Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend all classroom sessions. If a student will be absent they must let the instructor know in writing prior to the class. 

Students must not miss more than 15% of classes and will be required to catch up on missed material. 

Hourly attendance will be taken as students must be present for the entirety of the class, from 10am to 5pm. From an academic standpoint, the program is both intense and non-duplicable. Students are expected to attend all sessions and punctuality is required. 

 Lateness – A student cannot be more than 10 minutes late per class. Students who are late for more than 10 classes may be asked to retake the course with the next course intake (at regular cost to them). It is recommended that students arrive at least 10 minutes before the start of the session.

Absence – A maximum of 6 hours of absence is allowed per term and a make-up assignment will be required. A student cannot be absent for more than 6 hours. If a student cannot attend class, they must inform the staff. In case of medical or emergency reasons, the absence will be ‘excused’ if the student provides documents of the reason of absence (doctor’s note). For subsequence lateness or absence, the student may fail the course immediately and will be required to re-register with an additional program fee.

Leave of Absence – A student may take a leave of absence by completing the “Leave of Absence letter”, as well as gain approval by the administrator. In all cases, the student must still finish their program within 1 year of the program start date. 

1. It is expected that students attend class regularly.
2. In the event that the student is unable to attend class, they must call in before the class start time and inform the school.
3. Absences for more than two classes because of illness require a doctor’s note.
4. If a student is absent for an exam, to avoid receiving zero marks on examinations, the student must call ahead and/or provide a doctor’s note.
5. If a student misses 3 classes without a valid reason (as authorized by the Senior Educational Administrator) their progress in the course will be jeopardized and may lead to penalization.
6. If a student continues to miss classes without a valid reason, they will be progressively disciplined by warnings and may be dismissed.
   
   

Academic / Grading Structure

Students will be graded with the following structure:

Honours Pass–90%+- highest level of achievement, surpassing expectations in all areas

High Pass – 76-89% – very good level of achievement, meeting all and surpassing some expectations

Pass – 60-75% – adequate level of achievement, meeting most expectations

Fail– Under 60%- inadequate level of achievement, meeting some but missing most expectations

Students are required to maintain a Pass standing in each term. Any student failing to achieve this will be placed on academic probation and will be required to achieve the minimum in the following term or be subject to dismissal.

Each project will be subject to its own unique grading structure, which will be discussed at the beginning of each project. A grade will be assigned at the end of each term to each student. The final grade will be an average of the term grades.

Advanced VFX Compositing:

Courses are worth 40% of the total grade, Projects are worth 40% of the total grade, Professionalism (which includes attendance) is worth 10% of the total grade and Practicum is worth 10% of the total grade.

FX Technical Director:

Courses are worth 30% of the total grade, Projects are worth 60% of the total grade, Professionalism (which includes attendance) is worth 10% of the total grade.Late assignments are penalized 5 points per day, and will not be accepted after 3 weeks past due date.

If a student misses an exam for legitimate reasons, documentation of the reason must be provided.

If the student is able to pre-schedule their absence with the Senior Educational Administrator’s Office, then a make-up date will be scheduled in advance.

If the student does not have a legitimate reason for missing the exam, then they will receive an automatic 0.

Grade Appeal Policy

Lost Boys Studios provides an opportunity for students to resolve disputes of a serious nature and grades appeals in a fair and equitable manner. The policy applies to all students who are currently enrolled or were enrolled 30 days prior to the submitting their concern to the Senior Educational Administrator. 

Procedure:

If a student is dissatisfied with a grade received and can provide evidence that a higher grade is warranted, they should discuss this with their instructor.

The instructor will reconsider the grade and, if warranted, assign a different grade.

If the student remains unsatisfied with the outcome of their appeal, then a written appeal should be submitted to the Senior Educational Administrator.

The Senior Educational Administrator will have another instructor review the assignment. If the assignment achieves a higher grade, then the higher grade will be assigned. If the assessment achieves a lower grade, the original grade will be retained.

Once the re-assessment is complete, the Senior Educational Administrator will review the process and the grade will be considered final and cannot be appealed. The decisions on the grade appeal will be provided to the student within 30 days of Lost Boys Studios’ receipt of the written complaint.

Student Reviews

At minimum, each student has a required private meeting with the Owners/Instructors at the end of each term. The first review is at the beginning of the term, and the second review at the end of term 1, and the third review at the end of term 2. 

During the projects, weekly screening evaluations are also given and recorded. Grades and a verbal review are scheduled to coincide with the final withdrawal date at which students are still eligible for a partial tuition fee refund at this time students will receive a written review and grades, which will be signed by the student and instructor and kept in the student’s record folder.

Program and Instructor Review

At the end of the program the students will be requested to complete a Program and Instructor Review form. Anonymity is optional.

Practicum Policy (When applicable to the Program)

Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects provides practicum placements for students who have completed the on-site portion of a program of study with an overall grade point average of 75% in the projects and courses. Students not meeting the minimum requirements will continue onsite in the program for the remaining hours working on skills development. Students must have a good attendance record.

Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects ensures that practicum placements provide an opportunity for its students to enhance the skills learned throughout completion of a program of study.

Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects seeks practicum placements for its students with employers who are committed to introducing students to work in the field of study.

Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects works with practicum placement hosts to evaluate the student’s performance during a practicum placement.

Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects – works with the student to assign appropriate placement however if a student chooses to withdrawal a written withdrawal must be completed.

Procedure:

Practicum placements are sought through networking and direct contact by school staff.

When a possible practicum training site is identified, the Program Administrator contacts the proposed site to assess the commitment of the training place host to enhancing student learning. The Program Administrator explains the school’s expectations with respect to joint evaluation of student performance.

If the training place host is approved to accept practicum students, the host’s name and contact information are entered on the school’s roster of practicum placement sites.

When a student is ready for a practicum placement, the Program Administrator contacts the training place host to discuss a possible placement and training plan, and arranges an interview for the student.

If the student is placed, the Program Administrator prepares the Practicum Agreement and Training Plan and meets with the student to sign these documents. Copies of the documents are placed in the student’s file and the student is given the original documents to deliver to the training place host. The Program Administrator advises the student’s instructor of the placement dates.

The Senior Educational Administrator notes the placement dates and plans a contact schedule which should not be less than bi-weekly phone calls to the training place host and one site visit within the period of the placement.

At the end of the practicum placement, the Instructor meets with the training place host and the student to conduct an assessment of the student’s performance throughout the practicum placement. The assessment is designed to include the student’s performance at the work site of the skills learned during completion of the program of study. The completed assessment is signed by the instructor, the training place host and the student. A copy of the assessment is given to the training place host and the student. The original assessment is placed in the student’s file.

Should a student decide to withdrawal from the practicum they must fill out the practicum withdrawal form including reason for withdrawal and request for re-assignment based of the reason for the withdrawal.

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty Policy

Students or staff may not infringe on personal copyright by incorporating or copying another person’s research, ideas, language or work in their own work, and declaring it as their own work. It is acceptable use in the industry to copy or emulate certain works with appropriate acknowledgment. Student work found to be intentionally infringing personal copyright or plagiarizing will be pulled from the corporate website and the student demo reel, and may be subject to non-receipt of project credit.

Procedure:

Lost Boys Studios assumes no responsibility for any litigation that may arise from a student’s misappropriation of personal copyright or plagiarism.

Academic Dishonesty can be subject to dismissal. It is defined as misrepresentation with the intent to deceive, such as destroying or stealing the work of another student, cheating in all forms, mutilating or misplacing materials and resources owned by the school or other students, inappropriate or unauthorized use of computers, video equipment or Lost Boys Studios facilities.

Prior Learning Assessment

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to determine the equivalencies of students’ prior learning experiences to determine if they can count towards portions of the program studies. 

This policy applies to all prospective Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects students requesting formal assessment of their prior learning experiences. 

A successful assessment of prior learning will apply only to the designated portion or course and will not constitute completion of any prerequisites for other portions of the program. 

Principles

Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects recognizes that learning which some students acquire from their life and work experiences may be equivalent to college level learning. 

Opportunities to acquire credit in a module, course or program through assessment of prior learning experiences may be offered to students at the written request of the student. 

If formal credit for learning has been assessed as equivalent to Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects courses or modules then it will be granted as follows: 

1. It is to be considered as a credit equivalent to having earned the credit at Lost Boys Studios – School of Visual Effects and a nominal discount may be applied.

Students will request to document their learning of specific knowledge, skills and values related to the course or program learning outcomes, objectives or competencies for which a credit is requested. Documentation must support learning outcomes and may include and not be restricted to the following: 

1. Personal profiles and portfolios;
2. Certificates/diplomas;
3. Demo reels;
4. Performance evaluations and recommendations;
5. other documented learning from life and work experiences and accomplishments.