New York University's educational publishing programs have undergone a number of major changes since 1996, the year publishing veteran Robert Baensch was named director of the school's Center for Publishing. In his first year there, the programs were moved from NYU's school of liberal arts to the school of continuing and professional studies. The switch means that the courses are now taught by adjunct professors who are from the publishing industry rather than by NYU faculty, and courses are geared toward teaching adults. According to Baensch, the change was instituted at the urging of publishing industry members who wanted the programs to adapt an "applications approach. We're not just teaching principles, we're teaching practice."

Baensch's first year also included the launch of the Master of Science Publishing degree. There are now more than 100 students registered in the program, compared to 24 in the fall of 1996. To be eligible to earn a masters, applicants must have at least two years of industry experience and then complete 36 credit hours. All students must take six core classes, after which they can major in magazine, book or electronic publishing. At present, approximately 45% of students are majoring in magazine publishing, 40% in book publishing and 15% in electronic publishing. "In fall of 1999 ,about 80% of students were focusing on electronic publishing. By fall of 2001, the majority swung back to books and magazines," Baensch observed.

Baensch credits the move to having the courses taught by working professionals with playing a key role in expanding the masters program. "They keep things fresh and timely," and are also able to bring in guest speakers, Baensch said. The masters program is one of four publishing programs now offered by NYU. The long-running Summer Publishing Institute runs for six weeks in June and July. Because of the recession, Baensch predicts that the 70 slots in the institute will be oversubscribed this year. Like the masters program, courses in the summer program are taught by industry professionals and include guest speakers and case studies.

The Center for Publishing also offers more than 45 courses in its book and magazine certificate program. The courses are "skill specific" and are updated to keep pace with industry changes, Baensch said. NYU recently began a certificate program for business press publishing and will launch a certificate in electronic publishing this spring.

The fourth area of study is special programs. NYU has held seminars at BookExpo America and will do so again this year. In November, Baensch plans to launch a "top management program" for small and medium-sized independent publishers. The format will likely feature four days of roundtable discussions that will address a particular topic. Baensch intends to make the program a regular event.

While the publishing industry has been very cooperative in supplying guest speakers for different courses, it has fallen way short in another important area tuition reimbursement. "Industry leaders are not supporting the training of the next generation of managers," Baensch said, adding that in the rapidly changing publishing world "mentoring won't work any more. I'll be devoting a great deal of effort, along with our board of advisers, to reawaken the need for tuition reimbursements."