Academic FAQs

Log in to your profile in Populi, our learning management system. In Populi, once the instructor starts the class session, you will see a green button marked Join Conference. When you click this button, Populi will launch the Zoom client app on your device, and you will be in class. Make sure you have the latest version of Zoom installed before you join.

For more information, please refer to either the Real Time or Async Attendance policies.  

• Real Time Students: Please arrive in class on time and follow the Zoom Rules. If you will not be able to arrive on time, please inform your instructor and TA, and the Registrar, with as much advance notice as possible. Real Time Students have 5 opportunities to be marked present for a missed class session, by watching the recording of the session and submitting an assessment administered by the TA, within one week. (For class session recordings, please navigate to the Conferences in the lefthand menu of the course page, and scroll down to the Concluded Conferences at the bottom.) A Real Time Student who accumulates 3 unexcused absences will earn a lower grade, and a Real Time student who accumulates 6 absences - consecutive or not, excused or not - will fail the course and lose credit. Real Time students may not attend two classes simultaneously. If you have a scheduling conflict, please contact the Registrar to change your schedule, or arrange to attend one of the classes asynchronously.

• Asynchronous Students: To be marked Present for a class session, please watch the recording as soon as possible after it posts, and upload your reaction video to the discussion board within one week (one assessment per three-hour class session). Please attend the mandatory weekly sessions of the Asynchronous Lab, 10am-1pm PDT every Saturday, and please also attend any one-on-one sessions scheduled by your instructors and/or TAs.

Students may apply for a leave of absence through the program director or education director. Students in good standing may receive a leave of absence for up to 180 days within a 12-month period. Students who do not contact SF Film School prior to the end of a leave of absence to arrange for their return or those that do not return from their leave of absence by their agreed upon date will be terminated.

Every semester, all students enrolled in a Production course are required to attend a one week session on campus in San Francisco. This is called LRP (Low Residency Program). 

SFFS students are responsible for their own transportation and housing while attending LRP at the campus.  You can find more guidance on this on the LRP page.  (Low Residency Program). 

In Populi, navigate to the course page for the class. From the lefthand menu, select Assignments, and choose the appropriate item. (The syllabus will show when the assignments are due.) Follow the directions to submit your work. Different instructors may request that assignments be submitted in different ways, so it's always a good idea to check in about this.

Please notify your instructor and TA with as much advance notice as possible, to let them know your work will be late.

For consideration, send a college or university transcript to the Registrar at registrar@sanfranciscofilmschool.edu, along with a syllabus for each course in which you earned at least a "B." Approved transfer credits will be applied to your live transcript in Populi, and will be visible immediately.

All prior credits earned at another accredited institution are eligible to be evaluated for possible transfer if the following criteria are met a) a grade of "B" or higher was achieved; b) the class is similar in scope and content to a class offered at SFFS.

Students wishing to have their earned credits evaluated must provide a syllabus of the class as well as a transcript from their previous school to be evaluated by the Registrar. A notarized translation of the syllabus must be provided if in a language other than English.  A written exam, oral exam, or a technical competence exam may be additionally requested as appropriate for the class. 

Any student credits allowed to be transferred will be recorded upon enrollment and a record of the evaluation with its supporting documentation will be placed in the student’s permanent file. The length of the course will be shortened proportionally, and the tuition charges and program hours will be reduced accordingly.  In addition, the student and (in the case of a veteran student, the VA) shall be notified. 

The school reserves the right to grant or reject any prior credit or training, this evaluation will become part of the student’s permanent record.

To request an official transcript be sent to another institution, please use this link: Transcript Request 

All transcripts are sent electronically. If you the transcript needs to be sent via mail, please allow 3 to 5 business days for processing and for the transcript to be mailed out.