By John Eckberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In an Interactive Media Studies class Wednesday, Becky Singson (left) of Greenhills, Gignni Carrero of Covedale (center) and Chad Levine of Buffalo Grove, Ill., work on a Web site for the city of Oxford. The Cincinnati Enquirer/ERNEST COLEMAN

OXFORD - When Interactive Media Studies launched its first class at Miami University in 1996, 11 students signed up for the interdisciplinary approach that brings real-world business problems to students about to embark upon careers.

The innovative program has caught on.

Last year, 900 students took classes in the 11-course department, which directs students and faculty from art, computer science, economics, educational leadership, journalism and marketing departments to solve problems for client companies.

Why would firms pay $20,000 - it's $10,000 for nonprofits - for Web, interactive, e-commerce and other high-tech services from college seniors and juniors?

Perhaps because sleep-deprived college students on deadline tend to work like whirlwinds - particularly when a prospective boss is watching every move.

"We are getting a real good value," said Sandy Ping, president and chief executive of Blue Ash-based VentureForward.

His company has contracted with Interactive Media Services for an interactive compact disk that will be used as a marketing tool to explain to prospective customers the knowledge-management capabilities of VentureForward.

"I calculated it out," Ping said. "We are probably getting this work done for less than minimum wage.

"Also, we are in a growth mode and are interested in picking up some graduates as new hires. We saw this as an opportunity to see the students in action."

Breaking through walls

Interactive Media Studies was founded with a $1 million grant from Procter & Gamble Co.

Glenn Platt, director of IMS and a professor in the program, realized in the mid-1990s that companies were drowning in a sea of information and misinformation about the Web and interactive media.

Companies wondered how new media would change operations, customer relations and client services.

What's more, university departments and disciplines had walls: Journalists did not communicate much with artists; business majors did not interact with computer science majors.

"The faculty recognized what everybody now sees as obvious: When it comes to the world of digital development and e-commerce, disciplinary silos don't make a whole lot of sense," said Platt.

"You need to understand the big picture and academia is really bad at that. Academia is really good at trees but really bad at forests."

At the time, the university had three classes on how to make a Web page, but no class on how to write for the Web, Platt said. "There was no coordinated effort going on," he said.

A handful of faculty came together to create an approach that would educate students and bring consulting services to area companies - and services and products, eventually, to consumers.

"This was new territory," Platt said, "something where technical writers, marketing people, programmers, graphic designers could take classes, work together and understand real-world client problems."

The program has 25 Pentium 4 personal computers, each with a 2-gigabyte capacity and a 19-inch flat-screen monitor. It also has Mac computers and video-editing software. Clients have included Cintas and P&G.

Practical experience is at the core of the approach, said Chris Starkey, program director.

Students apply what they've learned, and, as at a new media consulting company, the programmer comes together with the graphic designer, marketer and content provider to follow the course charted by the client.

And that course can change once a client gets an idea of how the work is proceeding.

Senior Jeff Borod is a 1998 graduate of Sycamore High School. The 24-year-old's take on the program:

"You get to work every day beside somebody who is a different major," Borod said. "And you're dealing with real-life clients."

IMS' capstone Web project was to create a Web site for the Taft Museum of Art. But inevitably, Taft leaders realized that their initial needs would have to be expanded.

"Once a client starts to see what the product is going to be, it's easier to fine-tune," said Tamera Muente, communications specialist for the museum.

The students have designed a site that lets the museum sell products and register visitors for events.

"And our event registration has grown," she said.

E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com