Tribeca
Flashpoint Renames Itself a College, Expands Its Offerings
Karis Hustad - Staff writer
05/05/15 @1:21pm
A Howard Tullman and
Robert De Niro-backed digital media and arts institution is expanding its reach
in the Chicago higher education world.
Tribeca Flashpoint College, formerly Tribeca
Flashpoint Academy, changed its name to reflect its recently expanded education
options, alumni reach, and career services, indicating its growing presence and
nascent success educating the digital creatives of tomorrow.
"In addition to
broadening and deepening our educational offerings, we have expanded our
student services, particularly in the areas of career services and
student finance," said Tribeca Flashpoint College CEO Todd Steele in a
release.
Tribeca Flashpoint
College, located near Daley Plaza downtown, started as a two year digital media
training institute with 1871 CEO Howard Tullman at its helm (he has since moved
on to other ventures). In the eight years since it began, the college joined
forces with Robert De Niro's Tribeca film school and expanded to offer three
bachelors degree and six associate degree options. Students study subjects such
as digital arts, film post-production, marketing, and animation.
The school's next
expansion is in career services including an internship fair, on-campus
recruiting, weekly advising sessions, and sessions on how to build a brand
(this is a digital media school after all).
"In light of the
rich and effective educational experience afforded to our students, we believe
'College' to be a more appropriate designation for our institution,"
Steele added.
The school has also
started to track their employment metrics. For example, last year the school
overall had a 70 percent graduate rate in 2014, and 84 percent of alumni in the
associates recording arts program found jobs. But the school is still
relatively young, which means metrics for newer programs won't be around for
awhile.
All the programs are
accredited. Tribeca Flashpoint College tells students to budget about $42,000
total per year cost which can be covered through federal aid, private loans, or
through merit-based scholarships the school offers.
With that being said,
the school is growing every year and is especially hoping its growing
connections in Chicago and project-based education style will get students the
real world experience needed to be successful. The school touts capstone project
partnerships with Second City and GrubHub, among other local companies and
productions.
"I've spent more
than two decades working in the film industry; what makes Tribeca
Flashpoint Colleges such a compelling institution is that it was created
by the industry for the industry," said Peter Hawley, Flashpoint's
academic dean in the release. "As our institution has evolved and expanded
its offerings, we have maintained our commitment to industry-relevant,
project-based education which is the hallmark of a Tribeca Flashpoint
education."
