Faculty: Please update the grading policy below, including grading scale, links to project rubrics, specific participation requirements, as well as how and where you will communicate grades to students.

Overview

Grades will be awarded using the College’s standard grading scale, but your coursework will be evaluated using a rubric that takes into consideration effort applied, technical understanding, and creative use of resources. Your final grade will reflect how well you explored and integrated the design concepts and practices introduced in this course.

Grades will be based upon:

  • 70% Projects & Experiments
  • 10% Participation
  • 10% Documentation
  • 10% Quizzes

Projects & Experiments 70%

There will be between 4-6 projects and several weekly in-class and at-home experiments. Visit Activities > Project Guidelines to view the assigned projects. Coursework that adheres to documented project guidelines and is presented in a professional manner will be accepted for credit. Projects and experiments will be submitted and critiqued each class on the class site.

Each project will be graded based on the Project Rubric.

Participation 10 %

Effective student participation is demonstrated by:

  • Posting and commenting on the shared class site, including contributing to the Visual Library, submitting your work, contributing to discussions, or giving peer feedback.
  • Participating in critiques, presentations, and discussions.
  • Muting your phone, other devices, or applications during class meetings.
  • Following best practices for face-to-face and online learning.
  • Class preparedness: bringing materials to class and checking the class site for instructions.
  • Timeliness: arriving to class on time and completing projects on time.
  • Asking questions, volunteering answers, and helping other students
  • Paying attention during live demonstrations and presentations
  • Following instructions and taking notes

Critiques

Critiques will be held regularly to help you master the design vocabulary and support your fellow classmates. The critique is a neutral, supportive dialog with members of the class. All students will present their work and discuss the strengths and weaknesses with regard to the project guidelines.

Make-ups

If you will not be able to present or hand in a project on the scheduled due date, it is your responsibility to notify the instructor BEFORE the due date.

Points are deducted for late projects and missed critiques. It’s better to turn in incomplete projects than late projects, and to attend the critique even if your work is incomplete. If you turn in your work on time, you will have the opportunity to rework to improve grade!

Documentation 10%

Student posts and comments will be used for recording and sharing your creative process and learning experience throughout the course. Posts and comments documenting your inspiration, experiments, readings, discussions, field trips, final work, and peer critiques will serve as a record of the effort and dedication you demonstrate throughout the semester. Find student posts and comments in the Student Work section.

Student Posts

You will be posting to the class site every week. Instructions for posting your work will be provided in each class agenda. For general help posting to the class site and submitting your work visit Help & Resources > How to Post Your Work

Student Comments

You will be commenting on the class site every week. Instructions for commenting on discussion topics, visual library posts, and your fellow classmates work will be provided in each class agenda. For general help commenting visit Help & Resources > How to Comment & Critique

Visual Library

Every week throughout the semester students will post images to their Visual Library. This collection of images will serve as inspiration for class projects, discussions, presentations and discussions.

Quizzes 10%

Quizzes are worth 10% of your grade. Quizzes will be used to test student’s knowledge of design principles and elements after the completion of each project.

Expectations

The following contribute to your successful completion of the course.

Class Etiquette & Netiquette

Learning is a group activity. The behavior of each person in class affects the overall learning environment. As a COMD student you are expected to act in a professional manner; to be respectful of the learning process, your instructor, and your fellow students. And hopefully have fun!

Independent Work

In order to meet the coursework requirements, you are expected to work at least 4 hours each week outside of class meeting time. Lab time will be available to help you meet the requirements, but you will need to schedule independent work time to complete your coursework.

Attendance

Attendance is taken and is important to success in this class.  Both absences and arrival more than 15 minutes after the start of class will be noted. If excessive, the instructor will alert the student that he or she may be in danger of not meeting the course objectives and participation expectations, which could lead to a lower or failing grade.

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