This course introduces the art student to the indispensable tools and techniques for presenting one’s work in a professional manner to the world at large.

As a result of completing this course,

1. Students will gain a basic knowledge of the components of a professional personal portfolio, and will assemble a core portfolio using both existing and new work as a basis.
2. Students will gain the basic skills of assembling a written resume, documenting their work through photographs and slides, basic mounting, matting, framing and presentation techniques for their work.
3. Students will learn the basic background for the business side of their artwork — from exhibitions and publicity to sound ethical and economic practice in the field.

1. This course addresses the general educational outcome relating to communication skills as follows:
1. Students develop their speaking skills by talking about their design solutions as well as critiquing the work of their classmates.
2. Students develop their reading and writing skills by researching examples of other resumes, writing their own, and writing an essay on their career goals.
3. Students develop their listening skills by participation in group critiques and in comprehension of instructor’s lectures.
4. Students learn the vocabulary of professional personal presentation of their work and themselves through critical assembly of the materials in the portfolio.
2. This course addresses the general educational outcome of effective individual and group problem-solving and critical thinking as follows:
1. Students demonstrate problem solving skills by creating effective solutions to specific design problems.
2. The students’ individual solutions are critically reviewed by the group as a whole.
3. This course addresses the general educational outcome of using mathematical concepts and applying the scientific method as follows:
1. Students analyze their raw data (their artwork) through visual organization (presentation). Using proportional elements of direction, geometry, color theory, unity, variety, pattern and rhythm, the student will create/make a dynamic presentation of the portfolio as a whole.
2. Students use the raw data (their artwork, personal achievements, and biographical information) to organize an effective method of information storage, retrieval, and transmission through creating and using a resume and a database/filing system.
3. Students develop their perceptual awareness and enhance their creative potential by visualizing their artwork as objects in relation to the environmental matrix of the society/culture.
4. This course addresses the general educational outcome of organizing information through the use of a systematic approach by inducing the student to organize their artwork through critical evaluation and selection of primary qualities. Choosing and using a specific method of information storage and retrieval followed by subsequent transmission or communication, the student creates a functional resume and a database/filing system.

1. The students will use their own existing artwork as a basis for selecting, assembling, and presenting the core of a professional portfolio which can be added to as their career progresses. The proper care, handling and storage of artwork will be discussed and implemented throughout the duration of the course.
2. The student will use their own existing experience, exhibition record, and biographical history to create the core of a professional resume which can be added to as their career progresses. The design and printing of the resume, and a business card or publicity brochure will be completed during the course.
3. The student will learn the basic techniques for proper mounting, matting, and framing of their flat artwork and basic techniques of mounting and presenting 3-D artwork. This will be accomplished through the process of mounting, matting, framing and presenting several examples of their own work during the course.
4. The student will learn the basic tools and techniques of photographing both flat and 3-D artwork through the process of documenting at least 20 examples of their own work during the course.
5. The student will develop a filing/data management system through selecting, cataloging and organizing examples of their own work. This will be presented as a document to accompany the portfolio.
6. The student will be introduced to accepted ethical and economic practices in the field to help serve as a basis for developing their own career plans and goals. This career plan will be presented as a logically argued essay during the course.

COURSE GRADE
The course grade will be determined by the completion and quality of all the work assigned to the student. The instructor shall assess the student’s competence in the handling of the materials (technical skill), the student’s successful solution and timely completion of the assigned problem (perceptual awareness, innovative solutions, aesthetic sensibility and disciplined work habits) as well as the student’s participation and cooperation in class — including critiques, group projects and regular attendance.

The student will assemble all the semester’s work into a presentable package (portfolio of mounted and framed work, photo-documentation, resume with career-goals statement and supporting documents from the filing system).

The average of the grades on the individual assignments will be the basis for the semester grade for each student.

The instructor shall give the student written information as to the course description and objectives, absentee policy, a description of the semester’s assignments and their individual percentage value towards determining the overall grade. This information shall be presented in the form of a syllabus given to the student during the first week of class.

DEPARTMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Portfolio reviews function as the primary means of evaluation of students seeking acceptance into BFA programs in four-year institutions, as well as MFA and post graduate professional programs; therefore the quality of the work, assembled and organized into the student portfolio presentation, serves as the single most important method of assessment by the various instructors and departments the student shall encounter during their education.

The student builds a portfolio of work in each course, and the most outstanding of the works completed during each course are then included in the student’s professional portfolio. The overall presentation of the body of work will be a primary tool for the student’s entire career in the field. The introduction to proper techniques and methods of presentation will be invaluable to the student and their ongoing relationships with instructors, departments and institutions.

Student portfolios are reviewed by the instructor each semester to determine the student’s grade and to confirm that the student has realized the expected objectives for the course. Because of the favorable instructor/student ratio (1/12) in studio art courses as well as the ample contact hours (6 per week) instructors can individually critique and guide the students by suggesting strategies to achieve the stated objectives for the course.

Each Spring the entire visual arts faculty reviews works submitted by the students for inclusion in the annual Student Art Exhibition. An important part of the process is that all of the members of the art faculty see the works produced in each course on an annual basis. The faculty discusses strengths and weaknesses of the work created in each course, suggesting methods of improvement for the work being produced. Formal recommendations from this review are considered annually with the department chair. Another means of assessment shall be our department’s documentation of the student’s acceptance into four year institutions. Our Visual Arts Coordinator meets annually with the Fine Arts department chair from the Regents System in the annual “State of the Arts Conference”. At this conference we discuss our curriculum, the quality of our student’s work, and ask for suggestion to improve our program to better prepare our students.

USE OF ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
A departmental file of instructor syllabi and a photographic documentation of student work is kept. These syllabi and slides are used for yearly assessment, instructional support, public relations, and recruitment. The faculty meets yearly with the department chair to assess each course’s fulfillment of objectives, and to consider improvements in course content and teaching effectiveness. These recommendations shall be documented and implemented for strengthening the course.