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School of Art & Design

Access & Training

Access to the A&D Facilities

Access to School of Art & Design laboratories, studios, and equipment requires general Facilities Access with an associated Facilities Fee. The Facilities Fee grants access to many resources, including the Checkout Window, Digital Labs (including printing), the Service Desk, and several open lab spaces. Specialized labs and resources may require additional training or authorizations.

Facilities Access is typically gained in two ways, via Course Enrollment, or via Independent Access request.

Facilities Access via Course Enrollment

Many Art & Design courses have the Facilities Fee attached to them. If you are enrolled in one or more of these courses, you will automatically be assessed a Facilities Fee of $95 and granted access to the Art & Design Facilities. Even if you are enrolled in multiple courses with the fee, you will only be assessed it once per semester.

Courses that charge the Facilities Fee will have the following message in their description in the Course Explorer: “A student registered in one or more Art & Design course(s) exhibiting this message, will be assessed a $95 facility use fee once each term.”

The Facilities Fee will be charged to your student account mid-semester.

Facilities Access via Independent Access Request

If you are not enrolled in an courses with the Facilities Fee, you may still be eligible to request Independent Access. To be eligible for Independent Access to School of Art & Design laboratories: you must be an enrolled student majoring in the College of Fine & Applied Arts, or taking a course in the School of Art & Design in the current semester.

Due to the increased volume of student lab usage near the end of the semester, Art & Design stops accepting Independent Access Requests from non-Art & Design students four weeks before the last day of classes.

You may request Independent Access by submitting the Independent Lab Access Request form at go.illinois.edu/artSupport.

(Note: after submitting the form you will be sent an email with a confirmation link that you must follow and complete before your request can be processed).

You will receive an email from Art & Design staff once your request has been processed. Because many systems update overnight, it may take several days for your access to be fully activated.

The Independent Access fee is $145. If you are registered in any Art & Design courses (ART, ARTD, ARTE, ARTF, ARTH, ARTJ, ARTS), the fee will be discounted to $95. This fee will be billed to your student account within a few weeks of your access being activated.

Policies Regarding Facilities Access

  • All accounts, access and privileges expire when the laboratories close at the end of the semester. Independent Access users must request access each term – it is not automatically renewed.
  • You may not use another person’s account and you cannot authorize anyone to use your account or access privileges.
  • You must read and abide by all terms, procedures, policies and guidelines for the resource(s) you use. Violations may result in the revocation of access privileges.
  • The Facilities Fee is non-refundable, including in situations where access or privileges have been revoked.
  • The School of Art & Design does not offer group, prorated, weekly, or monthly access privileges.

Training for Specialized Facilities

Please see the following sections below for the additional training steps required to obtain access to each facility.

Need Assistance?

If you have questions that aren’t answered on this page, or need to schedule a make-up orientation session for a facility, fill out the Access Problems/Questions form.

Submit an Access Problem/Question

3D Fabrication Labs

3D Fabrication Labs

Your cardswipe access to the 3D Fabrication Labs will be activated unless all of the following requirements are completed.

Requirements for 3D Fab Lab Access:

Your access will be automatically renewed in subsequent semesters if the above requirements are met.

Ceramics Lab

Ceramics Lab

If currently enrolled in a ceramics class, your door access will be granted at the start of the semester. This access may be revoked if you do not complete the policy agreement form and abide by all stated policies.

Requirements for Ceramics Lab Access:

Darkroom

Darkroom

If currently enrolled in a darkroom class, your door access will be granted when your class begins using the Darkroom. This access may be revoked if you do not complete the policy agreement form, attend the orientation, or do not abide by all stated policies.

Requirements for Darkroom Access:

  • Current A&D Facilities Access
  • Read and sign the Darkroom Policy Agreement Form
  • Watch the Darkroom Orientation video and attend an in-person safety orientation given by an A&D Staff member (this will be a part of your course curriculum).
  • Maintain current enrollment in an A&D course that utilizes the Darkroom, or have completed a course that utilized the A&D Darkroom.

Your access will be automatically renewed in subsequent semesters if the above requirements are met.

Ink Lab

Ink Lab

If currently enrolled in an Ink Lab class, your door access will be granted at the start of the semester. This access may be revoked if you do not complete the policy agreement form, attend the orientation, or do not abide by all stated policies.

Requirements for Ink Lab Access:

  • Current A&D Facilities Access
  • Read and sign the Ink Lab Policy Agreement Form
  • Watch the Ink Lab Orientation video and attend an in-person safety orientation given by an A&D Staff or Faculty member (this will be a part of your course curriculum).
  • Maintain current enrollment in an A&D course that utilizes the Ink Lab, or have completed a course that utilized the A&D Ink Lab.

Your access will be automatically renewed in subsequent semesters if the above requirements are met.

Painting Studio

Painting Studio

If currently enrolled in a class using the Painting Studio, your door access will be granted at the start of the semester. This access may be revoked if you do not abide by all stated policies.

Requirements for Painting Studio Access:

  • Current A&D Facilities Access
  • Watch the Painting Studio Orientation video
  • Maintain current enrollment in an A&D course that utilizes the Painting Studio, or have completed a course that utilized the A&D Painting Studio (upon request).

Textile Lab

Textile Lab

If currently enrolled in a class using the Textile Lab, your door access will be granted at the start of the semester. This access may be revoked if you do not complete the policy agreement form and abide by all stated policies.

Requirements for Textile Lab Access:

  • Current A&D Facilities Access
  • Read and sign the Textile Lab Policy Agreement Form
  • Maintain current enrollment in an A&D course that utilizes the Textile Lab, or have completed a course that utilized the A&D Textile Lab.

Your access will be automatically renewed in subsequent semesters if the above requirements are met.

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