Program Review 2008
Applied Digital Media and Printing
Applied Technology Department
Topic IA
Purpose and Goals
The current mission of the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline is:
To provide an excellent career technical education experience that prepares students for entry level careers and self-employment in a broad range of digital media, printing and related industries.
The Discipline’s mission is consistent with the District’s mission statement as set forth in the 2007-2008 Catalog, pg. 2:
The District provides transfer programs paralleling the first two years of university offerings, pre-professional, career preparation, and occupational and technical programs leading to the associate of arts degree, the associate of science degree and a variety of certificates.
Over the past 10 years, the Discipline’s goals have been:
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to expand curricular offerings to include digital media, digital printing production, web, 3D and animation courses;
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to align curriculum with industry expectations;
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to provide flexible learning opportunities that can lead to continued education or immediate employment;
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to provide outreach to high schools, ROP’s and media academies
These goals are consistent with the District’s goals to:
Utilize advances in information technologies to improve effectiveness of instruction, services and administration.
Tailor programs and services to meet the needs of the students and communities served by the three college District.
The values that are integrated into the curriculum and pedagogy include:
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Supportive teaching and learning environment in which students are encouraged to develop their strengths and weaknesses and to respect the strengths and weaknesses of others;
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Practical, hands-on teaching and learning that is consistent with industry expectations, and to the extent possible, consistent with industry equipment;
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Close relationship with industry partners;
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Curriculum and teaching methods that incorporate industry values of professionalism, reliability, adherence to deadlines, teamwork, problem solving, and a can-do attitude.
The Discipline’s values are consistent with the District’s stated values:
Student Centeredness
Teaching Excellence
Learning Environment
Tradition
Topic IB
History of the Applied Digital Media & Printing Program
In 1921, four vocational printing classes were offered: elementary, advanced composing, designing, and machine composing. An academic course about the history of printing was also offered. Throughout the 1930s only auto mechanic, machine shop, mill cabinet, and printing were offered.
In 1953 the Graphics Technology department moved into Poly High’s old Auto Tech building on what is now called the Riverside City Campus. At that time, a one-year college Discipline in vocational printing was developed expanding the program to six courses including basic and advanced graphic arts, typography, and vocational, commercial, and newspaper printing.
In 1961 the name of the program was changed to Graphic Arts and was part of the Trade and Industries Division, which included Business Education, Computer Information Systems, and all Applied Technologies (Welding, Auto Tech, Electronics and the Machine Shop.) 1978 brought another name change, Graphics Technology to the Discipline and the division name changed to Applied Technology. The Home Economics Discipline was deleted from the division and Early Childhood Studies, Computer Information Systems, and Business Education became their own divisions.
During the 70s, the Graphics Technology Discipline started to produce the school newspaper and evolved into a full printing process called photo-offset lithography. This brought more curriculum revisions and evening courses that were offered as “extended day” classes. Photo-offset lithography became the major graphic communication process in the United States and with the growth of graphic communications, three full-time instructors and one part-time production support staff member were added to the Discipline. An average of 250 to 300 students attended per semester. Along with the growth in popularity there have been many technological changes which continue within the industry and make graphic communication a viable entity.
Class lectures were held on the second floor of TECHB in classrooms that are now labeled 201 and 203. The equipment was located in the lower level classrooms in the same building. The hallway divided the two classrooms. The downstairs classroom (designated downstairs because of the 5 stairs that enter into the lower level room) held most of the heavy equipment. The upstairs classroom contained 25 paste-up tables, 1 small lecture room and faculty offices.
Significant changes to printing followed, by introducing the Linotype type caster, which changed the way type was set. This period of time was known as “Hot Type Composition” where type was cast from lead. The downstairs area in TECHB supported most of the heavy equipment which consisted of a Linotype type caster, an Intertype, California type cases, Challenge Platen press and cutter, Heidelberg Letterpress, Heidelberg KORD press, and small pieces of bindery equipment. With the addition of three small duplicator presses, some light tables and the 20ft Brown darkroom camera, the downstairs was getting crowded.
The letterpress was traded for a larger Heidelberg SORK press, which allowed the school football program to be printed. Cold type composition was the new technology of the time. A Verityper and rub on letters were used for headlines, typewriters for body text, clipart or hand-drawn illustrations supplied the art. This process was slow and required great patience. A small darkroom for film processing was added to the upstairs, for PMT processing.
In the fall of 1981, the Discipline had three full-time instructors and two adjunct faculty, which grew to 11 part-time faculty by the late 80s. This was also a time of partnerships with industry and many changes in the program.
3M Corporation started a new education program and worked closely with RCC’s graphics department. They donated three ABDick duplicator presses and a gallery stat camera for the small upstairs darkroom. The downstairs darkroom Brown camera was replaced with a new Acti camera that was purchased.
Heidelberg Corporation leased a 4/color GTO press with a CPC 1 and CPC 3 unit. The lease agreement was for 5 years, maintenance was paid on the press and the buyout was $1.00 at the end of the lease.
Kodak Corporation donated film and plate supplies, leased a $15,000.00 film processor for a maintenance agreement, sponsored seminars and scholarships.
Compugraphic Corporation’s Vice President had been a student of the program and felt strongly about giving back to education. He donated 4 Compugraphic typesetting computers, a ruling computer, and a film processor. The department became the Inland Empire equipment showcase and seminar center for Compugraphic Corporation. This was the first time computer typesetting was offered.
Many changes took place during this time; the back part of the upstairs room became the new typesetting area with a small lecture room adjacent to it. The small darkroom was rearranged for the new stat camera, and 25 paste-up tables were still used for layout copy. The downstairs wall was built to create a clean room by separating the pre-press from the press area. With a grant, new equipment was added; 25 light tables, 2 plate makers replaced the old carbon arc machines, the guillotine cutter (safety issue) was replaced with a Polar cutter, a plate processor replaced hand developing, a refurbished 2 place saddle stitcher replaced the single stitcher, and a drill press filled the downstairs area.
Quick printing became one of the fastest growing industries in the 80s. With 3M’s help, “Tiger Instant Press” was created to simulate a quick printing business. New curriculum was developed and students staffed the small shop. It became an internship program giving the students industry experience in running an instant print shop before graduating.
Starting in the 90’s, four Apple computers replaced the Compugraphic equipment and the small upstairs lecture room became an Apple showroom and seminar location. Since this was an IBM campus, it took many years to convince the administration that the Apple computer was the industry standard for graphics. This one small classroom has grown into three digital media labs with 75 state–of–the–art computers.
In 2000, Multimedia was added to the Graphics Technology program. Working with Art, Photography, and Telecom, curriculum was revised to include new certificate patterns: Basic Graphic Design, Basic Multimedia Design, Basic Electronic Prepress and the Associate of Science Degree in Graphics Technology.
Emerging new technologies has resulted in the phasing out of the darkrooms, manual stripping, and platemaking. The result is a functioning digital workflow laboratory.
Funding for new equipment, professional development and community outreach have always been a concern. Transitioning from manual equipment to digital media and staying current with software applications has added substantially to the cost of the program. The Graphics department has written and shared several grants with Telecom, Art, and Photography to enable the faculty and the program to stay current with industry standards by pooling resources. As a result, a new Fuji computer-to-plate system was installed in 2007, closing the loop for students in a true digital workflow.
The Industry Advisory Committee, which meets once a year, plays an integral part in the success of the program. Their input and recommendations provide guidance for the future direction of the department. Therefore in 2008, another name change occurred; Graphics Technology became Applied Digital Media & Printing.
The department involves itself with the whole student by sponsoring a Graphix club and a SkillsUSA chapter for students to showcase their skills and make industry connections. Students have entered and won several design contests sponsored by SkillsUSA California and industry-sponsored contests such as Printing Industries Association of Southern California. The RCC Applied Digital Media & Printing Discipline has had a SkillsUSA chapter for many years, but has been continuously active since 1995. RCC has been the traditional location for regional competitions. For the last 7 years, RCC has been the host of the California State SkillsUSA competition. RCC has been sending state gold medal winners to the national competition in Kansas City since 1996. During the last 13 years of SkillsUSA involvement, RCC graphics students have won approximately 50 state gold medals and the following national medals:
2001 Tisha Sanchez Silver Medal Graphic Communications (Printing)
2002 Bruce Burton Gold Medal Action Skills (Job Demo.-Handicapped category)
2003 Bruce Burton Silver Medal Action Skills (Job Demo.-Handicapped category)
2004 Robbie Sullivan Bronze Medal Graphic Communications (Printing)
2005 Tamara Smith Silver Medal Advertising Design
2007 Mayda Salas Silver Medal Graphic Communications (Printing)
All RCC Applied Digital Media & Printing students who have competed at the SkillsUSA national level have placed in the top ten each year.
With the digital media and printing industries constantly developing new technologies, the Applied Digital Media & Printing Discipline is continually challenged to provide knowledge and learning experience at a rapid pace. The Discipline works very hard to meet the needs of its growing population and provide excellent career opportunities in digital media and printing industries.
Topic IC
Programs and Curriculum
The Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline offers an Associate of Science and Occupational Certificate in Applied Digital Media and Printing. The convergence of media, effectively caused by the integration of the computer into printing and media production, has had a significant impact on the course offerings in the degree and certificate patterns. As the industry undergoes a shift that has eliminated many of the traditional pre-production technologies by incorporating more digital production, the Discipline has been faced with developing course options that give students the basic production techniques and approaches used in this transitional environment. The Discipline has addressed these changes by working with industry partners in developing new curriculum to address these changing environments and offering a broad range of traditional and digital production courses.
Applied Digital Media and Printing Certificate and Degree Program
Required Courses (34 units) Units
ADM-1 Introduction to Applied Digital Media and Printing 3
ADM-30 Contemporary Topics in Applied Digital Media and Printing 1
ADM-55 Management and Estimating in the Graphics/Design Industry 3
ADM-58 Paper and Inks for Multi-purposed Design 1
ADM-63 Adobe InDesign 3
or
ADM-76 QuarkXPress 3
ADM-70 Project Design and Production 3
ADM-71 Adobe Photoshop 3
ADM-80 Introductory Digital Darkroom 3
ADM-85 Beginning Offset Presswork 3
Electives (Choose from list below) 11
Electives (11 units)
ART-36 Computer Art 3
ENG-17 Literary Magazine Production 2
ADM-63 Adobe InDesign 3
ADM-64 Ethics and Legalities of Digital Manipulation 1
ADM-65 Cross Platform File Management 1
ADM-67 WEB Animation with Flash 3
ADM-68 3D Animation with Maya 3
ADM-69 Motion Graphics and Compositing with After Effects 3
ADM-72 Advanced Photoshop 3
ADM-73 Developing and Authoring Multimedia CD’s and DVD’s 3
ADM-74 Dreamweaver for Graphic Designers 3
ADM-76 QuarkXPress 3
ADM-77A Adobe Illustrator 3
ADM-77B Advanced Adobe Illustrator 3
ADM-78A Multimedia Construction with Macromedia Director 3
ADM-78B Multimedia Construction using Lingo 3
ADM-79 Multimedia Production using Painter 3
ADM-81 Advanced Digital Darkroom 3
ADM-86 Advanced Offset Presswork and Bindery 3
ADM-88 3D Creature Creations with Maya 3
ADM-89 Multimedia Graphics Portfolio 4
ADM-200 Work Experience 1-4
PHO-20 Introduction to Digital Still Photography 3
FTV-64 Digital Editing Principles and Techniques 3
Associate in Science Degree
The Associate in Science Degree in Applied Digital Media and Printing will be awarded upon completion of the requirements for the certificate, plus completion of the graduation requirements as described in the catalog, as well as electives totaling 60 units of college work as required for the Associate Degree.
BASIC ELECTRONIC PREPRESS
Certificate Program
Required Courses (17 units) Units
ADM-1 Introduction to Applied Digital Media and Printing 3
ADM-63 Adobe InDesign 3
or
ADM-76 QuarkXPress 3
ADM-64 Ethics and Legalities of Digital Manipulation 1
ADM-65 Cross Platform File Management 1
ADM-71 Adobe PhotoShop 3
ADM-80 Introductory Digital Darkroom 3
ADM-85 Beginning Offset Presswork 3
BASIC GRAPHIC DESIGN
Certificate Program
Required Courses (17 units) Units
ADM-1 Introduction to Applied Digital Media and Printing 3
ADM-63 Adobe InDesign 3
or
ADM-76 QuarkXPress 3
ADM-64 Ethics and Legalities of Digital Manipulation 1
ADM-65 Cross Platform File Management 1
ADM-71 Adobe PhotoShop 3
ADM-77A Adobe Illustrator 3
ART-22 Basic Design 3
BASIC MULTIMEDIA DESIGN
Certificate Program
Required Courses (16 units) Units
ADM-58 Paper and Inks for Multi-purposed Design 1
ADM-64 Ethics and Legalities of Digital Manipulation 1
ADM-65 Cross Platform File Management 1
ADM-69 Motion Graphics with After Effects 3
ADM-71 Adobe PhotoShop 3
ADM-78A Multimedia Construction with Macromedia Director 3
ADM-89 Multimedia Graphics Portfolio 4
3/08
Recent Curricular Changes
The rapid expansion of digital technology in printing and the convergence of the Internet, photography, music, graphics and television has resulted in the addition of a number of courses from related Disciplines into the Applied Digital Media and Printing Certificate course offerings. Applied Digital Media and Printing has been actively planning curricula and sharing resources with an interdisciplinary group that collectively can be referred to as multimedia. This cooperative relationship is consistent with industry trends and is to the benefit of the students’ career preparation for those majoring in Digital Media and Printing, as well as Film Television and Video, Photography and Multimedia.
Applied Digital Media and Printing has also been actively involved in curriculum planning for the Riverside School for the Arts. The Discipline adheres to the interdisciplinary approach described above.
Planned Curricular Changes
The next step in curriculum planning is to group related electives into digital media specialties or emphases that assist students in the course and career planning process. The digital emphases and new certificates planned include:
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Interactive Entertainment
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Animation
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Web Design
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Multimedia Design
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Motion Graphics
Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, Advisories
There are no program pre-requisites for entry into the Applied Digital Media and Printing program. However there are two types of pre-requisites once the student is enrolled in the program: sequential courses, e.g. Adobe Photoshop as a pre-requisite for Advanced Adobe Photoshop, and pre-requisites for the capstone project course, Digital Media Portfolio Class. The pre-requisites for this project course includes any one of a broad range of Applied Digital Media and Printing courses since the project course is designed to help the student develop a digital portfolio in preparation for job search.
Interdepartmental Cooperation
One of our real successes has been the cooperation between related Disciplines, such as Film Television and Video, Art and Photography. A most significant example is the Film Television and Video Discipline, that has offered a Digital Editing course which has been incorporated into the certificate pattern of the Basic Multimedia certificate. As part of the Riverside School for the Arts planning, both Disciplines have been diligent in working together to find a balance of curricula that will best benefit the students in their careers and continued education. While this working relationship has been effective thus far, it is due to individuals who have made the effort to work respectfully and cooperatively for the interest of the students.
There is no effective mechanism at the District level to handle the delicate matters of curriculum boundaries. Conflicts have arisen in the past where classes such as Photoshop, Flash, DreamWeaver, InDesign and QuarkXPress have been offered at the same time by CIS/Business to the detriment of the student since many of those duplicated classes have been cancelled due to low enrollment in both offerings. The issue has been thorny in the past and could become so in the future without some clear guidelines from District administration and Senate leadership.
The philosophy of teaching and learning for occupational programs is practical, hands-on and is taught by experienced professionals with close industry ties in order to prepare students with the skills that will be expected in the workplace.
Enrollment Trends and Students Served
Since January 1, 2001, the department has seen the following degrees and certificates awarded:
AS558 Graphics Technology AS Degrees 27
CE558 Graphics Technology Certificates 55
CE821 Basic Multimedia Certificates 3
CE822 Basic Electronic Prepress Certificates 30
CE823 Basic Graphic Design Certificates 28
Total: 143
(About 20 per year)
Identified Student Placements (2006-Present):
Sara Bean, Graphic Designer, Color Concepts Inc., Riverside, CA
Douglas DuPerron, Designer/Press Operator, Wirz & Co., Colton, CA
Tammy Smith, Graphic Designer, ReMax Realtors, Riverside, CA
Brad Smith, Web Designer, Boat Manufacturer, Riverside, CA
Juliana Candelario, Graphic Designer, Creative Color Printing, Corona, CA
Nancy Brosious, Graphic Designer, RCCD Printing & Graphics Center, Riverside, CA
Cesar DeAnda, Graphic Designer, Nusta Group, Ontario, CA
Rick Crippen, Graphic Designer, Global Tracking, Elsinore, CA
Anna Wenger, Graphic Designer, Black Voice News, Riverside, CA
Tisha Sanchez, Press Operator, City of Riverside, Riverside, CA
Robbie Sullivan, Press Operator, Chino, CA
Mike Pastucha, Graphic Designer, A to Z Printers, Riverside, CA
Mayda Salas, Graphic Designer, RCCD Printing & Graphics Center, Riverside, CA
Angela Hernandez, Graphic Designer, Press Enterprise, Riverside, CA
Robbie Sullivan, Press Operator, Chino, CA
Andy Sopher, Animator/Illustrator, David & Goliath Clothing, Los Angeles, CA
Travis Williams, Advance Business Forms, Rialto, CA
Additional data that would assist the Discipline in continuing to assess the effectiveness of the program would be to determine the degree to which students are successful in obtaining jobs related to their chosen career field. This is a difficult challenge for Institutional Research, as it will require tracking students after they leave the District. Because of the nature of the program, this type of long-range tracking would be of benefit in other ways as well, including grant writing and curriculum planning.
Topic ID
Student Outcomes Assessment
Student Learning Outcomes for Certificate and Degree Patterns
Applied Digital Media and Printing courses were chosen for assessment of the degree to which each of these Applied Digital Media and Printing classes meets SLOs for Degree and Certificate requirements. The SLOs for each course were considered in relation to the Course SLOs using the matrix provided.
Assessment Efforts
The course that the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline selected to use as the basis of the course-based assessment activities was ADM 64 – Ethics and Legalities of Digital Manipulation. This course was selected because it is a required course in the certificate pattern and the student learning outcomes are critical to student success in all other courses. The selected SLO is the primary expectation of students completing the class. It is vital to student success in all subsequent production classes and represents the most basic skill level for those working to complete any certificate or degree pattern.
ADM 64 – Ethics and Legalities of Digital Manipulation
This course provides the student with rules, regulations and responsibilities regarding the ethics and legalities of digital manipulation for Internet, graphic design, multimedia, and personal use.
Sample Size – 35 student-work product and test samples selected randomly from ADM 64 classes taught over the last 6 semesters. The grading rubric in Appendix A was used to determine the extent to which students met the SLO.
To begin the assessment activities, a norming session was conducted among faculty members who reviewed a random selection of student-work product and test samples that had been submitted over the past 6 semesters to develop a grading rubric that specified the performance criteria for each grade A, B, C, D and F. In addition to using the rubric to determine grade distribution, grades were divided into component parts to determine to what extent students achieved each of the required elements in the class. It could then be determined how many achieved the SLO as well as pinpoint areas where students were having the most difficulty. The data gathered indicated that the grade distribution is consistent with the norm; 85% of students are achieving course outcomes with a grade of C or better. The interesting information is the more specific data about which skills students find difficult. Analysis indicates that students are having more difficulty meeting expectations in accuracy of presented information. This is an indication that there is a need to increase the emphasis on this component of the class and add this as a component to other classes in the series.
Analysis shows that 85% of the student projects met the SLO with a grade of C or better; 46% of students met the SLO with a grade of A; 28% of students met the SLO with a B grade.
In the next academic year, the plan is to assess Photoshop and InDesign courses. Both are required basic skills for students to be successful.
Other activities that are related to outcomes assessment include involving students in the assessment process. Students are already engaged in extensive critique of their own work and that of their colleagues as part of the class activities. The grading rubric will be used to add more structure and specificity to the in-class critiques and to incorporate student input into how certain areas of content can be strengthened.
Topic IE
Collaboration with Other Units
The Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline is involved in extensive collaboration with the Film, Television, Video and Photography Disciplines, all of which are in the Applied Technology Department and the Art Department. This collaboration is consistent with industry trends and convergence of media through a common platform, the computer. The Disciplines collaborate on curriculum planning in order to provide a complement of classes that will enable students to build skills in the full range of disciplines that will be expected of them in the workplace. The Applied Digital Media and Printing certificate pattern includes a number of Art, Film, Television, Video and Photography courses as electives.
The Discipline has also been collaborating as part of the overall curriculum planning effort for the Riverside School for the Arts. While the spirit of collaboration has been very positive, concerns remain regarding the pedagogy of occupational programs as compared to that of academic classes. Applied occupational programs have an expectation that its teaching faculty will have direct industry experience to bring to the classroom. This experience is vital to student success in the media production industry because of its unique working environment. The minimum qualifications and faculty expectations of academic departments typically do not emphasize nor recognize the value of industry experience. Since Applied Digital Media and Printing is preparing students for a defined industry, it is critical that collaborating academic Disciplines understand and respect the need for faculty to have direct industry experience.
Topic IF.
Outreach
Applied Digital Media and Printing has been active in building articulation agreements with area high schools, ROPs and media academies.
Students in the Discipline are very involved in SkillsUSA activities and have placed in regional, state and in the top ten in the national competitions including Bronze and Silver medals.
Applied Digital Media and Printing faculty regularly mentor high school students, serve on media academy advisories, conduct tours and presentations, participate in high school career days and maintain communication with secondary teachers.
The Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline hosts an open house each year for students in area high schools, ROPs and media academies. The students, their instructors and parents are invited to an evening in our facilities to sample our offerings. We also schedule a digital media contest and showcase for those students with winners being awarded scholarships to RCC.
Twice a year over 2000 mailers are sent to potential students advising them of the next semester offerings in the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline. All of these mail out pieces are designed and produced by current students in the program.
Topic IG
Resources
Keeping current with the rapidly changing technology in the industry remains the most critical resource for the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline. The Discipline has been successful in leveraging shared space and resources to create three labs that are shared with Film Television and Video, Photography and Art. The Discipline remains hopeful that the Riverside School for the Arts will help in the development of the next level of a state-of-the-industry facility. This will enable Applied Digital Media and Printing and other media production Disciplines to co-locate, share resources and develop a truly project-based curriculum. Meanwhile, Applied Digital Media and Printing, Film Television and Video and Photography make every effort to maximize resource utilization by sharing lab space, acquiring equipment, seeking grants and scheduling of currently available instructional space.
Acquisition of new equipment and maintenance of existing equipment is also a challenge due to the rapid progression of technology in digital media and printing. The greatest challenge to providing appropriate equipment for students is the lack of a budget line item for planned replacement of equipment. In the past, equipment replacements have been minimal with replacement funding provided only through grants.
This is an equipment-dependent instructional program. Without the ability to plan equipment acquisitions into the budget, the Discipline will always suffer from inadequate and outdated equipment that ultimately affects student success in the workplace.
Topic II
Overall Assessment of Discipline Performance
The Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline is doing a good job in preparing students for entry level careers in a broad range of media and printing activities. The collaborations with Film, Television and Video, Art, Photography, and English have been very productive in developing a certificate pattern that includes the breadth of knowledge students need in the workplace as a result of media convergence. We know anecdotally that students do well in the workplace and in their transfer institutions. However, the Discipline needs a more formal mechanism for gathering long-term data on student success.
The Discipline remains very hopeful about the prospect of participation in the Riverside School for the Arts. It appears to be the single best hope for achieving an appropriate facility for teaching and learning digital media production. Although the Discipline is challenged by its facilities, the teaching philosophies of solid basic skills and industry professionalism have enabled students to be competitive in the workplace.
Students are achieving course SLOs at an acceptable rate, but the graduation rate is low in comparison to the number of students who take classes. This may be due to the fact that students are able to take 2 or 3 classes and gain enough skills to become employable. It is difficult, without data, to determine the reason why, but we know anecdotally that students are starting their own businesses and getting jobs before completing the certificate and degree. We would like to work with Institutional Research to discover how to better serve the students, perhaps with modularized certificates that are smaller in unit value and may be combined into the complete certificate pattern.
A definite strength of the Discipline is the working relationship among the faculty and staff. The marriage between the Discipline, the Printing & Graphics Center, and Applied Technology staff is positive and productive. All have worked together for many years which has resulted in an exceptional working relationship and shared responsibility for all students in the Discipline.
Faculty in Digital Media and Printing have taken a leading role in committee assignments. Besides advising the Graphix Club and the SkillsUSA Chapter, faculty serve on local advisory boards for high schools and ROPs. They have also served on the Academic Senate, college finance committees, and on several accreditation committees.
Spring 2008 will culminate PrintED certification from the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF). The certification process has taken 18 months and certifies the faculty and the Discipline as an industry-certified training location for the graphic arts. PrintED certification lasts for 5 years at which time certification must be renewed. Benefits of PrintED certification are as follows:
Educator Benefits:
• Disciplines receive recognition, endorsement and support from the printing industry.
• Instructors and their Disciplines gain accountability and credibility.
• Disciplines receive support and recognition from departments of education.
• Accreditation provides recognized standards for graduates.
• Disciplines can offer career opportunities to students.
Student Benefits:
• PrintED provides students with a career pathway to enter the workplace.
• PrintED students who successfully complete national standardized examinations
will receive certifications recognized across the country by the Graphic Arts
industry.
Employer Benefits
• Employers have access to a potential work force with basic technical skills.
• Employers can expect quality work and professionalism from students.
• Employers can expect graduates of the program to meet industry criterion.
Topic II-B
Insights Gained
The assessment exercise revealed a need to improve the teaching components related to accuracy of presented materials. The focus on applied skills was apparent in students’ performance, but these skills are not used in a vacuum. They must be combined with solid work ethic skills. The assessment points to the need for more emphasis in his area.
Based on the completer data, as expressed previously, we need to address ways to increase student completion rates. This is especially critical in the multimedia certificate pattern. The Discipline hopes to increase these numbers by the addition of AS degree offerings.
Topic II-C
Where Do We Want to Be?
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Environment Scan
One of the greatest opportunities for Applied Digital Media and Printing is the planned Riverside School for the Arts. When implemented, it will provide the equipment, facilities, collaboration, and industry emphasis needed to continue propelling the program forward.
Conversely, the greatest threat to the Discipline is the prospect that RSA will not come to fruition, leaving Applied Digital Media and Printing in its existing location with limited fiscal resources to meet the demands of changing technology. Applied Digital Media and Printing is in a Catch-22 situation; the program needs to grow to justify more resources, but it is difficult to expand the program due to lack of equipment and software resources.
There is an industry trend that is shifting more of the major digital media production away from Los Angeles and Orange Counties and more into the Inland Empire. This opens the need for more local, skilled technicians who can fill the digital media and printing jobs here. Students need to be prepared for the career reality that the work is often intermittent, cyclical and is becoming more entrepreneurial. Career training should include ways for students to cross-work in a variety of digital media production fields.
Another trend, specifically in the printing industry, is the development of a totally-digital workflow. The advisory committee indicates that within the next 5 years, manual film assembly will totally disappear as well as the use of film. The Discipline must address these changes and prepare students for this inevitability. An industry-standard Fuji DART computer-to-plate system has been added to the Discipline. Curriculum needs to be adjusted to migrate from film-based instruction to digital output directly to plate. Students will also need greater exposure to troubleshooting digital files for successful output. This may include the eventual addition of a separate Adobe Acrobat course for the instruction of portable document format (PDF) file generation.
To close the digital workflow gap, students must be exposed to digital printing. This entails sending computer-generated images directly from computer to the press. To accomplish this, a digital printing device must be added to the Discipline as well as additional curriculum regarding the troubleshooting of digital files as mentioned earlier.
With Apple’s move to Intel-based computing, the Discipline can offer true cross-platform compatibility, providing both Windows and MAC operating systems. This additional functionality needs to be implemented in the next few years for true cross-platform instruction to further prepare students for the realities of the industry.
Recent environmental law changes require the printing operation to use low VOC solvents which has presented new challenges to students and staff alike. During the next few years these solvent issues need to be resolved. Alcohol substitutes need to be implemented, and a full paper recycling program instituted.
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Internal Review
Topics that need to be addressed in the next 5 years:
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A structured budgeting process that will enable technology-dependent disciplines to plan acquisition and replacement of equipment.
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Guidelines to govern coordination between occupational programs and classes.
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Additional staff support for the teaching process.
C. Revised Vision/Summary
Over the next 5 years, the faculty and staff of the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline will continue to implement its existing mission: To provide an excellent career technical education experience that prepares students for entry level careers and self-employment in a broad range of printing, design, media and related industries. However, a greater involvement in interdisciplinary, project-based teaching and learning is warranted that takes place in a lab and collaborative learning setting…one that has been specifically designed for digital media production. The Discipline can envision itself as part of Riverside School for the Arts, and has done so much with so little over the past years, as exemplified by the successes witnessed in our students and the feedback received from their employers. The Discipline feels strongly that the program can become a national model with appropriate planning and facilities.
The Discipline envisions an economic shift in the Inland Empire that will result in increased demand for skilled digital media artists and technicians. This will require the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline to develop more specialized curricular emphases such as animation, interactive entertainment, special effects, web design and digital printing technologies. The technical demands for skilled workers will spill into other disciplines such as Film, Television and Video, Photography, Art and others. The Discipline looks forward to working with these occupational areas to develop curricular patterns that will result from collaborative teaching in response to industry need.
Topic III
What do we need to do to get there?
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Initiatives, Strategies, Goals and Activities
Curricular Initiatives
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Develop a new certificate/AS degree program in Multimedia Production.
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Collaboratively develop certificate/degree options in Motion Graphics, Interactive Entertainment, Game Design, and Web Design.
Strategies
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Continue to work toward implementation of the Riverside School for the Arts.
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Push for institutional guidelines that will support coordinated curriculum which also respects discipline boundaries.
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Outreach to High schools, ROP’s and media academies to make the transition to college programs easier for students.
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Build stronger relationships with industry as it moves into the Inland Empire; working closely with Industry Advisory Committee to prepare to meet industry needs.
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Attend training seminars, conferences and trade shows to maintain currency in industry equipment and facilities; ensure students take advantage of these opportunities by including them in the teaching methods of each course.
Student Learning Goals
The Discipline’s goals with respect to student learning are:
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To ensure students receive training that is consistent with industry standards and expectations;
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To ensure teaching faculty bring industry experience to the classroom;
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Include industry career awareness in the curriculum.
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To expose students to emerging technologies through teaching methods that include frequent field trips, trade shows, participation in conferences and guest speakers.
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Resources
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Additional Staff: 2 Lab Assistants to provide students with additional hours of access to the equipment and software.
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Facilities: Continue to improve and update lab spaces.
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Equipment: Budgeting that supports planned acquisition and replacement of teaching and learning equipment and planned equipment purchases for the eventual conversion to a total digital printing plant. A planned replacement schedule would include: 24 new computers and monitors each year with older computers being redeployed to our labs with lesser requirements and finally placed with other disciplines with more modest requirements. The Discipline will then be in line with the normal industry upgrade cycle of 3 to 4 years allowing the software offerings to keep current to industry standards. The 3 existing small presses need to be replaced during this 5 year cycle. We are currently operating with equipment that is more than 20 years old with a very high repair cost. Every 2 years the need to replace 25 of our computer lab chairs. Aging chairs pose a significant threat to student safety. Finally, one time purchases of a folder and a multibinder to replace machinery that is more than 30 years old. Both items have far exceeded the expected life of the equipment and are no longer a good example of current industry technology.
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Other Resources
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We need to participate in the development of guidelines for interdisciplinary, interdepartmental curricular cooperation and planning with Administration and the Academic Senate.
Topic IV
What Evidence Do We Need to Track Progress?
Tracking Applied Digital Media and Printing student success has always been a challenge due to the nature of the industry. Students can complete a few classes and immediately begin an entry level job in the digital media and printing fields. It is not uncommon that the industry will train an individual as he/she moves through the ranks; it is also not uncommon for a student to be very successful in specialized areas of digital media without ever having a full-time job. We need to work with Institutional Effectiveness to find ways to better determine the degree and definition of career success for students in the Applied Digital Media and Printing Discipline.
Topic V
How Can we Improve the Discipline Self Study Process?
Faculty was well prepared to conduct this self study. Workshops and planning sessions proved very helpful. Particularly appreciated was the help from the Assessment Committee and other Applied Technology Disciplines in shaping our assessment instrument.
One component that would strengthen the self study is the students’ assessment of how well goals are accomplished.
Topic VI
Summary of Goals, Activities and Findings
Goals:
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Increase collaborative curricular planning.
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Improve teaching and learning facilities and equipment.
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Provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff that enables them to remain current in industry trends and practices.
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Develop and cultivate close industry ties.
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Plan for increased demand for skilled digital media and printing specialties.
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Outreach to high schools, ROP’s and media academies
What We Learned:
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Confirmed that students were achieving the course SLO through the Assessment Plan;
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Discovered that we need data to track student career success;
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Discovered we need to include more instruction on the need for attention to detail;
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Recognized the need for increased collaborative curricular planning;
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Validated our desire to become part of the Riverside School for the Arts.
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