About a year ago, I wrote an article about how some of the educational institutions serving the graphic communications industry are incorporating variable data and one-to-one communications into their curricula. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ted Bensen, Program Director at University of Wisconsin-Stout on this same topic. Earlier this month, XMPie donated Personal Effect Cross Media Edition, and the uDirect, uStore, uImage and uChart add-ons to the school’s Bachelor’s Degree program in Graphic Communications Management. U of W will also receive XMPie’s new plug-in, uEdit, when it becomes commercially available in the fall. This is part of an expansion program the University has underway in its graphic communications curriculum, moving coursework beyond static print to include dynamic variable data print. The revised program will emphasize Cross Media marketing and communication in response to the demands of the industry, as observed by students, alumni and the industrial advisory board of the university.

WTT: Ted, thanks for speaking with us. Can you tell us a little about your program?

TB: We serve some of the top 100 to 300 graphic service providers in the country by producing graduates with a balance of knowledge in graphic communications technology, business and management. These companies hire our graduates into a variety of management positions, mostly in production and workflow management roles. Our program is very hands-on. We have theory, of course, but we also reinforce that theory through labs. We cover everything, all the way from the creative process through finishing and distribution. We position the program to meet all of the needs for graphic service providers from long-run offset print to short-run digital print to integrated cross media activities.