00.00 Co/Lab Syllabus

Course Information

Course Number: CORE 175

Department: CORE

Room: C206 Cleveland Institute of Art Interactive Media Lab

Time: Wednesdays 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm & 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Faculty: Jimmy Kuehnle - jkuehnle@cia.edu  

Office Hours: Available by appointment. Please email your faculty to schedule a time to meet in person or online outside of class.

Semester: Fall 2026

Canvas Course Page  

Course Website  

Course Description

Co/Lab is a collaborative, project-based course that introduces students to introductory professional contexts through partnerships with peers, faculty, and external collaborators. Students develop early professional creative context awareness while practicing collaboration, communication, and basic project management. The course builds foundational professionalism in the first year, preparing students for advanced collaborative work across the curriculum.

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will the opportunity to:

• Collaborate with peers, faculty, and external partners in guided, introductory projects that respond to real-world creative briefs;
• Demonstrate emerging professionalism through effective communication, accountability, and teamwork within collaborative settings;
• Apply foundational project management strategies such as scheduling, role definition, and progress tracking in team-based work;
• Use creative problem-solving strategies to develop and present collaborative outcomes in response to shared goals;
• Reflect on collaborative experiences to understand how professional contexts begin to shape their evolving creative identity and practice.

Course Organization / Method of Instruction

• This course has 4.5 hours of regularly scheduled instructional time. In addition to the regularly scheduled instructional time, you’ll need to plan on 4.5 hours of preparation and homework time for each of your classes.
• This course is a combination of studio work as well as lecture, group dialogue, critiques etc.
• Projects will sometimes have in-progress reviews in addition to critiques when the projects are finished. The instructor as well as students participate in the critiques and is part of the studio learning experience and a big part of the course.
• Students must avoid behavior that disrupts the learning process.

Course Outline

The entire course then has a very simple progression:

WEEKS 1–3

Students can get something through a digital fabrication pipeline.

WEEKS 4–9

Students can get something through a virtual-production pipeline together.

WEEKS 10–16

Students can respond to somebody else’s needs, manage a production, solve problems and deliver finished collaborative work.

Course Schedule & Requirements*

* Course schedule subject to change.

Key Dates:

Aug 24 – First Day of Classes Sept 7 – Labor Day. No Classes Oct 16 – Mid Term Grades DUE Oct 19-20 – Student Fall Break. No classes. Faculty In Service Days & Teaching Summit Nov 6 – Last day for students to withdraw from a course without a grade penalty Nov 25 – 27 – Thanksgiving Break. No classes. Dec 4 – Final Day of Classes Dec 18 – Final Grades DUE for all students AT 9AM

Required Textbooks and Readings

• No required textbook
• Course resources are available on Canvas   or online  

Required Supplies

• Laptop
• Sketching materials
• Materials for projects
  • Estimated cost of project materials is $0 - $100

Recommended Materials

• External storage device for digital backups

Course Policies and Expectations

Failure

A failed experiment that is documented, understood and productively revised is evidence of learning. Hiding a failure is not. Can you diagnose, communicate, adapt and continue?

Critiques

You’re required to contribute to all critiques, even if your own project is not complete. Successful crits depend on each student’s generosity in sharing their honest thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

• How to Critique Art
• Art School Critique No, No’s

Late Work

Projects and assignments must be submitted before the start of class on the due date. Late assignments will automatically incur a deduction of 1% per calendar day, up to a maximum penalty of 40%. No assignments will be accepted after the final day of class.

Documentation

• Students should maintain regular, on-going and timely documentation of work in progress.
• Images should be high resolution, well exposed, in focus, and well composed. Basic Camera Settings

File Management

• We will use Canvas to turn in assignments   .
• Use this format for naming all your class digital files:
  • YYYY-MM-DD Smith Lane Project 1
  • 2026-08-26 Smith Lane First Day Project 1

Cleveland Institute of Art Required Policy Language

“AI” Policy

No Restrictions.

Accessibility Statement

CIA is committed to ensuring that students with documented disabilities have equal access to our educational programs and activities. If you have, or believe you may have, a disability that may interfere with your ability to participate in the activities, coursework, or assessments of this course, you may be eligible for accommodations.

If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please contact Wellness & Accessibility Services, located in Room 120, to arrange a confidential discussion about your need for accommodations. Wellness & Accessibility Services can be reached at disabilityservices@cia.edu   . For more information, please visit my.cia.edu/ICS/Departments/Accessibility__Disability_Services/   .

Diversity & Inclusion Statement

The Cleveland Institute of Art recognizes and embraces diversity and believes that an outstanding education in art and design should be accessible to all individuals regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, socio-economic status or disability. It is essential for the College to advance diversity by encouraging our community to share a responsibility in creating, maintaining and developing an environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced.

CIA Course Attendance Policy from the College Catalog

Course Attendance

Students are expected to attend all class sessions, lectures, critiques, and required meetings. Artistic progress depends not only on completing assignments but also on active participation in studio and academic discussions. All class session absences count toward the semester absence total unless approved as an extenuating circumstance by the Dean of Students or in observation of a Religious Observance. Students are responsible for all missed materials, including assignments and tests; however, some activities, such as critiques, demonstrations, and collaborative projects may not be able to be replicated or made up. Faculty are required to take attendance at every class session and maintain accurate records. Institutionally mandated absence limits are as follows:

* Faculty may consider tardiness or early departures when determining a student’s attendance for a class session. Faculty are encouraged to include their policies on tardiness, early departure, and any related penalties in the course syllabus.

Absences Exceeding the Absence Limits

To maintain the integrity of the curriculum, students who exceed the absence limits outlined above will receive a full letter grade reduction in their final course grade (A- to B-, B to C, etc.). Faculty may impose additional penalties for absences and this information should be included in the course syllabus. Any student who exceeds the absence limit in a class should meet with their Academic Advisor to discuss how this may affect their academic progress.

An absence from a final critique or exam will result in automatic failure of the project or exam unless approved as an extenuating circumstance by the Dean of Students.

Absence Due to Religious Observances

Students who expect to miss class for religious observances must provide advanced notice to their faculty members. Faculty are encouraged to include their preferences for required advanced notice timelines within their syllabus. These absences will not count toward the absence limits outlined above; however, students are responsible for arranging with their faculty how and when missed work will be completed. Students who fail to communicate about an absence due to religious observance in advance, fail to make arrangements with your faculty members, or fail to submit work within the agreed timeframe will be graded accordingly and at the faculty member’s discretion.

Absence Due to Extenuating Circumstances

In most instances, the absence limits outlined above are adequate for student needs throughout a semester. In the case of an absence due to extenuating circumstances, that a student wishes to not count against the absence limits, the student must submit the Extenuating Circumstance Absence Request Form   within 10 calendar days (limited exceptions apply) of the absence for review by the Dean of Students. The use of this form should be extremely limited as most absences do not qualify as extenuating.

Extenuating circumstances are generally defined as exceptionally rare, unforeseen, and short-term circumstances which may cause a student to be absent from class. These terms are defined as follows:

• Exceptionally rare is defined as a circumstance that is markedly different from the student’s usual daily life activities.
• Unforeseen is defined as a circumstance that is outside of the student’s control and was not preventable. This takes into account the student’s responsibility for making a reasonable attempt at utilizing College-provided resources, policies and procedures available to assist in their success.
• Short-term is defined as a circumstance that is temporary and will not require on-going intervention past a reasonable time period.

Extenuating circumstances do NOT include the following:

• Minor illnesses
• Doctor and dentist appointments
• Transportation issues
• Weather concerns
• Extracurricular activities
• Other instances that are not exceptionally rare and unforeseen

Upon receiving the Extenuating Circumstance Absence Request Form, the Dean of Students will make a determination as to the classification of the absence as approved or not approved or will request additional outstanding/clarification information from the student. The student and faculty member(s) will be notified via CIA email of the determination no later than 10 calendar days after the request and all necessary information is received by the Dean of Students. Sharing of information impacting the decision will be at the sole discretion of the Dean of Students and will prioritize student privacy and dignity. If an absence is deemed approved as an extenuating circumstance, it will not be counted in the absence limits outlined above and the student will be responsible for all missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). The student will be required to make arrangements with the faculty member(s) to determine a reasonable timeline for completing missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). This timeline will be at the sole discretion of the faculty member.

In the case of an absence submitted via the Extenuating Circumstance Absence Request Form which is determined to be not approved by the Dean of Students, the student may file an appeal with the Vice President of Academic Affairs + Provost within 3 calendar days on specific grounds. Disagreement with the decision alone is not sufficient for an appeal. Appeals must be submitted via CIA email to gwatts@cia.edu   with rasauber@cia.edu   copied and must include the student’s name and ID number and must indicate on which ground the student believes the decision should be appealed (options below):

1. Through no fault of the student, information/documentation pertinent to the decision was missing at the time of the decision. Note: The student will be required to submit the additional information/documentation as part of the appeal along with an explanation of why the information/documentation was not provided in the original request.
2. Through no fault of the student, College policy was not followed and had a direct impact on the decision at the time of the decision. Note: The student will be required to identify which policy was not followed, documentation showing the policy was not followed, and a description of how the decision may have been different if policy had been followed.

Upon receiving an appeal request, the Vice President of Academic Affairs + Provost will make a determination as to the classification of the original decision as upheld or overturned or will request additional outstanding/clarification information from the student. The student, faculty member(s), and Dean of Students will be notified via CIA email of the determination no later than 10 calendar days after the request and all necessary information is received by the Vice President of Academic Affairs + Provost. Decisions that are overturned will result in the absence being classified as extenuating and the absence will not be counted in the absence limits outlined above and the student will be responsible for all missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). The student will be required to make arrangements with the faculty member(s) to determine a reasonable timeline for completing missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). This timeline will be at the sole discretion of the faculty member. Decisions that are upheld will maintain an absence classification as not approved. All appeal decisions are final and binding.

Important Notes:

• Students receiving approved extenuating circumstance absences are not guaranteed to pass their courses.
• Students may fail a course due to exceeding the absence limits beyond approved extenuating circumstance absences. (See Absences Exceeding the Absence Limits above.)

Class Trips Policy from the College Catalog

All students attending instruction-related trips or tours that require them to travel away from CIA must sign an approved release form in advance of the trip that declares they will not make a claim against the college or its personnel/representatives for injury or damage sustained while on the trip. Release forms should be returned to the faculty member leading the trip before the event. All CIA policies are in effect during sponsored excursions away from campus.

CIA Grading Policies and Grade Descriptions from the College Catalog

Letter grades are a means by which faculty members communicate their professional assessment of students’ work. The primary purpose of assigning grades is to provide a realistic standard of reference by which students can measure their progress while enrolled at CIA.

Grades are reported twice each semester: mid-term grades after the first eight weeks, and final grades at the close of the term. The mid-term grade is a preliminary indication of progress to date.

Semester and cumulative grade point averages are reviewed by Academic Services each term to determine each student’s academic status. Each transcript includes the semester Grade Point Average (GPA) and the cumulative GPA. Letter grades have the following meaning:

A, A-: Work of consistently outstanding quality, which displays originality, and often goes beyond course requirements;

B+, B, B-: Work of consistently good quality, demonstrating a high level of proficiency, knowledge, and skills in all aspects of the course;

C+, C, C-: Satisfactory work that meets the requirements of the course and conforms to the standards for graduation.

D+, D, D-: Work deficient in concept or execution but acceptable for course credit in all courses.

F: Work unacceptable for course credit and does not meet the standards for graduation.

CIA Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty excerpted from the Student Handbook:

All acts of academic dishonesty diminish the integrity of the Institute and are taken very seriously by the school. Students being accused of Academic Dishonestly will participate in our judicial process and if found responsible, will be subject to appropriate sanctions. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to any one or a combination of the following:

• Formal warning/censure/academic alert.
• Reduced grade including a failing grade for the assignment.
• Reduced grade including a failing grade for the entire course.
• Forfeiture of student leadership positions, and/or restrictions on participation in Institute activities.
• Academic probation
• Suspension
• Expulsion from the Institute.

CIA Course Evaluation Policy

All students are expected to fill out a brief course evaluation for each class at the end of the semester. Your participation in the course evaluation process is critical to CIA’s evaluation of faculty teaching, assessment of student learning outcomes, and identification of opportunities for continuous improvement to course content and instruction. Please take a moment to respond to the evaluation when directed to do so at the end of the semester. Your thoughts matter.