Avid Everywhere Drives Student Success at Fort Hays State University

Burlington, MA, 2015/05/08

Kansas-based university provides students real-world training to compete for the industry’s best jobs using industry-standard Avid solutions built upon the Avid MediaCentral Platform

Avid® (Nasdaq: AVID) today announced that Fort Hays State University (FHSU), a thriving and diverse college located in Hays, Kansas, has embraced Avid Everywhere™ and implemented an end-to-end media production workflow based upon the Avid MediaCentral™ Platform. FHSU is also an Avid Learning Partner school, offering Pro Tools®  and Media Composer® certifications as part of their official curriculum. By partnering with Avid, FHSU is providing students with the hands-on training and certifications they need to compete for the industry’s best jobs.  

“Fort Hays students are given every opportunity to develop their skills, make mistakes, and get their hands on equipment in their first or second semester,” says Melissa Hunsicker Walburn, chair of the Informatics Media Department at FHSU. “Students come here because they want to learn the skills needed to get real jobs. By using an all-Avid workflow, we’re giving students a toolbox of skills that will help them get where they want to go.”

Fort Hays University is a member of the MIAA Division II athletics conference, and the media department broadcasts 20 MIAA games per year, reaching 2.5 million homes in Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. In order to produce high-quality content and train students with cutting-edge solutions, FHSU implemented an integrated Avid broadcast workflow that includes Avid ISIS® shared storage, iNEWS® newsroom management software, an Interplay® | Production media management system, and Avid MediaCentral | UX—a cloud-based, web front end to the Avid MediaCentral Platform. The new Avid workflow serves as a central hub for FHSU sports broadcasting, and provides students with valuable hands-on production experience. 

As an Avid Learning Partner school, FHSU provides students with the industry-recognized Avid certifications they need to prove their skills to potential employers and stand out from the crowd. Certification coursework and exams are built in to the core curriculum, so there’s no need for students to take extra courses or pay additional costs to get certified. Enrollment in certification programs has risen 30% in the last few months, and has helped FHSU attract students from around the world. 

FHSU is currently in the process of making its entire media program available online using the Avid MediaCentral Platform as the foundation. This will enable students and faculty to collaborate beyond the school’s walls and work on content from any location. As the school moves forward, FHSU will continue to partner with Avid to provide students with the skills and training they need to succeed.

“Avid Everywhere is uniquely capable of helping schools like Fort Hays State University prepare the next generation of media professionals for success in the media industry,” stated Jennifer Smith, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Avid. “By teaching industry-standard Avid solutions and offering industry-recognized Avid certifications, FHSU is providing students with the skills and qualifications they need to compete for the industry’s best jobs.”