Academic Standards

Attendance Policy
Grading Policy
Cumulative Grade Point Average
Grade Report
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Unsatisfactory Academic Progress
Academic Probation
Academic Suspension
Academic Code of Ethics

 Attendance Policy

Attendance is essential to a student’s completion of a course’s curriculum. Faculty forward records of poor attendance, tardiness, and missed critiques to the Registrar’s Office. Students are allowed up to 2 unexcused absences per semester. Excessive absences endanger the student with failure or lowering of grade. It is the students’ responsibility to communicate with instructors about missing class, and to arrange for making up any missed assignments. 

In the case of medical or extenuating circumstances that may prevent a student from attending class for an extended period of time, Certificate/BFA students must inform the instructor and the Dean of Student Affairs. MFA and Post-Baccalaureate students should contact the Graduate Office. If the illness is of such prolonged duration as to jeopardize the semester’s work, a formal leave of absence should be considered and discussed with the Dean of Student Affairs (Certificate/BFA students), or the Graduate Programs Chair and faculty advisors (Graduate students).

It is the student’s responsibility to meet the requirements of the individual faculty member in each class. The student is also responsible for assuring that attendance is noted by the monitor or instructor. 

Grading Policy*

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Cumulative Grade Point Average

An example of how the cumulative grade point average is calculated follows: 

34 divided by 15 equals a GPA of 2.27.

All grades are included in the GPA, except for grades from transfer credits.

I (Incomplete) - An Incomplete is given only when a student is unable to complete a small amount of work due to valid personal or medical reasons. A student must request an Incomplete from the instructor, and will be granted at the instructor’s discretion. Students have the first 6 weeks of the following semester to complete their work and receive new grades, otherwise the “I” will convert to an “F”. 

R (Repeat) -The grade of “F” will be replaced with an “R” on the student’s transcript after the course has been successfully repeated. 

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Grade Report

Grade Reports are part of the student’s academic record, and, in compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, will not be mailed to parents or others without the student’s written permission.

At the close of each semester, the grade report, which includes a cumulative average and credits earned, will be mailed to the student’s preferred address. Grade Reports will not be issued to any student who has not completely satisfied all financial or library obligations. 

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Satisfactory Academic Progress

Failure to complete the correct number of credits and/or maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA for 2 consecutive semesters may result in a number of consequences, including the loss of all financial aid for the following academic year. Students may submit a written petition for a waiver of this policy to the Dean of Student Affairs. 

Please note that specific requirements for eligibility for studios, prizes, the Annual Student Exhibition and graduation may differ from those set forth here. Consult the appropriate handbook sections for details.

Minimum requirements to satisfy financial aid eligibility and satisfactory progress requirements:

By the end of the:

First year:       2.0 GPA/ 24 credit hours completed
Second year:  2.0 GPA/48 credit hours completed
Third year:      2.0 GPA/72 credit hours completed
Fourth year:   2.0 GPA/96 credit hours completed
Fifth year:       2.0 GPA/120 credit hours completed

To maintain satisfactory academic progress, a part-time student must maintain a 2.0 (“C”) grade point average and earn ¾ of all attempted credits.    

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Unsatisfactory Academic Progress

A student who receives an “F” for a class must repeat and satisfactorily complete the class. A student who receives an “F” for a studio/critique must register for and satisfactorily complete a studio/critique in its place. The grade of “F” will be replaced with an “R” when the course has been successfully completed.

When the student repeats an unsatisfactory course, the full tuition of that course will be his/her responsibility. Continued unsatisfactory academic progress will lead to academic probation and possible dismissal from the program.

All students at the Academy are expected to meet certain academic standards. Regulations regarding academic probation, suspension, and withdrawal are designed to provide close supervision of the program of study and progress of students. Failure to meet standards will place students on academic probation or suspension. The minimum satisfactory standard of achievement is a grade point average of 2.00 (3.0 in graduate program). Each student’s transcript will be evaluated at the end of the fall and spring semesters.

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Academic Probation

If a student’s cumulative or semester grade point average falls below 2.0 (or 3.0 in the graduate program), or if a student fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, he/she will be placed on academic probation and is notified of this status in writing. The student must make an appointment with the Dean of Student Affairs to develop an appropriate action plan. A student will remain on probation until he/she brings his/her semester and cumulative GPA up to 2.0 (3.0 in graduate program) or better. Continuous progress must be made toward achieving a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (3.0 in graduate program) while on probation, or risk suspension.

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Academic Suspension

Students on probation, whose GPA remains below a 2.0 (3.0 in graduate program) for two consecutive semesters will be academically suspended. Students academically suspended from the Academy may submit a petition for readmission after one semester. The Administrative Council and Faculty Chairs Committee will consider student’s compliance with any action plans previously established, and may request input from faculty and critics in determining future enrollment plans.

Any student who is academically suspended from the Academy is not eligible during the suspension to receive any financial aid from the Academy, federal government or Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Once the student returns, s/he would need to appeal in order to have the aid reinstated. 

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Academic Code of Ethics

Forms of cheating, as defined at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts:

1. Copying from others on papers, tests, or other work.

2. Submitting work previously graded in another course without prior approval by the instructor or by departmental policy.

3. Submitting one paper to satisfy the requirements of two different courses without getting permission from both instructors.

4. Using or consulting sources, tools or materials prohibited by the instructor prior to, or during an exam.

5. Altering or interfering with the grading process.

6. Sitting for an exam by a surrogate, or as a surrogate.

7. Any other act committed by a student in the course of their academic work that defrauds or misrepresents, including aiding others in any of the actions defined above.

Forms of plagiarism

1. Knowingly or unknowingly incorporating ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts of, or the specific substance of another student’s work, without giving appropriate credit, and representing the product as one's own work.

2. Representing another student’s artistic/scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, paintings, drawing, sculptures, or similar works as one's own.

3. Manufacturing or falsifying data in the process of research

4. Downloading and using without adequate citation material found on the World Wide Web, including words, pictures, graphs, tables, and other graphics;

5. Collaborating with others on projects where that is not allowed and collaborating without properly crediting that collaboration in a footnote or endnote. 

Reports of alleged infractions will be reported to the Faculty Chairs and Dean of Student Affairs, for review and judicial determination. 

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