Armani Billingslea
English 1102
Summary
Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design is a private for-profit private school found in Lakewood, Colorado. Being that it is a very “progressive” school, the ideal student is someone who’s open to a diverse wide range of people, great leader, great academically, and someone who’s willing to tap into their creative side. Since this is an art school, expectations for what they want are ambiguously chosen based on each person’s own artistic vision.
Analysis
Without a doubt Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design has great merit given its history of being for the people but it’s safe to suggest that they dib and dab in amazingly effective recruitment for their school. The very first compelling recruitment tactic is their strong urge to show all the awards/accreditations they have received. Now, how is accreditation going to influence anybody you might ask? To keep it simple, it just means that they are held to a higher degree of accountability. Accreditation ensures that the students are getting the right help when developing and practicing their art.
Now remember earlier when I mentioned for a few seconds of their history? Well as you might’ve guessed that’s another very convincing tactic that RMCAD uses to reel in students. Plastered in the center of the “About Us” page is another subheading that tells you all about their great historical feats, hitting the reader with positive reinforcement over and over. Inside of it, they tell us basically that RMCAD originally was the largest free tuberculosis treatment center in the world. Although there was no cure for tuberculosis at the time, many believed that Colorado’s ample sunshine and crisp mountain air would help ease the pain. In a way, it became a haven for those who were suffering from tuberculosis.
My next example would have to highlight around the school’s primary focus/mission. Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design puts a huge emphasis on diversity and that’s the train that keeps pushing the school forward, making it known that they are for everybody. Referring to the “student-services” page on their website RMCAD even go as far as having a “Diversity Alliance.” It is encouraged for all students, faculty, and staff to be a part of the “Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Alliance.” (IDEA) is a group committed to improving the quality of student life by supplying resources, opportunities and civic engagement to people of all backgrounds. The group also says that they use their influence and go out to do community outreach and leadership training. A few examples of the “Diversity Alliances” accomplishments include: the “implemented mandatory training, the identified & addressed curricular bias was made to make changes in the structures that inform racial bias.” The online course updates are self-explanatory they rewrite/restructure some courses for better inclusion. All this information is readily available and easily found going through the student services section on their website.
The second to last example that I have is going to call attention to how does life after graduating from RMCAD translates to work. Well for one RMCAD offers a wide range of resources available to its students and alumni. There are areas on campus and on their website that go in depth on how to find internship opportunities, network, jobs, and how to make professional development documents like resumes, cover letters, etc. Additionally, RMCAD’s Career & Alumni Services wants to stay connected even after students graduate. So basically, after you sign up for the services you could receive mentorship, get updates on the job board for employment opportunities specifically just for RMCAD students and alumni.
Last but not least, the final sample of information the website has that’s meant to persuade prospective students is the repeated areas where you can find the programs that they offer. RMCAD provides both campus and online school courses that include animation, art education, fashion design, game art interior design, and photography just to name a few.
Response
Now, even though everything I’ve mentioned from their awards to the history, to the schools’ mission, to the progression of getting into the workforce after graduation, to the programs all sound very enticing but I would conclude by confidently saying I would never go here. I will go one by one explaining for each example I gave why I would skip out on RMCAD and go to a different school. For the first example, I’d have to say a schools awards mean absolutely nothing to me. Personally, references from alumni hold more weight than the institutions that are handing out these accreditations. For one, the awards wouldn’t give me an in-depth overview of what goes on internally. The second example, which is the history of the school, doesn’t resonate strongly with me. Another point is that during that period there was no type of cure for tuberculosis and looking back on the times of older medical specialists the treatments weren’t even necessarily proven to be substantially effective for someone’s health. Even the school’s website admits that many who had the disease thought that “Colorado’s ample sunshine and crisp mountain air” helped ease the pain. The third example is the only one that I strongly agree with, this part of exploring the website I absolutely relished. I’m big on diversity and inclusion so I have nothing else to say and nothing negative to say about that part. The fourth example is about life after college translating to work and this section didn’t stick out to me partially because I’m sure most colleges nowadays have a similar system. The fifth and final example is a flat out no for me as well because they have no programs that contain criminal justice or law enforcement.
Work Cited
RMCAD. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.rmcad.edu/