In as few words as possible:
The Drake advertising program is broken. I've known this in the back of my mind for a long time, but now the symptoms are glaringly obvious. The education that drake students receive related to advertising is incomplete at best. At worst it constitutes theft.
One of the most distressing problems is the outlook this program fosters towards the ad industry. Advertising is one of the most exciting and enjoyable professions in the world. Our experience over the past 4 years has been anything but. It may be unprecedented in that Drake's program makes advertising miserable. Students are made to hate advertising rather than love it.Something is clearly wrong.
The creative side needs to be overhauled—if not shut down completely. Job placement rates are dismal. Students getting creative jobs in Agencies of Note (those who are recognized on a national level) is unheard of. Simply getting a job in any creative capacity outside of the Des Moines market is next to impossible. Ask any of this year's seniors.In the past six years I know of two individuals who went on to work as creatives in agencies outside of Des Moines. One of these individuals is now in Portland, the other has left the industry and returned to portfolio school. Both graduated in 2007.
Chad Baker, now VP at The Meyocks Group, was the professor for their copywriting class. Chad is an ad creative. Chad had a curriculum that required students to bring in work frequently. Above all, Chad made students realize what it would be like to work in an ad agency. We no longer get that, and the program suffers for it.
So, at the core, the problem is simple. You have a professor who is unfit to teach creative classes. She lacks the experience and knowledge to adequately prepare ANY ad student for the professional world. It is a problem when a professor who teaches creative has never been a creative. The curriculum reflects this. More weight is given to filename conventions than actual creativity.We produce a very small amount of work in our four years, none of it portfolio ready.
This is not right. The lack of emphasis on portfolio and professional development shows a misunderstanding of how the job market works in this industry. I have long heard from professionals that the NSAC competition is not a selling point on a job application. Rather than acknowledge this, the professors continue to extol the virtues of taking part in the competition. Meanwhile students are left without time to work on their portfolios—the key to any creative job.This letter is not, as you have probably dismissed it already, a letter from a disgruntled, jobless student. I realized early on the the only way to get a job was to work completely outside the program. In June I am extremely happily returning to a scrappy little ad agency in Chicago. The people I worry about were those who put faith in your system, listened to the lies from professors who ”know” what takes to break in, who cried over the NSAC competition for fuck all.
Running a good advertising program is not easy. However, you could do worse than look at the programs at UT Austin, BYU, Oregon and portfolio schools across the nation. Also, look at their faculty lists. Creative classes should be taught by people who have been ad creatives.My experience as a Drake advertising student has been lousy. Many others of my peers will tell you the same. I sincerely hope this is not the case for future students. However, If nothing changes I have no doubt it will be.
Sincerely, and with great concern,Jeff Kwiatek