Grading Policies and Guidelines
How does Grading Work?
As of January 2018, we are using a rating system
Each week your mentor will give you a rating from 0-5; 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest which is no work submitted.
Your work is due in on Sunday at 12 noon PM PT, if it is not in, your assignment will be marked as "not submitted" and will receive no rating or critique.
Each week's ratings will be stand alone. This will give you a guide to where you are with each assignment
At the end of the term, you mentor will rate you as a Pass/Fail. This is to show if you have mastered the skills needed in the class. The Pass/Fail is not based on an average of the ratings during the term.
How is My Assignment Rated?
Your mentor is grading you on what it takes to succeed as a professional in the industry as well as what it takes to move on in our program. Each assignment is given a rating based on your animation, ability to follow instructions and other relevant criteria.
1 – No work submitted
1.5 – Not sufficient for assignment
2 - Guidelines not met and work is lacking in key concepts
2.5 - Guidelines are met, work is below average
3 - Guidelines have been met, work is average
3.5 – Above average
4 – Excellent student level work
4.5 - Professional entry-level work
5 - Professional level work
As of January 2018, we are using a rating system
Each week your mentor will give you a rating from 0-5; 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest which is no work submitted.
Your work is due in on Sunday at 12 noon PM PT, if it is not in, your assignment will be marked as "not submitted" and will receive no rating or critique.
Each week's ratings will be stand alone. This will give you a guide to where you are with each assignment
At the end of the term, you mentor will rate you as a Pass/Fail. This is to show if you have mastered the skills needed in the class. The Pass/Fail is not based on an average of the ratings during the term.
How is My Assignment Rated?
Your mentor is grading you on what it takes to succeed as a professional in the industry as well as what it takes to move on in our program. Each assignment is given a rating based on your animation, ability to follow instructions and other relevant criteria.
1 – No work submitted
1.5 – Not sufficient for assignment
2 - Guidelines not met and work is lacking in key concepts
2.5 - Guidelines are met, work is below average
3 - Guidelines have been met, work is average
3.5 – Above average
4 – Excellent student level work
4.5 - Professional entry-level work
5 - Professional level work
Submitting your Assignments
When submitting assignments for your course, always make sure to follow these important steps:
Read the Assignment GuidelinesRead through the Syllabus and/or the Assignment Page first to verify what you must submit for that week. Also know that your mentor may give you additional assignments or notes for you to address on top of what is listed in the syllabus.
Playblast from MayaWhen you are ready to playblast your animation assignment from Maya, ensure that you are following the required Playblast Settings in Maya. Playblasting creates a video file from your Maya animation.
Encode your PlayblastOnce you have playblasted your assignment, always encode the video file to follow the Required Uploading Procecure (RUP) guidelines. This ensures that the video plays properly on the AM Student site.
Submit your AssignmentWith your files ready to submit, go to the Grades or Lecture page on the AM Campus and click on the submit button. With the submit window open, either browse for your files or drag and drop the files into the submit window. Add any notes or comments to the post and hit Post.
To make sure your assignments have uploaded properly, it's a good idea to get into the habit of always checking your new post after you've submitted your work. This will help you avoid running into issues where the file may have uploaded improperly, or not at all.
IMPORTANT
Read the Assignment GuidelinesRead through the Syllabus and/or the Assignment Page first to verify what you must submit for that week. Also know that your mentor may give you additional assignments or notes for you to address on top of what is listed in the syllabus.
Playblast from MayaWhen you are ready to playblast your animation assignment from Maya, ensure that you are following the required Playblast Settings in Maya. Playblasting creates a video file from your Maya animation.
Encode your PlayblastOnce you have playblasted your assignment, always encode the video file to follow the Required Uploading Procecure (RUP) guidelines. This ensures that the video plays properly on the AM Student site.
Submit your AssignmentWith your files ready to submit, go to the Grades or Lecture page on the AM Campus and click on the submit button. With the submit window open, either browse for your files or drag and drop the files into the submit window. Add any notes or comments to the post and hit Post.
To make sure your assignments have uploaded properly, it's a good idea to get into the habit of always checking your new post after you've submitted your work. This will help you avoid running into issues where the file may have uploaded improperly, or not at all.
IMPORTANT
- DEADLINES for your weekly assignments are on Sunday at 12pm PST.
- DO NOT submit to a previous week’s assignment to update your animation. Any revisions would be included in the current assignment
- ALWAYS give yourself at least 30 minutes BEFORE the deadline to submit your assignment. It is up to you as a responsible student to ensure that you submit on time. If you submit too close to the deadline and end up missing the deadline your assignment will be marked as incomplete. (If you opened the submit page BEFORE the deadline, but waited until AFTER the deadline to submit, there will be no warning message as the page was loaded before the deadline.
- ALWAYS check your assignment after submitting and do so BEFORE the deadline. Just because a file shows that it has been submitted DOES NOT mean necessarily that it will play properly on the site. If you submit your work and find out AFTER the deadline that it does not play properly, you will need to resubmit it and your work will be considered late. Assignments that do not play or open properly will be graded as an F by your mentor.
- IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY as a student to submit your work on time, to verify that it plays properly, and to accept the penalties of submitting too close to the deadline or not verifying your submissions.
Submitting a Late Assignment
Deadlines for your weekly assignments are on Sunday at 12pm PST. If you pass this deadline and submit your assignment late, your assignment will be marked as incomplete and will not receive a critique or a grade. Here are some important things to know about submitting a late assignment:
Missing the Deadline
If you've passed the deadline and have not submitted your assignment, this will be considered an automatic Incomplete on the assignment. Always make sure you submit on time.
If you know in advance that you will have to turn in an assignment late (due to a vacation, illness, family emergency, etc), you should contact your mentor and work out a time you will submit with him/her.
If you know in advance you will be missing an assignment deadline, you do have the option and are encouraged to turn assignments in early. Also, should you encounter technical issues when submitting your assignment, please alert Technical Support by submitting a Technical Support Request.
Please note: Assignments cannot be turned in late past the Week 11 assignment deadline.
Always check your assignment on your Assignment after submitting
If you've found that you have to resubmit your assignment after the deadline due to files not working or the incorrect file has been submitted, it will cause your assignment to be marked late. You can also always contact support via a support ticket to inform them of any issue that may have caused you to be late.
It is important to always give yourself enough time to submit your work, check your post to make sure all of your files are submitted properly, and resubmit your assignment if something is wrong.
We strongly recommend giving yourself at least 30 minutes to an hour minimum to do this so that you can resubmit any work that did not submit properly or fix any issues you may see with your assignment. This will help to make sure you don't run into problems and end up submitting passed the deadline.
Late Assignments are Your ResponsibilityAs a student, it is your responsibility to ensure you follow the correct upload procedures which have been given to you, that you do your work on time, that you give yourself enough time to submit your work, and make sure it is submitted properly.
Again, it is your responsibility as a student to turn your work in on time, correctly, and to verify that it does work. This is the same as would be expected of you from any school, university or college.
Missing the Deadline
If you've passed the deadline and have not submitted your assignment, this will be considered an automatic Incomplete on the assignment. Always make sure you submit on time.
If you know in advance that you will have to turn in an assignment late (due to a vacation, illness, family emergency, etc), you should contact your mentor and work out a time you will submit with him/her.
If you know in advance you will be missing an assignment deadline, you do have the option and are encouraged to turn assignments in early. Also, should you encounter technical issues when submitting your assignment, please alert Technical Support by submitting a Technical Support Request.
Please note: Assignments cannot be turned in late past the Week 11 assignment deadline.
Always check your assignment on your Assignment after submitting
If you've found that you have to resubmit your assignment after the deadline due to files not working or the incorrect file has been submitted, it will cause your assignment to be marked late. You can also always contact support via a support ticket to inform them of any issue that may have caused you to be late.
It is important to always give yourself enough time to submit your work, check your post to make sure all of your files are submitted properly, and resubmit your assignment if something is wrong.
We strongly recommend giving yourself at least 30 minutes to an hour minimum to do this so that you can resubmit any work that did not submit properly or fix any issues you may see with your assignment. This will help to make sure you don't run into problems and end up submitting passed the deadline.
Late Assignments are Your ResponsibilityAs a student, it is your responsibility to ensure you follow the correct upload procedures which have been given to you, that you do your work on time, that you give yourself enough time to submit your work, and make sure it is submitted properly.
Again, it is your responsibility as a student to turn your work in on time, correctly, and to verify that it does work. This is the same as would be expected of you from any school, university or college.
What happens if I don’t pass a class?
At the end of each term, you will receive a Pass for Fail from your mentor.
If you are paid for the upcoming term or have a loan/payment plan approved by our Bursar, we will re-register you into your failed class and place you into a Q&A closest to your previously chosen time frame. Tuition fees for class retakes are $1,499 (plus a $100 registration fee) and your current funds on account will be applied to your class retake.
If you would like to get registered for class at the retake rate, please submit a Support Request with your top 3 choices for class in section format (ie: AN01_F14a) and mention it is for a retake.
If you are paid for the upcoming term or have a loan/payment plan approved by our Bursar, we will re-register you into your failed class and place you into a Q&A closest to your previously chosen time frame. Tuition fees for class retakes are $1,499 (plus a $100 registration fee) and your current funds on account will be applied to your class retake.
If you would like to get registered for class at the retake rate, please submit a Support Request with your top 3 choices for class in section format (ie: AN01_F14a) and mention it is for a retake.
Will I get a certificate after I complete my courses?
Animation Mentor provides a certificate of completion to those student who successfully pass all six Character Animation Courses. This is not an educational credential.
Certificates are available for download by qualified students on the Registration Portal under "My Programs > My Certificates".
Certificates are available for download by qualified students on the Registration Portal under "My Programs > My Certificates".