High School Bulletin

Office of the Registrar

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All  UNCSA  high  school  students  are  required  to  confirm  their  registration  at  the beginning  of  each  semester. Significant arts and academic class work begins on the first day of each semester. Therefore, students are expected to be present for registration and to attend classes as scheduled on that day. Students who register or start classes late may not make up the academic work they miss as a result of their late arrival, and no one will be permitted to register as a full-time student after the completion of the fourth day of academic classes in Fall semester. If a student’s late arrival on campus results from circumstances clearly beyond the student’s control, an appeal  from  the  student’s  parent  or  legal  guardian  may  be  made  in  writing  to  the  Dean  of  the  High  School Academic Program and to the student’s Art School Dean. This written appeal must be received by  noon  of  the  second  day  of  classes.  Vacation  plans  and  attendance  at  summer  programs  do  not  constitute grounds for appeal.

Class Designation

A high school student’s status is officially determined by the High School Academic Program based on his/her progress toward completion of the requirements for high school graduation. A student must be in good standing in his/her arts area to receive the concentration in arts designation on his/her diploma.

Credit Definitions

Students enrolled in high school programs receive credit in terms of standard Carnegie high school units.

Course Planning and Program Advising

The Director of High School Guidance and Academic Support is responsible for assisting the student in planning academic courses in order to meet graduation requirements. In the arts schools, the advising system varies from one school to another.

Drop/Add Policy

Students who wish to drop a course should seek permission from their Arts Dean (for arts courses) or Assistant  Dean  for  the  High  School  Academic  Program  or  the  Director  of  High  School  Guidance  and  Academic Support (for an academic course). Students who wish to add courses should seek permission of the instructors of the courses to be added
and from their respective Arts Dean (for arts courses) or the Assistant Dean of the High School Academic Program  or  the  Director  of  High  of  School  Guidance  and  Academic  Support  (for  academic  courses).  Students may receive credit only for courses in which they are officially registered.

Course Withdrawal

To withdraw from an arts course, students must have the signed approval of their arts advisor and Dean. To withdraw from an academic course, students must have the signed approval of the instructor, their parent or guardian, and the Assistant Dean of the High School Academic Program or The Director High of School Guidance and Academic Support. A grade of “W” may be assigned for courses from which a student has withdrawn.

Class Attendance

Regular,  prompt  class  attendance  is  a  student’s  responsibility  and  the  expectation  of  the  faculty.  A  student must participate in at least 75% of class meetings each semester in order to receive credit for the course  for  the  semester.  Teachers  are  not  obligated  to  accept,  for  a  grade,  assignments  that  students  miss as a result of unexcused absences, nor are they required to allow students to make up, for a grade, quizzes or tests a student misses because of unexcused absences. Note that three unexcused tardies are equivalent to an unexcused absence. A student who acquires a fourth unexcused absence in a course during a single semester may be withdrawn from that course without credit. Should this happen, the student may not make up this course at UNCSA during the academic year in which the withdrawal occurs. Because a course withdrawal may also make it impossible for a student, especially a senior, to meet  the  UNCSA  high  school  diploma  requirements,  a  course  withdrawal  may  also  necessitate  the  student’s withdrawal from UNCSA.

Final Examinations

Final examinations take place during a designated period at the end of each semester. Arts activities are limited during the final exam period. An unexcused absence from a final examination will result in the student  receiving  a  “zero(“0”)  for  that  activity  and  loss  of  makeup  privileges.  All  students  must  make travel arrangements that do not conflict with scheduled examinations.

Early Departure From School at the End of the Semester

While early departure before the end of the semester is discouraged, the faculty and staff recognize that extenuating   circumstances   will   necessitate   approval   for   such   early   departure.   Students   seeking   permission  to  leave  school  early  should  meet  with  the  Assistant  Dean  of  the  High  School  Academic  Program  and  the  appropriate  Art  School  Dean or Director to obtain such permission.  The  clearance  process must be completed two weeks prior to the beginning of the exam period. Students who leave campus prior to the end of a semester without having been granted the appropriate permission will be considered to have unexcused absences.

Withdrawal from School

Students who wish to withdraw from school  during  a  semester  must  process  the  appropriate  form, which  is  available  through  the  Office  of  the  Registrar  or  the  High  School Academic Program  office. Students who withdraw from school during a given semester receive no credit for courses taken during that semester. A student who leaves school without officially withdrawing will receive grades of “F” for all courses for which  they  are  registered  and  will  forfeit  eligibility  for  refund  of  tuition  and  fees.  Students  who  have terminated their enrollment for any reason must apply for readmission prior to being allowed to register for a subsequent semester.

Retention

Information  about  retention  and continuance  in  programs  is  contained  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  School  of  the Arts  High  School  Bulletin.  To  learn  the  specific  grade  and  point  average requirements for  continuance,  students  should  consult  the  following  portions  of  the  Bulletin:  the Institutional Policies  section,  the  High  School  Academic  Program  section,  and  the  appropriate  Art School section.

Long-Term Absence for Medical Reasons

A student who must leave school for medical reasons, either by order of the UNCSA Wellness Center or by choice (with a physician’s written recommendation), may remain enrolled in courses with excused absences  for  up  to  a  total  of  twelve  (12)  consecutive  academic  class  days.  Arts  Wednesdays  will  not  count against these twelve days. During this time, the student’s academic teachers will make reasonable efforts to send home the student’s academic coursework and assignments. An evaluation by the UNCSA Wellness  Center  may  be  required  upon  a  student’s  return  to  campus  following  a  leave  of  fewer  than twelve consecutive academic class days. After missing twelve consecutive academic class days, however, a  student  on  medical  leave  will  be  withdrawn  from  UNCSA  and  UNCSA  will  assist  the  student  in  the  process  of  transferring  to  another  school  by  providing  documentation  of  academic  work  completed  while enrolled at UNCSA. A student withdrawn from UNCSA after an extended medic al leave will be allowed  to  re-apply  for  admission  for  the  next  academic  semester.  Acceptance  will  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  UNCSA  Wellness  Center,  the  relevant  Art  School  Dean,  and  the  High  School  
Academic Program.

Non-Resident Status Graduation

In rare circumstances, twelfth-grade students who must withdraw from UNCSA during the academic year may receive permission, upon request, to complete their UNCSA high school diploma requirements through an approved correspondence or on-line program and qualify to receive the UNCSA high school diploma.  Typically,  only  seniors  who  have  experienced  a  catastrophic  event  (medical  or  financial)  or  who have been hired by a professional performing arts company during the course of their senior year may be given permission to graduate non-residentially.

These students must receive permission from their Arts School Dean and from the High School Academic Program,  which  maintains  the  UNCSA  high  school  graduation  list  and  monitors  a  student’s  progress  while  on  non-resident  status.  This  permission  is  valid  for  one  twelve-month  period  from  the  date  of  permission, after which the High School Academic Program will permanently remove a non-resident student from the graduation list. High school seniors who have been suspended long-term from UNCSA for  disciplinary  reasons  are  not  eligible  to  graduate  from  UNCSA  on  a  non-resident  status  basis  and  
must adhere to the requirements of their suspension for re-applying to and graduating from UNCSA.

Grading System

Effective  for  the  Fall  2011  semester,  the  A+  grade  is  no  longer  awarded  as  a  grade.  The  highest  grade  assigned  either  for  work  at  UNCSA  or  for  transfer  work  is  “A”  and  is  awarded  4.0  quality  points.  Final  grades for courses are sent to students and to their parents or guardians at the end of each semester. The following  grades  and  quality  points  provide  indication  of  student  achievement.  (Quality  points  are  awarded per unit of high school credit unit.)

A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
D = 1.0
D- = 0.7
F = 0
P = Pass
I = Incomplete
W = Withdrew   S=Satisfactory   U=Unsatisfactory

Incomplete Coursework

Occasionally,  because  of  personal,  medical  or  other  emergencies  that  may  arise,  a  student  may  be  unable to take final examinations, juries, or complete the final assignments for a course. In such a case, the instructor may request a grade of “Incomplete” for one semester so that the student may complete a course in which satisfactory progress was being made at the time of the request. The normal time limit to  complete  the  work  for  a  course  in  which  a  grade  of  “Incomplete”  has  been  given  is  the  end  of  the  semester  immediately  following  the  semester  in  which  the  “Incomplete”  was  given.  However,  an  
individual  faculty  member,  with  the  permission  of  the  appropriate  dean,  may  designate  an  earlier  deadline  for  making  up  the  incomplete  work.  Failure  to  complete  the  coursework  by  the  end  of  the  following semester will result in a grade of “F” for the course.

High School Academic Integrity Policy

In submitting assignments and projects for courses, students take responsibility for their work as whole, and imply that, except as properly noted, the ideas, words, material and craftsmanship are their own. In written work, if students cite from a source of information or opinion other than themselves without giving  credit,  either  within  the  body  of  their  texts  or  in  properly  noted  references  and  without  using  quotation  marks  where  needed,  or  otherwise  fail  to  acknowledge  the  borrowings,  they  have  in  fact  
presented the work, words or ideas of others as if they were their own. Failure to abide by those simple principles of responsible scholarship is dishonest, as is receiving or giving aid on tests, examinations or other  assigned  work  presumed  to  be  independent  or  original.  A  student  whose  work  is  found  to  be  dishonestly accomplished and submitted for a grade as his or her own will, at the teacher’s discretion, receive no credit (a zero) for that assignment.
The teacher may require that the student revise and re-submit the assignment for a grade, but this new grade may not replace the zero received on the earlier attempt. A student may be placed on probation, withdrawn from a course without credit, or referred to the campus judicial process if he or she repeatedly violates the above principles of academic integrity.

Student Records

All educational records for students are maintained in the Office of the Registrar and are available for student examination, as outlined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Students are informed at regular intervals of their current grade point averages and credits accumulated. Students having questions about their progress are encouraged to address these questions to the Registrar. The School  keeps  records  of  progress  on  veteran  and  non-veteran  students  alike.  Progress  records  are  furnished to students at the end of each scheduled school semester.

Transcripts

Transcripts  are  released  only  at  the  written  request  of  the  student  or  parents  of  high  school  students who are under 18 years of age, except in cases as outlined b y the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.  Official  transcripts  bear  the  signature  of  the  Registrar  and  the  School  seal  and  are  normally  sent  directly to other institutions or agencies in sealed envelopes. Unofficial transcripts may be requested for  a  student’s  personal  use  or  may  be  downloaded  from  the  website.  High  school  students,  while  
enrolled at UNCSA, will be allowed transcripts free of charge, and can request copies of their transcript through the high school guidance office. Graduated students may request transcripts from the Office of the Registrar. Transcripts will not be released for students who have an outstanding financial obligation to the school.

Policy on Students with Disabilities

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is committed to providing equal access to all qualified students in pursuit of their educational and artistic endeavors. UNCSA carries out its mission through the accommodation of all qualified students with documented disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are provided based on individual need and supporting documentation. High school students who seek accommodations in the academic or living environment on campus are responsible  for  providing  UNCSA  with  appropriate  documentation  to  support  their  accommodation  requests. Documentation should be submitted to:

Director of Learning Support
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
1533 South Main Street, Winston Salem, NC 27127

All disability-related questions related to high school students may be directed to the Director of High School Guidance and Academic Support.