Course grade: Your grade will be based on the following:

Assignments (5) 25%
Paper 25%
Prelim 25% Thurs,Oct 25, 7:30-9:00 PM Room G71 MVR
Final exam 25% Thurs, Dec 6, 9:00 - 11:30 am in Goldwyn Smith Hall, Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium .

Please note these exam dates. Makeup exams will be available only in the event of University-created scheduling conflicts. Airline reservations do not constitute a valid excuse. If you cannot meet this exam schedule, you should not take this class.

Persons taking this course pass/fail must achieve a final average of 70% to pass the course.

Assignments will be graded as received and may not be revised after grading. However, the instructor and TAs will be happy to consult with you on your assignments before they are due.

Attendance: Since this course is heavily dependent on visual material, attendance is essential if assignments are to be understood and completed correctly. Slides and other visual materials shown in class will be incorporated in the exams. The visual materials (slides and other visual examples) presented in class are not available at any other time. Images available for study via the Web Textbook or on reserve at Mann Library are not necessarily the images you will see in class. The outside readings are not substitutes for the lectures, and you are responsible for information presented in both lectures and readings. The exercises are opportunities to demonstrate that you have grasped concepts presented in class by means of lecture and visual examples.

The Web Textbook: A Web site has been created for this course. It includes the basic textbook, study guides for the exams, and will have all assignments posted, as they are announced. The first assignment is now online from the home page.

If you don't have the URL for this Web site handy, you can also reach the Web Textbook through a series of mouse clicks, via the Cornell Home page which can link you to the TXA Department/ Course page and the TXA 125 course page. If you are working on your computer at home you can bookmark the Textbook so that you can find it more readily thereafter.

Electronic mailing list: An electronic mailing list has been established for this course. Essential course information will be distributed via the electronic mailing list, and you will be held responsible for that information. Once you are subscribed, a message will be sent out to you. To send a message to the instructor or everyone on the list, you can send a message to txa125-L@cornell.edu.

Keep in mind that the mailing list is intended for course related discussion and questions. If you wish to discuss a matter of a personal nature, to maintain confidentiality you should contact the professor in person, by phone, or at her personal email address ( caj7@cornell.edu ). In addition to posted office hours, you may also call or stop by at other times. Mornings, or after class are likely times.

Assignments: Half of the grade is dependent on five individually graded exercises (5% each totalling 25%) and a paper (25%). The other half will be dependent on two machine scored exams (25% each). The paper and the two exams will each cover roughly a third of the material in the course-- that is, the final is NOT cumulative. Since the five exercises are intended mainly as design experiences, the grades are usually high; however there has typically been more of a spread in grades on the exams and paper, which count more toward your final grade. The exams will involve slides and multiple choice questions.

All assignments in this course are designed to test directly your ability to handle visual material. You will be asked to select images, visual components, and style features and/or manipulate, compare, and/or analyze them. You do not need to have any previous experience or special skills to complete these assignments well. Much of the course material is devoted to the language of design and the fine arts; demonstration of your understanding of the terms and concepts presented in class is crucial to success in any assignment.

Late work: THIS IS IMPORTANT! All work is due at the beginning of class (ie. 12:20 PM) on the day stipulated. Work turned in to the teacher after class has ended for the day is late. This includes work brought to the classroom at the end of class by persons not attending class, and work simply not handed in by attending students until the class is over.

Remember that getting work in on time is YOUR responsibility. Please keep in mind that if you ask a friend to turn in work for you and they fail to do so on time, it will be counted as late.

Work turned in to the office after the class begins on the day stipulated (ie. 12:20 PM) is late. Work turned in to the office must be turned in to the secretary in 208 MVR to be dated.

Do NOT slide work under the professor's door or put it directly in her mailbox! Any work left in the instructors mailbox or office will be considered received at the time found by the instructor. Assignments may not be submitted electronically, only in the format described in each assignment.

The exercises will be accepted up to two weeks late, but not thereafter. No exceptions will be made.

The mid term paper will be accepted up to the last day of class.

In any case, lateness will affect the grade.

Exams: Exams will be multiple choice, machine scored, and will involve slides. Sample questions and a detailed study guide are available on this Web Site (see table of contents at left). A makeup exam may only be arranged for students with a University-generated conflict (another prelim or a course-related field trip, for example). Permission of the instructor is needed to take the makeup. In the event of a dire medical emergency, an exception may be made, providing that documentation of the medical emergency (such as hospitalization) is provided, and the instructor is notified in a timely manner- that is, in most cases, BEFORE the exam occurs. Airline schedules and the like are not an acceptable excuse for missing an exam. If you know at the beginning of the semester that you will be unable to meet exam dates, you should not take this course.