Elgin Community College (ECC) adheres to media relations protocols, aligning its practices with those of peer institutions, managing how staff interact with the press.

Administrative Procedure 3.907 applies to faculty, staff, and all subsidies interacting with news media. These guidelines establish how ECC responds to student journalists and public inquiries.

“Transparency is very important to the college,” said ECC president Penny Heinrich. “You’ll always get an honest answer out of us, and we’ll answer any questions you pose.”

On April 22, 2026 Observer staff contacted Michelle Ramirez, Director of TRiO Student Support Services, regarding the status of federal TRiO funding. On April 27, Ramirez declined the interview.

“Most of my topics were controversial or sensitive so a lot of employees either declined or didn’t respond at all,” said Shantel Lewis, the Observer’s Editor-in-Chief for the 2025–2026 academic year. “My TRiO story was delayed for more than about 2 weeks, because Ramirez passed on a lot of my questions.”

Lewis faced scheduling delays while securing an interview with Jocelyn Santana, that were frequently attributed to staff unavailability.

While ECCs policy dictates that employees must notify the Communications Department upon receiving interview requests, when department heads decline direct interviews, open reporting shifts into a mediated exchange.

On June 10, 2026, Staff Writer Daniel Garcia was contacted by Senior Director of Operations and Maintenance, Patrick Dolan regarding the water break in Building M. Garcia was informed that “it may take a couple weeks just to get consultants on board” to evaluate next steps.

“For stories like the water break in Building M, their expertise was crucial,” Garcia said. “I wanted to know how a water main breaks and what that cost would be. When you’re trying to get advice from well informed individuals and they don’t answer, you don’t really have anything,”

Garcia was told to contact communications in order to secure an interview.

While managing two stories, “I wasn’t able to continue the other because of the conflict,” Garcia explained.

“We’ve done very passive stories in the past,” Garcia said. “The problem is that it gives a lack of scope to the students.”

He added,  “Now we’re tackling stories that may give a bad public image.”

On Oct. 22, 2025, Andrea Watson, Director of Communications, confirmed key details in a meeting regarding student journalists; including that reporters for the student publication do not have to contact the Communications Department when requesting to interview an ECC employee. Section IX of procedure 3.907 describes how employees are expected to prepare for and respond to media interviews.

According to the section, if interviewed without a communications representative present, “notify the Director of Communications afterward with a summary of the questions and responses.”

Communications staff may inquire to review questions. However, disclosing questions in advance is not standard journalism. Doing so may limit candid responses. If an employee denies to be interviewed, ECC’s president or authorized designee may speak on behalf of the college.

“Media requests flow through Communications for a variety of reasons,” said Heinrich. “Communications opens the door, sets up the meetings, and paves the way if you happen to encounter someone who otherwise might not be comfortable talking to a reporter. It’s been mutually beneficial.”

“Communications will delay interviews by providing surface-level statements,” Garcia continued. “I was given a tentative schedule, but I wanted an interview. I want to talk to people and see what they think.”

“The Marketing Communications Department does not advise employees to decline interviews,” explained Heinrich. “That is an individual decision on the part of each employee. Topical areas might drive that comfort level.”

“Our role is to help coordinate the story that you’re trying to seek,” Mark Branson, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (CMCO) said. “What we’re trying to do is have a better understanding of what someone is trying to cover.”

“I will say, ever since ECC Communications got involved, interviews were a lot harder to get,” Garcia said. “One of our major components as reporters is to give the integrity and foundation of the story. If we cannot maintain timeliness, our story isn’t going to impact the community.”