Academic Policies

In addition to general College guidelines for academic standing, majors in the Roy H. Park School of Communications must meet the following requirements:

• Majors in B.S. and B.A. programs must complete at least 60 credits outside of Park School communications courses to satisfy their degree requirements (120 credits). B.F.A. majors must complete at least 48 credits outside of Park School communications courses to satisfy their degree requirements (120 credits). The regulations of the New York State Education Department require 60 credits in courses designated as liberal arts (LA) for the B.S.; 90 credits for the B.A.; and 30 credits for the B.F.A.
• Majors must take all communications courses, whether required or elective, and all outside courses required for the major, for a letter grade. The only exceptions are specially designated communications courses, which may be offered on a pass/fail basis, and internships, which are offered only pass/fail. Courses a student has taken pass/fail and passed before becoming a major will be accepted.
• Majors are required to take a minimum of 12 credits each semester. Part-time status requires the approval of the dean and is usually granted only to seniors who lack fewer than 12 credits to meet graduation requirements and to certain adult students enrolled in approved majors.
• Majors are required to make up incomplete grades in communications courses by the end of the following semester, as required by the course instructor. Incompletes will not be given in production courses.
• Students may enroll in only one major within the Roy H. Park School of Communications.
• A few courses offered in the Roy H. Park School of Communications may be taken twice with the permission of the instructor (these are specified in the course descriptions). However, even with the permission of the instructor, if there is not enough space to permit a student taking the class a second time, preference for registration in the course will be given to students who have not taken the course and need it to stay on track for graduation.
• Total credit for workshop courses in the Park School may not exceed 6 credits, except for B.F.A. majors, who may not take more than 9 credits in workshop courses.
• Auditing laboratory or production courses is permitted only with the written authorization of the department chair. In programs requiring concentrations, students should elect the concentration before registration for the first semester of their sophomore year. Some courses are available only to students with declared concentrations that require the course. A student may have only one concentration; the concentration most recently declared is the one in force.
• All proposed waiver substitution forms must be submitted to the appropriate department chair before the last day of class of the semester before the student's final semester. Requests submitted after that deadline may not be honored, which may delay the student's graduation.
• Plagiarism - the use of work other than your own without proper citation or credit - is a serious offense. Penalties for plagiarism include failure on the assignment, failure in the course, and/or College academic discipline, which could mean suspension or dismissal from the College. Plagiarism can involve not only written work but also computer programs, photographs, artwork, films, videos, and sound. If you are at all unsure about what constitutes plagiarism or how to give credit, see your instructor and consult the Ithaca College student handbook. See "Responsibilities of Students."

Individual departments and programs in the Park School have additional requirements, especially regarding internal and cumulative grade point averages. Students should refer to the department and program requirements for complete information.

Failure to meet any of the academic regulations of the College, school, or individual department or program will result in placement on academic warning or suspension from the program for one semester. Continued failure to meet College, school, department, or program academic regulations may result in suspension or dismissal from the Park School or Ithaca College.