The University Calendar is available online at:
http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current.html
Academic Information: Definitions and Regulations:
http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/sec16.html
Fine Arts Student Academic Services:
https://www.concordia.ca/finearts/students/sas.html
Academic Code of Conduct at:
http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/17-10.html
Student Advocate Program:
http://www.concordia.ca/students/advocate-program.html
For more information about the Department and program-related event listings, refer to the Design and Computation Arts web pages at:
http://www.concordia.ca/finearts/design.html
Students must pay a fee an annual fee of $50 at the beginning of the fall semester. These fees are required to cover the maintenance of audio-visual equipment in the CDA-EV Depot and maintain Department-specific labs. The Departmental fees must be paid within the first two weeks of the fall term. Payments can be made online at: https://stores.concordia.ca/supplies/fine-art-fees.html. For payments in person please visit the Art Supply Store in the LB Building 119 (CASH ONLY). The student will receive a receipt, which must be taken to the Department Administrator (Mich Sardella). Non-payment will prevent students from borrowing department-owned audio-visual equipment and disallow access to the Sensor/Visual Communications and Computation Labs and the Documentation Room.
CDA fees ($45/semester), are administered through the CDA (Center for Digital Arts), which is part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and so not exclusive to the Department. Payments can be made online at: https://stores.concordia.ca/supplies/fine-art-fees.html. For payments in person please visit the Art Supply Store in the LB Building 119 - (CASH ONLY). Receipts must be taken to the CDA Depot to register for a CDA account, which enables access to workstations in the fifth floor classrooms, Open Access Lab and edit rooms, as well the CDA server, which holds Class Shares and personal server space. A CDA account is also required to sign out CDA-owned equipment. For more information, see http://cda.concordia.ca/
There may be material costs associated with individual courses, such as textbooks, art supplies, and fees for in-class workshops and field trips.
Regulations for the workshops (8th floor in the EV building) and labs will be provided and must be adhered to. Appointments must be made in advance. Please refer to the guidelines for the Core Technical Centre on their website at: https://www.concordia.ca/finearts/facilities/studio-support/core-technical-centres.html See guidelines and reservation procedures for the Photo Documentation Room and each Department- specific lab (Sensor Lab, Visual Communication Lab, Soft Surface Lab and Computation Lab): http://www.concordia.ca/finearts/design/facilities.html
Students are required to have a valid and stable e-mail account during their study period, as instructors use a shared class email list for communication purposes. In general, email communications from the Department and individual instructors will be sent to email addresses specified by students in their MyConcordia portal, which connects automatically to lists generated by Moodle and SIS.
While the structure of individual classes may vary between instructors, courses, and weeks according to the types of activities involved (lectures, workshops, student presentations, team work, guest speakers, critiques, one-on-one discussions, etc.), the Department suggests that for 4-hour classes, students and their instructors have 20-30 minutes of break time, and for 3-hour classes, they have 10-20 minutes of break time. Attendance is required for all classes.
For the average student, each credit represents a minimum of 45 hours of academic activity, including lectures, tutorials, laboratories, studio or practice periods, examinations, and personal work. Though not always the case, when evenly distributed over a 13-week semester, class time and homework amounts to at least 10.5 hours per week per 3-credit course. (Refer to the Undergraduate Academic Calendar, Section 16.)
In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University’s control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in a course is subject to change.
In-class participation is considered an important and significant part of each course. Attendance is taken and it is the responsibility of students to be present at all classes. Up to 30% of the final grade for any course can be given for attendance and class participation, at the discretion of the instructor.
As a Departmental policy, a maximum of two absences per term is tolerated, after which an official medical note or other valid reason must be provided. Justification must be given in writing to the instructor. Three unjustified absences per course will result in an automatic failure. Notification in writing will be sent by the instructor to the student after two missed classes. Information will not be repeated due to absence or tardiness, except for a medical or other legitimate reason. In all cases, students are responsible for any coursework due during periods of absenteeism, including the Drop/Add period.
Students missing fifteen minutes or more (through late arrival or leaving while class is in session) will be considered as a full or partial absence, according to the discretion of the instructor.
All instructors are required to be available to students outside of class hours. Individual appointments can be scheduled during posted office hours, or as arranged with the instructor at his or her own discretion. Full-Time Faculty members are asked to have scheduled office hours for students for two hours each week. Students should take appointments with Part-Time Faculty (EV 6.705).
It is recommended that instructors have a mechanism of mid-term course feedback in place. This mechanism promotes constructive interaction between students and instructor.
Projects worth 15% or more of the final grade typically entail at least two of the following:
A schedule of deadlines and requirements will be provided for each project and will include the grading criteria. Please note: projects must be picked up once the final grade has been received or they will be recycled. Projects will not be kept for longer than one semester.
Technical drawings must have written approval from the instructor and the CTC technician before construction can begin. In general, projects should not exceed one cubic meter, unless the instructors in consultation with the technician give specific permission. Projects must take sustainability principles into account.
Automatically reduced by a minimum of one full letter grade (or approximately 10%) unless a medical certificate or other valid reason is provided, according to class policy.
At the discretion of the instructor, projects may be resubmitted for re-evaluation. Students are advised to keep copies of all their work for all assignments until the final grade has been posted to their transcripts.
Field trips, activities, workshops, exercises etc. help develop specific knowledge and technical skills. Students may be required to cover additional expenses for some of these activities. Receipts are available on request from the department administration.
Students are encouraged to take notes, however unauthorized use of mobile devices (tablets, phones and laptops) and social media is prohibited during lectures, presentations and critiques.
The final grade will be based on the University grade point equivalents and department letter-grade criteria as outlined below.
Outstanding - The work is an outstanding interpretation of the assignment, demonstrating critical thinking, careful attention to detail and planning. Excellent in both content and form, it is well crafted, insightful, and surprising in its originality.
Very Good - The work demonstrates a strong interpretation of the assignment’s requirements in concept, content and form. It would benefit from a more original approach, and/or formal refinements.
Satisfactory - The work demonstrates a sufficient interpretation, fulfilling the assignment’s basic requirements. However, some aspects of the development and outcome are missing or lack completion.
Marginal Pass - The work demonstrates a minimal interpretation of the assignment.
Poor - Failure
For more information on Failing Grades, Grade Notations and Late Completions (INC grades), please refer to the Undergraduate Calendar, Academic Information: Definitions and Regulations, sections 16.3.3 to 16.3.6. http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/sec16/16.html
All students have the right to apply for the re-evaluation of any grade they receive. The first step is for the student to consult with their course instructor to explain their position. If they remain dissatisfied, or are unable to meet with the instructor it is the recommendation of the Department that they consult first with their program director or Department Chair before making a formal request for re-evaluation. For complete instructions on how to proceed with a formal request for re-evaluation, refer to the Undergraduate Calendar, Academic Information: Definitions and Regulations, section 16.3.9 II Academic Re-evaluation. http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/sec16/16.html
The Department of Design and Computation Arts complies with the Academic Integrity and the Academic Code of Conduct. Students, support staff and instructors are expected to be familiar with and to behave according to the ethical guidelines and rules of conduct of the University.
http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/17-10.html
Students, support staff and instructors are expected to be familiar with and adhere to the academic regulations as described in the Concordia University Calendar, Section 16.
http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/sec16/16.html
The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism, which the Code defines as “the presentation of the work of another person as one’s own or without proper acknowledgement” (Article 16a). For more information on plagiarism and how to avoid it, see
http://www.concordia.ca/students/academic-integrity/plagiarism.html
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) distributes a formal evaluation to all courses. Some of these evaluations are accessed through the students’ MyConcordia Portal and others are completed during class-time. In the case of the former, instructors are encouraged to remind their students to fill in these evaluations. In the case of the latter, the instructor must leave the room during the evaluation process. The forms are distributed, filled in anonymously, collected by a student representative who then seals the forms in an envelope. Both the student and the instructor sign the envelope. The student then takes the envelope to the Security Office in the lobby of the building where the class takes place. This is an important part of the university-wide course evaluation process and must be completed by each instructor. The instructor will receive a summary of the results along with a transcript of all written comments. Written comments are confidential and only seen by the instructor.