 with the required minimum of 30 members and the constitutional aim being to provide registered Public Relations students with opportunities to develop their public relations skills through their involvement in industry related community projects and Public Relations and Communication organisations (SPRA Constitution, 2012). The paper will explore the opportunities available to students and academics to integrate academic outcomes and experiential learning activities within a student association in order to develop the professionalism of our Public Relations students. A survey will be conducted with various SPRA executive members in exploring the impact their involvement with this student association had on their professional development