Attendance Policy

Attendance to class is required for all students enrolled in both Digital Filmmaking programs. Tracking of attendance is required by the Department of Education and the Veterans Administration. It is critical that students notify the school of excused absences as it will affect the students financial aid. An excused absence must be emailed to registrar@sanfranciscofilmschool.edu. That email will automatically notify the faculty of the students excused absence so that their attendance can be properly recorded. Students must be present for 70% of classes, unless they're a Special Circumstance Student.

Please watch the Populi Training Video. Please read the Zoom Rules. Please arrive in class on time. 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. 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 left hand menu of the course page, and scroll down to the Concluded Conferences at the bottom.) A student who accumulates 3 unexcused absences will earn a lower grade, and a student who accumulates 6 absences - consecutive or not, excused or not - will fail the course and lose credit. 

Students Unable to Attend Live Class

To be marked Present for a class session, please watch the recording as soon as possible after it is uploaded, and then post to the weekly discussion thread for that class.  You have one week to do so to be marked present (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. 

Weekly discussion threads are only available for up to 4 weeks after the Real Time class has taken place.  To be marked "present" the student must post to the discussion thread within one week of the Real Time class.  If the student posts to the discussion board 2 or 3 weeks after the Real Time class, they will be marked "tardy".  If the student has not posted to the discussion 4 weeks after the Real Time class met, then they will be marked "absent" for that class. 

Absence

Students who miss three (3) classes without either prior permission from their instructor or proof of suitable excuse (medical or family emergency) will have their class grade lowered by one full grade. 

Students who are absent for six (6) or more classes will fail the course.

In order for a student to have their absence excused, they need to take the following steps: 

1. Request the excusal from the Registrar in a timely manner and send supporting documentation to the Registrar. This documentation will show that the circumstance prevents the student from attending class (e.g, doctor’s note, court summons, flight ticket, etc.).  

2. The Registrar will decide whether the absence is excused. Questions about the process or decision should be addressed to the Dean.

3. Follow up (by email) with each instructor and the Registrar to ensure that the excusal has been accepted and recorded. 

4. Complete all coursework in accordance with the Extension Policy.

14 DAY NON - ATTENDANCE EXPULSION POLICY

Federal regulations require institutions to have a procedure in place for routinely monitoring attendance records to determine in a timely manner when a student withdraws. The Department of Education has determined that students missing 14 consecutive calendar days of class to be excessive absences and requires the school to take appropriate action. Except in unusual instances, the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew should be no later than 14 calendar days after the student’s last date of attendance as determined by the institution from its attendance records.

Returning after 14 days - any student that was absent for 14 consecutive days but does plan on returning to class, will need to provide documentation to the Registrar as to why they were absent.  Students will be required to make up any assignments that were missed during that time.  Students will also be required to watch the video recording of each class that was missed and then submit a video of them reacting to the material covered in each class.  By doing this, the student will be changed from absent/excused to present if the instructor feels that the student understands the material covered in the missed class. Failure to do so will result in lower overall attendance percentage. 

Students that do not return after 14 days (in communication with the school) - the student will have the option to either take a Leave of Absence from the school, or to withdraw. 

Students that do not return after 14 days (not in communication with the school) - if the student does not contact the Registrar, Assistant Dean, or their instructors during or immediately after the 14 days that they are absent, the student will be withdrawn from the school.     

Students on Academic Warning or Probation - students that are on either a warning or probation are not allowed to miss more than 14 consecutive days of classes. If they do, they will be expelled from the school. 

If a student knows in advance that they will be missing 14 consecutive days of classes, it is their responsibility to inform both their instructors, TA’s and the Registrar immediately.  Students must submit in writing the reason that they will be absent from class and provide any pertinent documentation. The Academic department will determine if the absences will be excused or not.

A Warning will be sent when a student misses 3 classes, reminding them that missing 6 classes constitutes a failure for the class. If they miss 6 classes (excused or unexcused) the Registrar will inform them that they've failed the class.