Textile Design

Academic Procedures for the Department of Textile Design

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General

• These procedures are meant to supplement Shenkar’s general Academic Policy regarding the specific conduct within the Department of Textile Design. For all general issues such as attendance, absences, appeals, etc., please refer to Shenkar’s general Academic Policy.
• Each student should update their personal details, picture, and current phone number and email address with the department’s offices and in the Meydanet system. It is the students’ sole responsibility to check their email regularly.
• Students must obtain a Gmail address so they can stay updated about the department’s activity via the departmental calendar on Google Drive.
• It is each student’s sole responsibility to monitor the status of their credits for Unit for History and Philosophy of Art, Design and Technology courses throughout their degree and make sure they have fulfilled their academic requirements. It is vital to make sure the courses they are taking in practice correspond fully to the courses that appear on Meydanet. Any questions can be addressed to the academic coordinator.

Grades 

• The final grade awarded in a course will be based on the criteria detailed in the course syllabus on Meydanet.
• The composition of the final grade is available to students by request and will be detailed if the grade is appealed.
• Appealing a grade may lead to the grade being lowered as well as raised.
• Class attendance is not factored into the grade — it is a basic requirement!
• Absence from more than three classes is considered a fail (with or without a medical certificate, with the exception of reserve duty).
• Exceptional cases should be discussed immediately with the department’s academic coordinator.
• Three tardy arrivals constitute an absence (depending on what the lecturer has established in the syllabus).

Departmental Grading Scale

Explanation of Grade Report

• The official grade report may contain values that are not grades, and these are weighted with the student’s average as a grade of “0”: was not tested / failed / did not submit the project or paper / did not complete the course assignments.
• A grade of “0”, even for technical reasons, may lower the student’s overall average and even result in academic dismissal.

Tardiness and Conduct in Classes

• Do not arrive late to classes, leave in the middle of class to receive technical assistance (unless agreed with the teacher), or work on assignments for a different class (three tardy arrivals will count as an absence).
• Do not turn on or use mobile phones or other personal electronic devices in any way during class.
• During class, mobile phones should be placed in silent mode (not vibrate) and put in the student’s bag. This policy is important not only from a purely disciplinary standpoint, but also to allow all participants to be fully present in class.

Departmental Teaching Committee

• This committee includes the department head, faculty members, an associate faculty representative, and the department’s academic coordinator.
• The committee deliberates on general academic issues, the academic status of students, their progression from one year to the next, and special and exceptional requests.
• If necessary, the committee will be joined by additional relevant faculty members or lecturers from the department.
• At the end of each year, a teaching committee will be convened about grades.

Roles of Faculty Members

• Each faculty member in the department is responsible for an academic or administrative area to be published at the beginning of each academic year. 
• Students may meet with faculty members during their office hours to consult about general subjects or matters within their areas of responsibility.

Workshop Managers

• All workshops in the department have managers or directors appointed on behalf of Shenkar and the department to ensure continuous proper operation.
• Questions related to conduct in the workshops should be referred to the workshop manager in conjunction with the course lecturers.

Course Process, Submissions and Papers

• Process of studio courses: Students must complete all exercises/assignments given by the professor throughout the course, with no exceptions.
  Partial completion of the course requirements will be reflected in an incomplete grade, even when the requirements completed by the student received high grades. In other words: success in a practical course depends on the entire process of the course, not only the final exercise.
• Submissions in studio courses: Students must participate in all submissions that are part of their degree and/or submit all assignments and exercises assigned in practical courses on the due date set by the lecturer.
  If a student has a justified reason (see the general Academic Policy: illness, reserve duty, etc.) for being unable to meet the submission date established in advance, the teaching committee will discuss the possibility of extending the submission deadline in a practical course in accordance with the lecturer’s recommendation. The student should make the request to the lecturer within seven days of the submission date. The lecturer will refer the request to the academic coordinator for discussion in the teaching committee. This is only on condition that the student has completed all course assignments prior to this submission.
• Requests to postpone a submission date for the entire class in a practical course are conditional on the agreement of all students in the course. These requests should be submitted to the course lecturer, who will decide whether to refer the request to the academic coordinator.
• It is not possible to retake exams or resubmit projects in studio courses to improve a grade. A failing grade requires the student to repeat the course or take a different course determined by the teaching committee and recommended by the academic coordinator.
• Submitting theoretical papers: Theoretical papers must be submitted to the department office on the predetermined due date. This date will be stated in the syllabus of each course. The student will receive confirmation of the paper’s submission from the department office.
  The paper will be returned to the students personally by the department office on the date students are notified of via email.
• Elective courses: It is possible to cancel/modify registration for an elective course until the end of the second week of each semester, but no later.
  It is not possible to cancel registration for a compulsory course.
• Cultural Studies: Questions and clarifications related to theoretical courses, theoretical papers, submission dates and content of theoretical courses should be referred directly to The Unit for History and Philosophy of Art, Design and Technology, via the course lecturer and the Cultural Studies academic coordinator.

Conditions for Advancing to the Following Year

• Advancing from Year 1 to Year 2: 
  Average grade for the year (Semesters A + B): 70 or above
  Courses — Concept Studio 1 + 2 and Basic Design: grade of 70 or above
  Introductory courses — Knitting, Weaving, Printmaking: average of 70 or above
• Advancing from Year 2 to Year 3:
  Average grade for the year (Semesters A + B): 70 or above
  Courses in the design track: grade of 70 or above
• Advancing from Year 3 to Year 4:
  Average grade for the year (Semesters A + B): 70 or above
  Courses in the design track: grade of 70 or above
  Completion of all courses in the design track with a grade of 70 or above
• Students who do not meet one or more of these conditions will be summoned to appear before a teaching committee at the end of the year. In this committee it will be decided whether:
  A. Under special circumstances the student will be allowed to conditionally continue to the next semester or year. The committee will decide the conditions the student must meet, for example: retaking the courses, making up papers, or maintaining an average of 75 or 80 in a certain course determined by the committee.  Each case will be considered individually. 
  B. The student will not be permitted to continue to the next year and will be required to repeat all or part of the year. In such cases, the committee may require the student to repeat every course where they received a grade of 70 or below. Students may not repeat all or part of a year more than once.
  C. Recommending the termination of the student’s studies in the department (in cases of two failing grades in specialization courses and/or three failing grades in other courses, the recommendation for academic dismissal will be automatic). Recommendations for academic dismissal will be brought before Shenkar’s general teaching committee for approval.
• In order to expand the information related to academic status, and for the purpose of drawing well-founded conclusions, the department is entitled to conduct a portfolio inspection procedure for a student, class or cohort before continuing to the next year.

Division into Design Tracks at the End of Year 1

• At the end of the year, all first-year students must submit a portfolio and sketchbooks or any other format determined by the departmental teaching committee.
• The teaching committee, in consultation with a professional team of teachers, will determine which design track each student enters, taking into consideration the portfolio, the preference of the student and the number of available places in each track.
• The committee’s decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Changing Academic Tracks

• Changing tracks: The transfer will be possible in exceptional cases after approval by the department head and teaching committee and in consultation with professional teachers.
• Conditions of transfer: 
  -A passing grade and completion of all assignments and exercises in the courses of the initial major.
  -Availability in the track the student wishes to join.
  -Starting the new track from the beginning: Year 1, Semester A.
  -The request to transfer should be submitted to the department coordinator. If the request is approved by the teaching committee, the student may continue in the electives and cultural studies of Year 3, but will not be allowed to begin their graduate project the following year.
  -Changing tracks means breaking up the schedule and extending the degree by another year. Each case will be considered individually.

Recognizing Courses from Previous Studies

• Practical courses: Full or partial recognition may be granted at the discretion of the teaching committee and in consultation with the relevant lecturer, based on the portfolio, grade report and/or certificate.
• Those with previous academic education or practical training who wish to check their eligibility for an exemption from courses based on previous studies should contact the department’s academic coordinator before the beginning of the academic year and present their grade report and a syllabus describing the courses. 
• Theoretical courses: See the Unit for History and Philosophy of Art, Design and Technology.

Student Exchanges and Internships

• Student exchanges: In keeping with Shenkar’s general Academic Policy, only outstanding students with an average of 88 or above are eligible to apply.
• The departmental teaching committee will decide on the number of students who go on exchange each year and inform the students at the start of the academic year.
• Internships: The department offers internships with companies in the industry and runs a design studio with varying formats throughout the summer vacation in Years 3-4.
• The selection of candidates for internship will be performed by the teaching committee in consultation with relevant professional teachers, in keeping with the requirements of the company hiring the student and considering the student’s professional achievements — a grade of 88 or above in practical courses. 
• The final choice will be made by the hiring company.
• The decision of the teaching committee or companies is final and is not subject to appeal.
• Students are entitled to proactively initiate internships themselves.
• Questions about internships should be referred to the faculty member responsible for the area.

Department Staff

• The department head, faculty members, academic coordinator and secretary are available during office hours for any questions.
• Meetings with the department head should be arranged with the office coordinator.

Graduate Project Policy

• The graduate project in the department extends over one year and concludes with submissions toward the end of Semester B (the exact date will be provided in Semester A) and in an exhibition/display of the graduates’ works.
• The format of the final display will be provided in Semester A.

Supervision

• Supervision of the graduate project will take place in the Graduate Project course in Semester A and B, and personal technical support will be provided in parallel.
• The allocations for the Graduate Project course will take place after the submission of graduate project proposals, at the discretion of the department head and the graduate project coordinator and in consultation with the specialty lecturers.
• The attendance rules for the Graduate Project course are identical to those of every other course in the department.

Conditions for Progressing Between Submissions in Year 4

• Continuing from Semester A to Semester B: conditional on a grade of 70 or above in the end-of-semester submission that takes place during the break between semesters.
• Failure to meet this condition constitutes failure of the course and the student will not be able to continue the graduate project. In such a case, the student will be summoned to a departmental teaching committee, which will decide whether they must retake the course from the beginning or whether they may have a date for resubmission to correct the grade. Failure in the resubmission will result in the student not being able to continue the project in Semester B.
• Go, No-Go: A third and final submission (before the final submission of the Graduate Project course) is conditional on a grade of 70 and above. The submission takes place in the middle of Semester B. Students who fail in a submission may resubmit two weeks later. A failure in resubmission will result in the termination of work on the graduate project, and the student will be summoned to appear before the teaching committee, who will decide on the next step.

Submitting the Graduate Project

• There will be up to three submissions over the course of the two semesters.
• The format of submission will be established by the department head, graduate project coordinator and course advisor.
• Students must successfully pass (with a grade of 70 or higher) all the submissions.
• A failure in one submission will prevent the student from continuing to the next stage of the project.
• In exceptional cases and by approval of the special teaching committee, resubmission will be permitted.
• It is not possible to resubmit the final submission of the graduate project.
• A failure in the final submission constitutes failure of the graduate project and the project must be repeated in the following year.
• Components of final grade — external evaluators: 40%, department head: 20%, departmental advisor: 40%.
• Passing grade for the graduate project: 70 or above.
• The final grade of a graduate project may not be appealed.

Exhibition/Show of Graduate Works and End-Of-Year Events

• The department head, in conjunction with the dean of the Faculty of Design and in consultation with the graduate project coordinator and the teaching committee, will decide each year on the format of the graduate exhibition and the accompanying events.
• The exhibition will be curated by the department head and/or a team of faculty members appointed by the department head.
• The curators are entitled to not display or to reduce the scope of works at their discretion according to the quality of the works, considerations pertaining to the venue and other curatorial considerations.
• Students will take an active part in setting up the exhibition and running the events.

Exchanging the Practical Graduate Project for a Written Work

• Exchanging the practical graduate project for a written work in the Department of Textile Design will be possible only in exceptional cases and after approval by department’s teaching committee. In such cases, this exchange will be possible only for students with an average of above 80 in the theoretical courses until the end of Year 3 when they begin the graduate project.
• The scope and format of the work and the dates of the submission will be determined by the departmental teaching committee.

At the top of the page: Design by Shira Braunstein Photo: Roni Cnaani