April 2005

All high school and post-secondary graphic communications programs in South Carolina will now be able to incorporate the PrintED standards and competencies into their curricula as a result of an agreement made between the state's Department of Education and the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF®).

South Carolina is the first state to take advantage of the licensure opportunity since it was made available in 2004 by GAERF, which administers PrintED -- a national accreditation and certification program.

The competencies consist of more than 400 graphic communication tasks that have been developed by industry and educators to determine if a student has attained sufficient knowledge and hands-on proficiency in Introduction to Graphic Communications, Press Operations, Digital File Preparation, Binding & Finishing, Digital File Output, Advanced Press Operations, and Advanced Digital File Preparation. In order for a program to become accredited, it must meet nine skill standards in at least two of these seven areas of accreditation. Students who achieve passing scores on standardized examinations in Introduction to Graphic Communications, Press Operations, and Digital File Preparation receive certifications. Exams in the other four areas will be developed at a later time. Presently, there are some 160 accredited programs in 32 different states, along with numerous accreditation candidates.

PrintED's goal is to provide students with a clear understanding of what their future workplaces will be like and what skills and knowledge they will need for a successful career. It provides students with a clear pathway to follow whether they choose to continue their education at a higher level or go directly into the workplace. Either way -- whether advancing to post-secondary education or directly into industry -- PrintED students have the right combination of academic and technical skills to succeed.

In South Carolina, "...we want to have all of our career and technical education programs accredited," says B. T. Martin, Education Associate in the state Department of Education, Office of Career and Technology Education. "We want these programs to be taught to industry standards."

Part of South Carolina's strategy, Martin adds, has been to identify the leading accrediting organizations in a wide range of industries, an effort that led the state to PrintED. "The PrintED program will put us on the cutting edge of technology and give our students more access both to employment and to higher education opportunities," Martin says.

GAERF Chairman Randolph W. Camp, CEO of Walton Media Services in Monroe, Georgia, said the Foundation's objective in offering the state licensure program is to make PrintED more widely useful and encourage its adoption throughout state and local school systems.

Camp also noted that PrintED can help school systems respond to requirements for greater accountability and measurement of educational success because it offers a nationally certified, industry-approved body of knowledge. "Because of the close, ongoing involvement of industry in developing the content of PrintED competencies and courses, schools adopting PrintED are better able to assure that their curricula are fully current and relevant to the workplace," Camp said.

The PrintED National Accreditation Program is one part of GAERF's mission. In addition to this program, the Foundation administers two other programs designed to support recruitment and training of a skilled workforce: the grant-making program which, since its inception in 1983, has awarded over $4.5 million in funding, and MAKE YOUR MARK® in Graphic Communications, a campaign to high schools aimed at promoting a positive image of the printing and graphic communications industry and raising student awareness of the industry's diverse career opportunities.

The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation was created by the National Association for Printing Leadership, NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing, and Converting Technologies, and the Printing Industries of America in 1983. These three national associations jointly own the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC®). GAERF was created to channel a portion of the revenues earned by GASC-managed shows into projects supporting a strong future for the industry.

For additional information about the Foundation and its programs, visit the GAERF web site at www.gaerf.org or call (866) 381-9839 toll-free.