A NOTE ABOUT GRADES:
At a job interview, no one will ask you what grade you received in Graphic Design Principles 1.  However, your portfolio will reflect how well you learned, explored, and expanded upon the concepts covered in this course.

Grading Policy and Expectations
Grades will be awarded using the standard grading scale, but will be judged based upon a rubric that takes into consideration effort applied, technical understanding & creative use of resources for the completion of various projects.

Grades will be based upon:

  • 20% Participation & Dedication
  • 70% Projects & Experiments
  • 10% Research & Documentation

Grades will be distributed via private blog post comments. Throughout the semester students may access their grades for each project, midterm, and final grade in the OpenLab WordPress Dashboard or on the Class Blog.

Participation & Dedication is worth 20% of total grade.
Students are asked to consider this class and others like an audition, interview, or internship. Assume that your professor and especially your peers will be in a position to offer you a job or recommend you for a great opportunity in the not too distant future. How you present yourself in class and your dedication to your work will help you achieve your career goals.

Respect for your education, fellow students, and the professor is demonstrated by:

  • Class preparedness (completing projects on time, bringing materials to class, checking class site for instructions)
  • Volunteering answers, asking questions, and helping other students
  • Paying attention during class demonstrations
  • Following project instructions and taking notes
  • Participating in critiques, presentations, and discussions

If during class you are repeatedly observed taking phone calls, texting, checking email, social media, working on other projects, or talking, the full 20% will be deducted from your grade.

Critiques:
Each student will present his/her work for critique for weekly review using design vocabulary.  The critique is a neutral dialog. Students will present their work and discuss the strengths and weaknesses, expressing what works and what doesn’t work in relation to the assignment guidelines. Peer responses will be given. Personal likes or dislikes should be discussed with specific reference to design terminology.

Peer Presentations:
Students in groups of three may present an assigned and researched principle or element. For example: one group may research and present Balance. In preparation, students will use library resources, books, magazines, online references and write and present a formal lecture on the topic to the class.

Projects & Experiments are worth 70% of the total grade.
There will be between 5-6 major Projects and several weekly in-class and take-home experiments. Only projects that strictly adhere to documented instructions and are presented in a clean, professional manner will be accepted for credit. Projects will be collected or critiqued at the beginning of each class.

Each student will document their work on the class blog and should demonstrate:

The Design Process:

Phase 1: Discover: Exploration and Experimentation
Phase 2: Define: Iteration and Feedback
Phase 3: Develop: Refine and Execute
Phase 4: Deliver: Professional verbal, written, and visual presentation; critical reflection

Blog posts will be used for documenting and sharing your design process throughout the course. Posts documenting your research, inspirations, experiments, thumbnails, field trips, final work, assessments, and peer critiques will serve as a record of the effort and dedication you demonstrate throughout the semester.

The blog posts will:

  • Help you to develop and sustain your own creative process through careful observation, documentation, presentation and assessment of each project.
  • Organize all the information from the class.
  • Display your individual projects in a clear, appropriate manner
  • Serve as a record of your learning achievements from which to expand and develop in future courses.
  • Interact with your peers in a relaxed, but professional manner.
  • Gain experience using standard design vocabulary terms to express your ideas
  • Develop online communication and information literacy skills using WordPress and OpenLab.

NOTE:  STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO WORK BETWEEN 2-4 HOURS EACH WEEK OUTSIDE OF THE CLASS. A LAB TIME IS AVAILABLE TO MEET THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE PROJECTS AND THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FINISH YOUR PROJECTS IN CLASS.

Research & Documentation is worth 10% of  your grade.

Ways of Seeing Research Project, A Glossument: This semester-long, cross-disciplinary student project will be a graphic representation of a student-created glossary, developed on the class’s shared OpenLab course site. Based on artist Tom Phillips’s altered text “A Humument,” it will allow students to create a personal portfolio of words to highlight different ways of seeing design and writing concepts in the two First-Year Learning Community courses: COMD1100 & ENG1101

Using a found hardcover book you will create an entirely new written and visual document that encompasses your exploration of the ways we see, read, hear, speak, touch, and understand the world. You will use multiple techniques to communicate: painting, drawing, and cut-up,  as well as writing forms such as collage and concrete poetry, to create a unique altered book.

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 marked. 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.

  • If a student misses a class session, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the professor or a peer and make up any work missed PRIOR to the next class meeting.

Make-ups
If a student finds they will not be able to present or hand in a project on the scheduled day, it is their responsibility to notify the instructor PRIOR to the due date and request alternate arrangements. Points will be deducted for late projects and missed critiques.

Academic Integrity and Expectations (Cheating/Plagiarism)
All students are responsible for reading, understanding and abiding by the NYC College of Technology Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities,” section “Academic Integrity Standards.” Academic dishonesty of any type, including cheating and plagiarism is unacceptable. “Cheating” is misrepresenting another student’s efforts/work as your own. “Plagiarism” is the representation of another person’s work, words or concepts as your own.

Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades,

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR
Learning is a group activity. The behavior of each person in class affects the learning outcomes of others. You are a college student and are expected to act in a mature manner; to be respectful of the learning process, your instructor and your fellow students.

“To maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning and the free exchange of ideas, it is important that students and faculty treat one another with courtesy and mutual respect. Behaviors that interfere with the classroom academic atmosphere will not be tolerated. Such behaviors include, but are not limited to, the following: talking or otherwise making excessive noise or showing disrespect when a teacher or another student is speaking, repeatedly interrupting other students or the professor, refusing to interact with the members of the class when group work is required, coming to class under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.” – based on Goucher College guidelines

Here are some links to expected classroom behavior in a college learning environment: