Fall 2026

Introduction to Film

Introduction to Film explores cinema as an art form, teaching critical analysis of techniques and approaches like authorship and genre criticism.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Kelley Conway3.9/5Shannon Weidner

Summary

1 / 7

One reviewer reports the class is graded via multiple choice exams on subjective content, describing the experience as difficult and the material as debatable nonsense.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing or COM ARTS 250

COMARTS 350 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.03/5 from 30 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.0/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Kelley Conway is described as articulate, intelligent, and likable, with useful video clips that enhance readings. However, one reviewer notes she is poorly organized.

Another review characterizes the class as horrible, criticizing the content as nonsense and the multiple-choice exams for grading subjective material definitively.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2008: 3.05 GPA, 42.9% A/AB (n=126 letter grades); Fall 2011: 3.24 GPA, 56.0% A/AB (n=141 letter grades); Spring 2016: 3.09 GPA, 48.5% A/AB (n=130 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Kelley Conway is the current instructor, though reviews for her are unavailable. Historical reviews for Maria Belodubrovskaya and Kaitlin Fyfe highlight engaging lectures, clear assignment expectations, and strong subject knowledge. Students found these past instructors passionate and helpful, though they noted the need for attention in discussions to complete assignments successfully.

KAITLIN FYFE is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KELLEY ANN CONWAY is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2011, Spring 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARIA BELODUBROVSKAYA is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction87 / 1050
DIS 602Classroom Instruction20 / 200
DIS 603Classroom Instruction20 / 200
DIS 604Classroom Instruction8 / 200
DIS 605Classroom Instruction16 / 200
LAB 301Classroom Instruction87 / 1010
DIS 606Classroom Instruction17 / 200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Reviews of Kelley Conway's COMARTS 350 are sharply divided, with one calling her fantastic and another labeling the class horrible due to subjective grading.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.53 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=117 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.66 GPA, 89.0% A/AB (n=100 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.80 GPA, 91.4% A/AB (n=81 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

One reviewer reports the class is graded via multiple choice exams on subjective content, describing the experience as difficult and the material as debatable nonsense.

A positive review highlights Conway's articulation and intelligence, noting that her video clips enhance the readings despite her being somewhat poorly organized.

Topics

  • Major film types and genres
  • Film criticism approaches
  • Film production techniques

Skills

  • Recognition of film techniques
  • Film analysis and interpretation
  • Authorship and genre criticism

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.17 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
COMARTS 350 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Film

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:250:003808",
    "course_id": "COMARTS 350",
    "course_uid": "course_d62926fc29c0acf6676528bd",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "003808",
    "source_subject_id": "250",
    "title": "Introduction to Film",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "977884535ba4818ebd448f714b37d2781728f867684e90d07d4b4d36943688d7",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}