Back To School

ASU's in-plant internship program reaps rewards for both students and the in-plant.

By Caroline Miller

Bob Lane has a vision for Arizona State University's Graphic Information Technology Facility (GITF): He believes that someday it will be known as the RIT of the West.

Just six months ago, Lane helped merge ASU's academic program with its in-plant to develop a unique partnership.

"I was trying to figure out what makes a department important to a university," explains Lane. "It's not enough to add value anymore."

So Lane suggested a merger.

The graphics program had recently been moved from ASU's main campus to ASU East, 25 miles away. The department had a brand new 14,000-square-foot building complete with computer infrastructure. However, it lacked the printing equipment needed to print the jobs being created.

By merging with Lane's in-plant, the academic program got both access to output equipment and a working facility to observe, while ASU's in-plant found a way to prove its worth.

"Our mandate is to teach students," states Lane.

Students now have the opportunity to work next to professionals on Hamada, Ryobi and Heidelberg presses.

As part of the new GITF program, Lane and Bruce Whitehead, the manager of design print services, agreed to take on three interns for a semester of intensive hands-on learning.

The interns are third- and fourth-years students who are chosen based on grades, portfolios, interviews and professor recommendations. Two interns serve in the design area and one works in the print production facility.

"They help me to design business cards and letterheads, and they learn real world experience," explains Whitehead.

The interns also provide a unique expertise to the in-plant. They bring a college student's perspective to their design work, says Whitehead.

"The students are basically our clients," he notes. "Without them we do not exist. So, what better way to reach students then to get a student's opinion on design matters?"

Real World Experience

Students also get the opportunity to see their design work come to fruition.

"We are currently working on a calendar to be sold through our bookstores. The money collected from the sales will be used to cover the cost of the production and to fund the internship program," explains Whitehead.

Students must complete 150 hours of work during the semester. In exchange, they are paid $9 an hour and receive college credit. But students get much more out of their experience than money and college credit, Lane says.

"We had a proof from a press the other day that we turned down. We asked one of our interns to take a look at the proof to determine if she would accept or reject it," recounts Lane. "She said that she would accept it. We then talked about why we wouldn't accept the job. You can only teach so much in theory about what can go wrong with a print job. Once we showed her, she realized what was wrong, and you can't teach that in a classroom."

"Our students are not going to come out of school and be blind-sided. They are going to walk into their first job and be able to handle all the problems that will come their way," reports Whitehead.

It's a belief in the program that is shared by the students as well.

"The ASU East Internship program provides students with a greater knowledge base and understanding of the real design and print industry," says student and intern Candace McGovern. "I can honestly say that I have learned quite a few things through my internship that will prove useful to me in the future."

And it's not just technical skills that students are acquriing through the internship, reports intern Caleb Knuth.

"My time spent working in Design Print Services has given me a real-world look at a section of the graphics industry. I have experienced how a department operates and interacts internally. I am able to get a feel for how industry professionals deal with internal and external customers on a day-to-day basis."

Although the program is still in its infancy, one student already has experience running a Harlequin RIP, a Hamada and a Ryobi press. Plus, Lane sent him to Belgium to become certified on the Xeikon press.

"That's the kind of commitment we have to the students," explains Lane.

While the program is designed with the students in mind, they are not the only ones to benefit from it.

"The students are constantly asking questions about why we do things. It makes our pressmen constantly reevaluate how they do their jobs," says Lane. "The staff love the program because they are giving back something to the community."

The graphics department faculty has also learned from the program.

"The program gets software donations, so why not use the donated items? But in the real world, we might not use that particular software, so it has been an area where I can talk to the professors about what the students can and can't use once they graduate," notes Whitehead.

And the program has been good for the in-plant, says Lane.

"If I were to try and meet with a dean or a department chair, I couldn't get in to see them," says Lane. "But if I send one of our interns to see a dean, they won't refuse to see them. So the students are a great help in marketing what we offer to the rest of the university."

Lane reports that other graphic arts departments around the country have been calling him to learn about the program. Although it is still young, Lane believes the program will prove integral to the survival of the in-plant in the future.

"If we make this program successful for the university, then they are not going to shut us down because we are becoming part of the academic core."

"If we make this program successful for the university, then they are not going to shut us down because we are becoming part of the academic core."

—Bob Lane

"Our students are not going to come out of school and be blind-sided. They are going to walk into their first job and be able to handle all the problems that will come their way."

—Bruce Whitehead