Faculty members are expected to exercise proper judgment in managing their students in class, on set or at any school function, where they are responsible.
The school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to student disruptions.
All instruction should take place in a safe and productive environment. It is a faculty member’s right to remove a student who is impeding their ability to run a safe and productive classroom.
Should an altercation occur, faculty should ensure that students are safe and report the incident to the Department Chair immediately. Instances of bullying, harassment or other inappropriate student conduct should also be reported to the Campus Dean and the Office of the Dean of Students immediately. If a faculty member reports an incident by phone or in person, they are also expected to report the incident formally in a follow-up email.
Faculty should take the following steps in the event a student's behavior is causing a disruption in class, but is not posing a threat to themself or others:
An instructor may at any time exclude from their class students who are disrupting the orderly conduct of the classroom.
Politely ask the student to leave the classroom.
If the student refuses to leave the classroom. Explain to the class that due to the disruption, class is adjourned and the content will be delivered at another time. Clear the room in an orderly fashion.
Do not attempt to physically remove students from class.
Upon excluding a student from a class, the instructor shall inform the following individuals in writing of the reasons for exclusion from class and that the student has three academic days to file a protest with the Campus Dean:
The Department Chair
The Campus Dean
The Dean of Students Department
The Student
The student has three days from the date of exclusion during which a formal protest may be lodged with the Campus Dean concerning the instructor’s decision. If the student desires to make such a protest, the Campus Dean and Department Chair, or designees, will interview both the faculty member and the student(s) involved and the Campus Dean will make a final decision within three academic days as to whether or not the student is to be allowed to return to class.
If a faculty member wishes to pursue disciplinary action against the student involved, the faculty member shall submit in writing a description of the student’s misconduct to the Office of the Dean of Students.
Please refer to ‘Dealing with Volatile Students’ in the Student Safety & Wellness section of this handbook for guidance on volatile students.
Additionally for violent or hazardous situations please contact NYFA Security:
LA Campus:
(818) 306-2446 or la.nyfasecurity@nyfa.edu
NY Campus:
(212) 344-4432 - Facilities/ Security/ OPs in case of emergency
(212) 344-4431 - Front desk phone number for building access issues.
Miami Campus:
305-534-6009 or dylan.rastrick@nyfa.edu.
For All Emergencies call 911. If there is a fire, pull the nearest fire alarm if you have access.
The student should be encouraged to participate and reminded that participation is part of their grade.
Students should be encouraged to perform their duties and reminded that lack of performance of assigned duties will be reflected in their grades. Students who are not performing their duties on off-site production may be replaced in those roles at the discretion of the instructor.
In the classroom environment, instructors are responsible for ensuring a safe and productive creative environment for students to grow, as visual storytellers. In NYFA’s diverse community, faculty must be sensitive to students' needs and respect their cultural, religious and/or personal background, which may prohibit them from physical contact, profanity or other types of provocative material.
Before assigning material to students, instructors should ensure that students are comfortable with the material and with their collaborators or scene partners. Faculty should ask students for their consent if/when engaging in physical contact with students (helping students make physical adjustments in a movement class, for example) or when assigning exercises to students which may require them to engage in physical contact with one another.
The use of cell phones/smart phones/iPads/tablets is expressly forbidden, unless used for research or other class-related work, under the direct supervision of the instructor. If a student's specific circumstances require them to have their phone out, the teacher can make a specific exception.
Phones, etc, should be turned off and kept out of sight during class. The first violation will result in a warning. Second and subsequent violations of cell phone policy will result in immediate expulsion from class. The student will be marked absent for the day. The absentee policy will be applied as outlined above.
This policy is enforceable for all classes and all instructors.