Great questions! You are exactly right - for the art/photography courses the students do bring their own supplies/equipment. As for materials needed, I know that the instructors will either contact the students beforehand or wait until the first day of class to distribute a list. If it is the latter, then students are encouraged to bring the materials/equipment that they already have for the first class and go from there.

It depends on the class as far as what reading might be required, though anyone taking a writing class for credit will have required texts. For all other courses, if reading is required, the instructor will provide the reading or we recommend students get the texts on Amazon.

Parking on campus can be tricky, so we usually recommend taking public transit to Porter. For drivers, there is a parking lot behind University Hall with the following rates:
0.0 - 1.0 hrs = $1
1.5 - 2.5 hrs = $2
1.5 - 2.5 hrs w/store receipt over $10 = $1
2.5 - 3.5 hrs = $8
2.5 - 3.5 hrs w/store receipt over $10 = $4
3.5 - 8.0 hrs = $15
3.5 - 8.0 hrs w/store receipt over $50 = $8
8.0 + hrs = $30

Hope this helps! :)