Besides the animation studios and 3D graphics bombarding the exhibition floor at the annual Siggraph conference, the battle to attract students is also brewing between traditional education institutions (Purdue, Texas State and Louisiana State University – Shreveport) and the newly establish commercial institutions like the Art Institute and Savannah College of Art and Design.
How each were trying to attract students was shown between the two as well. The Purdue University booth, as well as Texas State and New York University, had flyers and were showing examples of students’ art work. The Art Institute booth had a drawing contest to see who could draw the best image. Those in the audience would decide the winning prize, which ranged from Adobe Photoshop to a MacBook Pro.
The competition to attract students is fierce. John Miralles, director of the Animation and Visual Effects Institute at Louisiana State University – Shreveport, La, said that the college was not better than the commercial institutes like The Art Institute and the Savannah Art School but LSUS’s program was better because of the lowers costs attending LSUS than the other commercial institutes.
Indeed the message was clear on their website. “LSU Shreveport’s low cost tuition compares very favorably to other digital media schools and universities On average LSU Shreveport’s tuition can be as low as 25% of competitive regionally high-end schools. In-state tuition waivers are available to
students from the region who want to attend LSU Shreveport from out-of-state.”
“We offer high-caliber instruction from industry leading instructors. The AVEP instructors have tremendous experience with top companies around the world. They know what it takes to be a successful artist in the industry.“