Academic Information Pertaining To All CTD Students
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Each student is assigned a faculty advisor. This advisor discusses goals, helps you plan each semester’s courses, and acts as a counselor in many aspects of your life at the college. They also receive all of your academic records.
NOTE: Although your advisor provides information regarding course selection, you are responsible for insuring that all of your degree requirements are met. If you intend to participate in the London program, you need to plan your schedule with particular care as not all required courses are offered every semester.
If for some reason you would like to request a new advisor please contact the Coordinator of Theatre Operations.
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Academic accommodations are available to students with documented disabilities. To access services, students must self-identify and provide appropriate documentation to the Office of Academic Support Services. For further information, please contact the Student Accessibility Support at 274-1257
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The following information is taken directly from the Student Conduct Code of Ithaca College, Appendix II.
Standards of Academic Conduct
A. Academic honesty is a cornerstone of the mission of the College. Unless it is otherwise stipulated, students may submit for evaluation only that work that is their own and that is submitted originally for a specific course. According to the traditions of higher education, forms of conduct that will be considered evidence of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to the following: conversations between students during an examination; reviewing, without authorization, material during an examination (i.e., personal notes, another student's exam); unauthorized collaboration; submission of a paper also submitted for credit in another course; reference to written material related to the course brought into an examination room during a closed-book, written examination; and submission without proper acknowledgment of work that is based partially or entirely on the ideas or writings of others. Only when a faculty member gives prior approval for such actions can they be acceptable.
B. It is the responsibility of instructors to inform students clearly in writing of specific rules, procedures and/or expectations pertinent to their particular course that differ from those identified in paragraph A of this section. In those courses where limited consultation among students is permitted in the preparation of assignments, it is extremely important for instructors to clarify the guidelines for appropriate conduct.
C. In situations where a student may have difficulty in distinguishing between acceptable behavior and academic misconduct, it is the responsibility of the student to confer with the instructor. This is particularly important for avoiding plagiarism when written sources are used in the preparation of papers or take-home examinations.
Because Ithaca College is an academic community, ignorance of the accepted standards of academic honesty in no way affects the responsibility of students who violate standards of conduct in courses and other academic activities.
D. All members of the academic community are expected to assist in maintaining the integrity of Ithaca College, which includes reporting incidents of academic misconduct. Such instances may be reported to a faculty member, the dean of the school involved, or the director of judicial affairs.
Plagiarism
Whether intended or not, plagiarism is a serious offense against academic honesty. Under any circumstances, it is deceitful to represent as one's own work writing or ideas that belong to another person. Students should be aware how this offense is defined: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's published or unpublished ideas, whether this use consists of directly quoted material or paraphrased ideas.
Although various disciplines follow styles of documentation that differ in some details, all forms of documentation make the following demands:
- That each quotation or paraphrase be acknowledged with footnotes or in-text citation;
- That direct quotations be enclosed in quotation marks and be absolutely faithful to the wording of the source;
- That paraphrased ideas be stated in language entirely different from the language of the source;
- That a sequence of ideas identical to that of a source be attributed to that source;
- That all the sources the writer has drawn from in paraphrase or direct quotation or a combination of paraphrase and quotation be listed at the end of the paper under "Bibliography," "References," or "Works Cited," whichever heading the particular style of documentation requires.
A student is guilty of plagiarism if he/she fails, intentionally or not, to follow any of these standard requirements of documentation.
In a collaborative project, all students in the group may be held accountable for academic misconduct if they engage in plagiarism or are aware of plagiarism by others in their group and fail to report it. Students who participate in a collaborative project in which plagiarism has occurred will not be held accountable if they were not knowledgeable of the plagiarism.
What, then, do students not have to document? They need not cite their own ideas, references to their own experiences, or information that falls in the category of uncontroversial common knowledge (what a person reasonably well-informed about a subject might be expected to know.) They should acknowledge anything else.
Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty
Other violations of academic honesty include, but are not limited to, the following behaviors:
- Handing in to a class a paper written by someone else;
- Handing in as an original work for a class a paper one has already submitted to another course;
- Handing in the same paper simultaneously to two courses without the full knowledge and explicit consent of all the faculty members involved;
- Having someone else rewrite or clean up a rough draft and submitting those revisions as one's own work;
These offenses violate the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect necessary to the process of learning.
Note: Students who would like help in learning how to paraphrase or document sources properly should feel free to come to the Writing Center in room 228 of Roy H. Park Hall for assistance.
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Student evaluation of faculty are sent electronically and take place during the last few weeks of classes. These evaluations are very important to the faculty member, as they are used in contract, tenure and promotion decisions, and serve as feedback for the professor regarding their teaching effectiveness. It is the policy of the Center for Theatre and Dance that time be set aside during class for students to fill out the evaluations. The instructor being evaluated either remains in the space or designates a proctor while the students are completing the evaluation.
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Eligibility for all Ithaca College financial aid, including Center for Theatre and Dance scholarships, is established by the Ithaca College Student Financial Services (274-3131). All students seeking financial aid and/or scholarships should contact the SFS to ensure that all possibilities for financial assistance are being explored and that all the necessary forms are obtained and filed by the required deadlines. These forms are lengthy and require current income tax information from both parents and student. Applicants for Ithaca College financial aid and CTD scholarships are urged to obtain these forms early enough so that both parents, caregivers and students have sufficient time to complete and file these forms by the required deadlines. The end of January is usually a good time to begin this process for the following fall/academic year.
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The student in the graduating class, with the highest grade point average at the end of the seventh semester within their degree program, will be awarded departmental honors.
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The Ithaca College Undergraduate Catalog is the authoritative document for academic requirements and standards. Normally, the catalog that is in effect when a student first enrolls is the edition that governs their course of study. If there are program changes during the student's time at the college, they may choose to graduate under the new requirements by submitting a "change of catalog year" request.
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Awarded to an outstanding newly graduated theatre major who is planning on establishing a professional career. This award is nominated and approved by program faculty and announced at the end of the year celebration.
Academic Policies Pertaining To All CTD Students
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There may be occasions where a student must arrive on campus after fall or spring classes begin due to extenuating circumstances or professional contractual obligations. Students who wish to petition that absences from their theatre classes and/or auditions be excused because of those obligations must provide their degree coordinator and the department chair with a copy of their contract with the ending date of employment clearly indicated or a written statement of those extenuating circumstances. If approved, the student is also responsible for contacting each of their professors and notifying them of their late arrival. Performers must also inform the stage management coordinator of their absence from auditions. These arrangements must be accomplished no later than two weeks prior to the beginning of classes.
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It is the policy of the Center for Theatre and Dance that students contemplating accepting a commitment to a theatre or film project outside the theatre arts season (i.e. any project for which a student may receive a grade is considered part of the season) must process a Request to Participate in a Non-CTD Production form. This form must be filled out, signed by all appropriate parties, and be put on file in the CTD Dean's Office. Since permission is not automatically granted, the form needs to be on file by no later than the first day of rehearsal for the project. Please understand that failure to comply with this rule not only violates policy but represents unprofessional behavior, because it jeopardizes the project by risking the possible untimely loss of your participation in it and the need to find a replacement.
Each degree program has specific procedures on the back of the form where signatures must be obtained.
Please note that any student on departmental probation may not request to participate in any production outside the main stage season.
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Technical Theatre Practicum (THEA 10200) is a practical application course, designed to expose students to the crews necessary to support production activity. It is a one-credit course that may be repeated for credit eight times. All majors, minus B.F.A. Theatre Production and Design, are required to take the course two times, for two credits. All students enrolled in the course must complete the following requirements each semester in order to receive credit for Technical Theatre Practicum:
- Each student will receive a crew assignment at the beginning of each semester. Students will not ordinarily be assigned to crew a CTD production in which they have been cast.
- In addition, students will usher at one performance. The house manager will turn in attendance records of ushers to the faculty member assigning Technical Theatre Practicum grades. Failure to complete the ushering assignment will reduce the students’ final grade by one letter grade.
Credit will be allowed for CTD productions only. See Crew Member Evaluation for evaluation criteria.
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Theatre Projects (THEA 49000) are a practical, hands-on exploration of applied methods or techniques. The normal result is a performance or a tangible product.
Independent Studies (THEA 49900) are independent research and reading guided by a faculty member normally resulting in a paper.
Proposals for Theatre Projects and Independent Studies must be approved by the Center for Theatre and Dance Curriculum Committee prior to registration for the semester in which the study is to be undertaken.
Eligibility
Only juniors and seniors having an overall G.P.A. of 2.3 with 3.0 in the major may apply.
Limitations
Theatre Projects and Independent Studies may not duplicate or substitute for standard course work within the Center for Theatre and Dance. No retroactive credit will be granted by the Center for Theatre and Dance. Students should refer to the Ithaca College Undergraduate Catalog for credit hour limitations.
Procedures
- Discuss idea for the study/project with the department faculty member qualified to supervise.
- Write a detailed proposal in the form of a design statement using the following prompts:
- Student's Name
- Faculty Sponsor's Name
- Project Title
- A description of the learning objectives of the Theatre Project. This should identify the specific outcomes the student is expected to achieve. (i.e. What specific skills, knowledge or capacities is the student expected to attain?)
- The student’s background preparation for the undertaking of the study and project creation. (Such as previous course work, performance, internships.)
- Reading List, which is sufficient to provide focus and stimulate research and investigation.
- Form, size and scope of the results, such as a working model, computer program, performance, stage design, etc. 5. Method and amount of ongoing interaction with faculty supervisor. (Such as periodic discussion of reading, discussion of outlines, paper drafts, viewing of progress on the project, discussion of journal or rehearsals.)
- Breakdown of time to be spent on each area of the process involved in the project; described as hours per week. (Such as time spent with supervisor, reading time, design work, writing time, rehearsal time, presentation period preparation.) This should be total hour per week and total hours per semester.
- Evaluation: Note the method of Grading as P/F or A-F. Include percentages of weight given to various elements of the project. (e.g. Research and Journal 20%, Rehearsals and meetings with faculty 20%, Project Presentation/Application 60%.)
- Course Number and Amount of Credit. The rule of thumb to use is that 1 credit represents 40-45 hours of student learning. This is based on 1 hour of student-teacher contact and 2 additional hours of preparation for each of 14-15 weeks.
- Complete the workflow form found at the bottom of this page and attached a PDF of the design statement.
- The workflow form will route to the proposer's academic advisor’s for approval.
- The form will then be reviewed to assess academic and/or creative value, and confirms the appropriate number of credits for the study. This process might involve some back and forth with the proposer for clarification and a revised design statement may be requested.
- Once approved - the proposer will engage in the study conforming to the design statement.
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A few local internships are available during the school year at the Hangar, State and Kitchen Theatres and with the Cornell Concert Series. A wide variety of internship opportunities are available to Ithaca College students. Summer internships at stock or regional theaters, at casting and talent agencies in large cities, and in commercial and nonprofit theater offices are among the most popular internships. However, some of our students take advantage of full-semester, 12-credit internships as well. Management students frequently find placements for themselves, often in New York City, and B.A. drama students have the time to take a full semester away from the home campus as well. Most of the latter have taken stage management internships at the McCarter and George Street Playhouse, and one senior B.A. student recently interned at the Vineyard Theatre in Manhattan, reading new scripts.
Internships are available at the College’s London Center as well, in areas from set construction to casting, from management to dramaturgy. Students usually sign on for three-credit internships during the London semester.
For information regarding internships, please consult the Ithaca College Undergraduate Catalog. Credit for internships cannot be received retroactively.
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This invaluable week in Manhattan, conducted for seniors the week before spring break, has grown in recent years. It is a vital link in the students’ transition to the “real world” of theater. During the week, seniors meet in small groups with alumni to learn more about such diverse areas as performance (in film and TV as well as on stage), agency and casting work, technical and design opportunities, management work available in Manhattan, and so on.
In addition, theatre production and design students are taken on backstage tours of theaters; B.A. theatre studies students, and in some cases management and design students, take tours of the downtown and uptown theater scene. In the last few years, students have had the opportunity to tour the Public Theatre, the Irish Rep, and the New York Theatre Workshop.
Seniors see a variety of productions during the week as well, and some of the students have an opportunity to see readings of new work, in addition to seeing Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance has resources available to help you with your academic success.