On Tuesday, Sept. 2, notices were issued in class to Rhode Island College Students declared in the Graphic Communication concentration of the Communication degree. The notice informed those students that their concentration would be phased out beginning in March of 2009.
No new students will be accepted into the program and only students who have declared themselves as Graphic Communications majors and have taken COMM 232 (Intro to Graphic Communication Technology) will be allowed to continue and graduate with the concentration.
"This isn't a surprise," said one declared student who wished to remain anonymous. "The rumblings have been around since I first switched into the program two years ago."
"Student Community Government
tried to raise this issue almost 2 years ago. We were, however, told not to address it as the elimination of the program was deemed 'unlikely.' Now it seems like the decision is final and we have no opportunity to weigh in. It's a shame that the student body has been put into this position, trying to reverse a decision after the fact," said SCG Secretary and former President Nick Lima.
The Anchor conducted an email interview with Dr. Lenore Collins who has been with Rhode Island College since 1983 and was the head and advisor for the Graphic Communications concentration until the Fall of 2007 when she retired. She still teaches classes here at RIC. Dr. Collins has also been the Executive Director of GCIRI (the Graphic Communications Industry of Rhode Island) since September of 2007.
C. Gaul: I've heard more than once that Rhode Island College was the only higher education institution offering coursework in print and publishing technology. Is this true and, as executive director of GCIRI, how do you believe this will affect or influence RI's print industry?
Dr. Collins: RIC was the only higher education institution in Southern New England offering coursework in printing and publishing technology. Although there are printing programs at many Career & Technical High Schools in the state, for the past 24 years Rhode Island College has been the sole source for mature, well-prepared, well-educated entry level employees for the printing and publishing industry. This industry was listed as one of the top 10 manufacturing industries in Rhode Island in a 2005 Annual Survey of manufacturers and in a recent (2008) web posting. The Printing Industry of New England cited the size of the R.I. printing industry at 4,200 employees and industry shipments at $632 million.
95 percent of Rhode Island printing companies employ less than 100 people and over 75 percent of those employ less than 20, which means that these small businesses need new employees who can be productive without time-consuming training. Rhode Island College has always provided entry-level employees with up-to-date skills to utilize right away in the workforce. The closing of the Graphic Communications program will strike a blow to the employers who have consistently turned to RIC for assistance.
C. Gaul: Do you believe that a major cause of this cancellation is likely that the college was just unwilling to hire someone qualified enough to take your place after you retired?
Dr. Collins: I believe that the college is attempting to "save money" by cancelling programs and not hiring faculty to replace retired professors. The Graphics program also needs supplies to run, so I'm assuming that not running the program will save there as well. One teacher with 30 students and no supplies would be less expensive than a lecture/lab course that operates with 15 - 18 students who need ink, paper, and on occasion, repairs to equipment.
I firmly believe that closing the program is a disservice to the students who have planned on Graphic Communications as a career. For the last 2 years, the classes have been mostly filled with Communications majors and at last count, there were 48 students in the Graphic Communications Concentration. The Introduction to Graphic Communications Technology course was full for the fall semester, but was cancelled shortly before the fall 2008 semester. This left students who had enrolled in RIC in order to begin or continue their career in Graphic Communications without a program. Parents, teachers from feeder schools, and students were all upset by this turn of events.
C. Gaul: What is your history with the Graphic Comm program?
Dr. Collins: I began as an adjunct faculty member in 1983 and was hired as an instructor in the Industrial Arts program in 1984. The program split into Industrial Arts and Industrial Technology; I continued on in Industrial Technology. About 7 years ago, the Graphics program was moved to Communications where it flourished. Advanced classes were added so that students could progress from the Intro. course to courses in web site creation, electronic publishing, electronic portfolio, offset printing, digital photography, to courses in color reproduction, color correction, and management. Students in the program have won many awards in the International Graphic Arts Education Association (IGAEA) Annual Gutenberg Competition, for posters, web design, and digital photography. For the past 20 years, they have also won scholarship awards through NE Printing & Publishing Council, Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, and Graphic Communications Industry of RI (GCIRI), where I have been Executive Director since September 2007.
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