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By Natasha Gardner

A three-week intensive certificate program for 50 non-Advertising majors, "advertising a2b," premiered to rave reviews last May. The self-funded certificate program open to any junior or senior on campus will be offered again during CU’s Maymester.

"Students get to the point where they are trying to figure out what to do with their lives," said Mindy Cheval, senior instructor and head of the SJMC Advertising sequence. "They can see themselves in this business. And many people who go into the advertising industry don’t have a degree in advertising." In its second year, advertising a2b is a noncredit program that gives students intensive training and experience in advertising.

The 2007 program will run from May 14 through June 1. For $3,300 tuition, students get to hear from CU’s ad faculty and top industry professionals from around the country. Textbooks, materials, some lunches, snacks and a banquet at the program’s end are part of the deal. Last’s year’s program ended with $65,000 profit for the School.

"We give people skills that they couldn’t get elsewhere at CU," Cheval said.

In the first week, students learn about account management and get tips on career development with Brad Karsh, an expert on breaking into the job market. During the second week, students receive more career advice while learning about media planning and working as a creative. In the third and final week, students gain hands-on experience working for a client.

Eldora Mountain Resort in Nederland will be the advertising a2b client again in 2007. Cheval said she thinks it is a good client for the program because it is a product, brand and consumer with which students can quickly identify.

She said a few graduates of the program went on to work or intern in the advertising industry at places such as Modernista! and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

The students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the program.

"I found it exciting to work with students from a wide variety of disciplines, and I was inspired by how far they were able to progress in just three weeks," said Brett Robbs, associate professor and an advertising a2b instructor.

"We launched an executive-in-residence program," Cheval said. "We are also in the process of buying some much needed equipment." 

Leftover funds will be used to hold noncredit workshops and add a lecture series.

Cheval said she expects the 2007 program to be even more successful.

"One thing I think we have done that will be great is to hire Teri Fildey (’99) to teach account management this year," she said. Fildey has worked at Goodby, Silverstein &Partners in San Francisco and Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Ore., and recently returned to Boulder to become director of client services at TDA, Cheval said.

The emphasis on combining professional and practical experience in an academic setting is part of the program’s success.

"We focus it on the experiences our students want so that they will be happy with the value," Cheval said.

Advertising a2b is the first program of its kind at the School, but it may not be the last.

"I think we would be able to do more and more of these," Cheval said. "Some are going to work better than others. We are in talks about expanding this program, but right now we just need to get it perfect."

"If we can derive a useful template from advertising a2b, we can offer similar summertime short-courses to non-majors or non-student professionals, using the self-funding finance model, for any number of topical areas," said Dean Paul Voakes.

Instructors for the program are Cheval, Robbs, Assistant Professor Kendra Gale, Associate Professor David Slayden and Fildey. A number of guest faculty members from the advertising field help round out the advertising a2b program.

Cheval said she encourages alums to contact the School if they are interested in being a guest lecturer for the program or for other events. More information on ads a2b is available at www.colorado.edu/ContinuingEducation/adsa2b.