School, Department, and Program Policies
Ethic of Care
School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design. This manifesto for School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design (SCMAD) students, faculty and staff was created in the winter of 2012 by the combined SCMAD programs’ student councils and edited by SCMAD students, Joaneil Baksh and Jason Leite and initiated and facilitated by Dean Nate Horowitz. It will be embedded in everything we do at the SCMAD.
The students and staff of the Story Arts Centre are committed to creating a culture of equality and tolerance. With an emphasis on establishing relationships between students and with staff, we pledge to help each other not only realize our potential, but exceed our own expectations of ourselves.
The ethic of care is a promise from the entire Story Arts Centre community that we will produce a safe and creative environment for everyone, built on the pillars of respect, consideration, awareness and understanding. Through caring for each other, we will establish a supportive and creative environment for all students at the Centre. Among students, we will work to understand each other’s opinions, values and differences. With an emphasis on support and cross program collaboration, we will open the communication between the students and effectively put to use the unique and specific skills of each student. Between students and staff, the same ideas of respect and equality will carry on. The entire staff of the Story Arts Centre will challenge and motivate the students, outlining clear expectations and giving students the tools and abilities to meet them. This respect is mutual amongst all individuals at the college, and extends beyond academia. The ethic of care is about understanding others, welcoming diversity, creating equality amongst all and the inclusion of all, regardless of position, background, race or religion. Respect, consideration, awareness and understanding will remain the core, fundamental principles of the supportive environment of the Story Arts Centre.
SAC Lab and Classroom Access Policies/Guidelines
(When permitted by Public Health and the Ministry of Education)
Fall 2021 access to some labs will be via Splashtop (remote access software)
Card access to lab areas is provided on the understanding that users will abide by the:
- Lab Code of Conduct for The Story Arts Centre
- Internet Guidelines for the Centre
- Acceptable Computer Use Policy for Centennial College
Users who fail to abide by the policies and guidelines will receive a warning from security. A second incident may result in a suspension of card access to labs.
Users are all current, registered (and paid), full-time students, Continuing Education (CE) students and special program students in courses at The Story Arts Centre, as well as faculty and staff at The Centre. This includes all day-time classes and CE classes in the evenings and on weekends.
Lab Code of Conduct at the Story Arts Centre
- No food or drink in the lab at any time. Bottled water included.
- Lab doors are not to be propped open.
- Do not respond to persons knocking at the lab door (authorized users have card access).
- Entry to and use of labs during a scheduled class other than your own is prohibited (schedules will be posted).
- Headphones should be used for any audio or visual work. Please do not use sound files, existing television sets or other audio-visual media that prevents others from completing their assignments in a reasonably quiet environment.
- Equipment and labs should be left neat and ready for other users. Please return to the main menu on the computer and throw out unwanted printed work.
- Priority is given to those doing curriculum work. Users surfing the Internet in a full lab are asked to free up the workstation for students who need to complete work.
- Do not use profanity, distribute offensive material or be abusive. You are representing the college and other users are aware that your server is The Story Arts Centre.
- When downloading files, make sure to delete them from the hard drive when you’re finished. Images, in particular, use up a lot of memory.
- As a general rule, it’s best to delete everything when you’re finished and always log off completely. Do not leave your assignments or offensive material on the monitor. Remember: Offensive material is prohibited. Items that are not offensive to you may be offensive to others.
Acceptable Computer Use Policy
Users are expected to refrain from deliberately performing acts that will impair the operation of any facet of the computing resources of the college or the resources of any recipient of information. Such acts include: permeating computer viruses, sending excessively large mailings, large print jobs, batch programs, and “junk mail” including chain letters. Violations include, but are not limited to:
- Commercial activities for personal gain
- Knowingly creating, displaying or transmitting threatening, racist, sexist, obscene or harassing language/materials
- Games not related to course content
- Copyright and licensing violations
- Violation of personal privacy
- Disclosing/sharing one’s access code/password
- Vandalism and mischief that incapacitates or destroys college resources and/or violates federal and/or provincial laws.”
Users should also be aware of the Code of Conduct and Procedures in Centennial’s Student Rights and Responsibilities book.
Additional computer access is available in any lab whenever no classes are in session. Watch for posted schedules.
The only exceptions are labs 141, 143, 145, and 147, which are for the exclusive use of Animation, Game Art & Digital Visual Effects programs.
SCMAD Policy for Plagiarism, Fabrication, and other forms of Academic Dishonesty
The School of Communications, Media Arts and Design upholds the principles of honesty and truth in all forms of storytelling be they print, online, imaging, broadcast or magazine.
Why? First, because our readers and audience demand accuracy and honesty about where the information, they are consuming, comes from; and second, because the industry – where you will be working insists on rigorous standards of truth and honesty in the information that they convey to the public.
It’s a matter of public trust, one that we believe deeply in. You need to be on board, as well.
Centennial College’s Academic Honesty and Plagiarism Policy (AC100-11)
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarizing is presenting someone else’s words, images or other work as your own without credit or attribution. Plagiarism includes:
- the verbatim presentation of someone else’s work without proper credit or attribution;
- a paraphrased version of someone else’s work without proper credit or attribution;
- a combination of (1) and (2) without proper credit or attribution.
Plagiarism is easy to do – even accidentally. Here are some examples:
- Lifting material off the website of a scholarly magazine and pasting it into your own essay without proper attribution.
- Using a news story from the Toronto Star as the basis for a radio newscast article you have to write, without completely rewriting it all in your own words, and using proper attribution.
- “Borrowing” a copyrighted digital photo, illustration video or other image from the Internet for an assignment illustration, without attribution. However, **Clip Art & royalty-free images and sound are permitted.
- Adding copyrighted music or sound to a television project that you “borrowed” from an external source, without proper attribution or courtesy, etc.
- Using a well-crafted turn of phrase from another source, in an assignment, without proper attribution.
- It also means copying another student’s design, either by hand or electronically, in whole or in part, with or without the knowledge and/or consent of the other student. (If done with the consent or co-operation of another student, both students involved are subject to penalty.)
What is meant by proper attribution?
It can be as simple as using quotation marks, if appropriate, and crediting the source in the same sentence as the attributed work.
Even if the plagiarism was done “accidentally,” it is still theft, and unacceptable in the school and in the profession.
Why do we take this so seriously? Because you won’t have learned what you need to learn to be a successful advertising professional and communicator, because it erodes the trust the public has for its sources of information and also because doing it will not only probably kill your career here, but it will make you unemployable in the “real” industry in the outside world.
Those who are found to have plagiarized in their assignments are subject to discipline as outlined below (see PENALTIES below).
FABRICATION
Fabricating is deliberately falsifying any part of an assigned project using bogus information, and presenting the material as if totally genuine.
That might mean everything from inventing a source and making up quotes, to pretending that someone you interview on camera is really an expert, when in fact they are your family member or a friend. It also applies to image manipulation; i.e. Photoshop of an image, adding audio sound effects to a radio news report (without express permission from the editor), and other forms of altering reality, in print, broadcast or online.
It is an act of dishonesty and is never justified.
IMPERSONATION
Impersonation is deliberately pretending to be someone else when you are doing a story or trying to get an interview or conduct research. One example can be misrepresenting yourself when contacting a potential news source (for example, telling your source that you are representing the Toronto Star, CTV or any company when you are doing a course assignment).
A second example involves hiding the fact you are a communicator. Communicators should always identify themselves up front, particularly when researching sources such as Facebook or other forums of social media websites. It is a serious offence to pretend to be someone else or something else because it strikes at the heart of the foundation of honesty and truth that is at the core of our professions.
VERIFICATION OF SOURCES
- Any or all students may be required to provide the name, full address, telephone number and/or e-mail address of any person said to have been used as a resource for an assignment.
- Any or all students may, on similar request, be required to provide documentary proof of printed or electronic (Internet) sources said to have been used for an assignment.
- The teacher may, at any time, consult one or more sources to verify information in a student’s assignment.
- The teacher may carry out spot checks of student assignments as part of the evaluation process.
Penalties for other acts of academic dishonesty will be governed by this policy. Such acts include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Cheating on an examination.
- Submitting the same assignment to professors in different courses without prior approval.
- Stealing files from a college computer.
- “Group work“ – that is, using material gathered by another student or students and including it in your assignment as though it has been gathered by you. (For example, using material from a taped interview conducted by someone else without giving credit to the person who conducted the interview.) Similarly, a student who supplies such material to another student is also subject to penalty. Students, who wish to work “in a pool”, must have prior permission of the teacher.
PROCEDURE
Please see the Academic Honesty and Plagiarism Policy.
PENALTIES
Any student found to have submitted an assignment containing plagiarism or fabrication in a course, with the exceptions noted in Point 5 below, shall be subjected to the following penalties.
First offence:
- The student will receive a grade of zero (no credit) on the assignment.
- The student will not be permitted to complete another assignment to make up for the assignment found to contain plagiarism or fabrication.
- The student will be asked to sign a Breach of Academic Honesty and Plagiarism Policy form. A copy of this form will be placed in the student’s file in the coordinator’s office and will remain in the file until the student ceases to be enrolled in the program.
- A copy of the form will be placed in the Dean’s office, and will remain on file.
- If plagiarism or fabrication or other Academic Dishonesty violations are found to have been committed in Field Placement (where there is a field placement course), the student will be awarded a failing (F) grade in the course, and be suspended from the program.
Second offence:
The student will fail the course and will be suspended from the program.
Appeals:
All decisions can be appealed.
The Story Arts Centre Equipment and Facilities Guidelines
The practice of booking equipment is directed to all Story Arts Centre students authorized to use film, television production or photography equipment loaned from the SAC Facilities, Equipment Room (165A). Whether you are booking equipment for an extensive shoot or an XLR cable, you must sign it out using the procedures outlined below.
Please note that all bookings are for a 24 hour period unless otherwise authorized by faculty; weekends are excluded from this rule, as those bookings will run from Friday to Monday. Under certain circumstances, faculty will reserve equipment for students and arrange for longer sign outs when required for larger scaled assignments.
Please be sure to read and follow instructions carefully.
All bookings are on a first come, first serve basis.
IT IS IMPERATIVE TO YOUR SUCCESS, TO ENSURE YOU PLAN AHEAD!
- If you are not familiar with the booking policy, please take the time to read the ‘Policy Summary’
- Scroll down and read ALL ‘Booking Point Online Rental Instructions’ before proceeding.
- Once you have read and understand instructions, proceed to click on ‘Visit the online booking form by clicking here’.
- You will then be asked to acknowledge that you have read the Booking Point Rental Instructions.
- Click ‘Make a Reservation’.
- You will be prompted to enter your account name and password
**NOTE: Remember your ‘account name’ is your student number. For first time users of the booking system, your default password will be 1234. You will be prompted to change your password once you sign in
- You will then be taken to the ‘Terms and Conditions’ page. You must agree to these terms and conditions before you are able to move forward.
- Once you have agreed to the terms and conditions you will be sent to the booking system where you can begin choosing equipment you would like to sign out.
- Equipment groups can be filtered under the ‘Show’ drop down menu. You can also use the search option if you know the name of the resource. Ex. D7000
- Select a date.
**NOTE: Student bookings are for a period of 24 hours, unless rental period is pre-approved by faculty member. Weekend rentals run from Friday afternoon to Monday morning.
- Click on available items, indicated by green squares. Follow the legend on the bottom left hand side of the screen to know availability of an item.
**NOTE: Do not adjust the default pickup and return times. It is expected that equipment will be picked-up and dropped off at predetermined times. Changing this will have no effect in your rental duration. For pick-up and drop-off time windows, please see ‘Equipment Pick-Up’ section 4 and ‘Equipment Return’ section 5.
- After selecting an item’s date and time, click ‘Add to cart’.
- To finalize your booking, click on ‘Save Reservations’.
- To ensure you have reserved all intended items, click on the ‘upcoming’ tab on the top of the screen, to review your booking.
Equipment Pick Ups
The location to pick up equipment is in Room 165A
(When permitted by Public Health and the Ministry of Education)
EQUIPMENT PICK-UP TIMES:
MONDAY – FRIDAY: 11:00am – 1:00pm & 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Holidays may affect these days/hours
Hours subject to change during the Summer semester
- When picking up or dropping off equipment, valid Student ID must be shown.
- Equipment may only be picked up by the individual who made the original booking.
- It is each user’s personal responsibility to ensure there are no issues with the equipment they have signed out. When picking-up, please leave yourself enough time to thoroughly check equipment before leaving the Equipment Distribution area.
- Please report any issues immediately (before leaving the equipment rental area), as the user will be held financially responsible for any damage(s) caused while the equipment is in their possession.
- Any equipment damaged while in use, must be reported via a fault report.
- You will be asked to sign a loan agreement stating you have received the equipment listed and all supplementary items included and that they are in good repair. It is your responsibility to ensure all items are in your possession and working properly. You are welcome to request a copy of your loan agreement.
**NOTE: If you have made an online booking and will be unable to pick-up your equipment for any reason, please log into the booking system and cancel your reservation by going to the upcoming tab and clicking ‘remove’ next to each item you will not be picking-up. You can also call the equipment room at 416-289-5000 ext. 8656 or email us at sacequipmentroom@centennialcollege.ca. Certain times of year are very busy and equipment is limited. Canceling a reservation you will not be using is simply showing consideration for your fellow students. Failure to cancel a booking may result in a sanction.
Equipment Returns
The location to return equipment is in Room 165A
(When permitted by Public Health and the Ministry of Education)
EQUIPMENT RETURN TIMES:
MONDAY – FRIDAY: 8:00am – 10:00am
Holidays may affect these days/hours
Hours subject to change during the Summer semester
TARDINESS WILL RESULT IN A SANCTION
- Equipment may only be returned by the individual who made the original booking.
- Late returns are unacceptable and disrupt the sign out process. Oftentimes equipment is checked in and goes back out the door again. Make a courtesy call to the Equipment Room if you are running late for any reason.
Sanctions List
Please be informed that the Sanctions clause in this policy is for everyone’s protection. Our shared equipment is a very valuable resource. They are our tools. We need to care for them as if they were our own, paid for out of our own pocket. The terms of the Sanction will be followed to the letter in order to protect your resources.
This practice is subject to the Student Code of Conduct Policy (SC 101-07) and the Disruptive Student Behaviour In the Classroom and other Learning Environments (SC 104-07) Both can be found on the College’s intranet, under the heading “Policies”. In booking equipment, students should be fully aware of their rights and responsibilities to the College, and also to other students who need to use these valuable shared resources.
The following is a brief list of the sanctions for the common errors and problems:
- Late twice and it is an automatic loss of sign-out privileges for two weeks. An email is sent outlining dates for the student.
- Damaged, lost or stolen equipment is an automatic withdrawal of privileges, until the situation is resolved. An email will be sent from the Media & Technology Facilities Manager, Gillian Edwards, outlining the repayment options.
- Half a day late or more returning equipment will result in an email setting up a meeting with the Student, Program Coordinator and The Media & Technology Facilities Manager, Gillian Edwards, to discuss sanctions. A letter will follow with details regarding the sanction.
- If a group has damaged or is missing equipment, the members of the team will be equally responsible for the replacement or payment, and will be on the sanctions list one month after the missing or damaged equipment is returned or paid for.
- Grades will be withheld until all equipment is returned or replaced.
Broadcast & Digital Media Facilities
All facilities are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
(When permitted by Public Health and the Ministry of Education)
NO FOOD or DRINK is permitted in any of the broadcast facilities (studios, TV, radio, photography, edit suites, computer labs, etc.).
If you are found with food or drink in any of the facilities, you will be asked to leave the facility and will lose your booking for that day. Security will take your name and student number, and you will be reported to both the Facilities Manager and the Dean.
Students who are trained to properly use the studios, edit suites, etc., can book the facilities when not in use for established classes. To book an edit suite or studio, visit the front office and fill out a request form; the front desk staff will assist you. Be sure to identify what program you are in and your semester, along with your photo ID.
- Please be clear when booking the studio facilities which rooms you will require.
- Please follow the safety rules & procedures you have been taught when using the studios, suites, etc.
- When you use the studio or any other facility, ensure that you leave it clean and in better shape than you found it, including all the appropriate equipment & lights have been turned off.
- You should be able to have a clean and error free experience in the facilities. Please report any equipment faults or messy facilities right away through either an online fault report or directly to Chetan Premjee by phone at 416-289-5000 ext. 8614, by email at cpremjee@centennialcollege.ca, or visit Chetan in person, his office is located in room 167.
- Student Producers are responsible for Group projects and must monitor food and drink issues within the facilities they are responsible for.
Fault Reports
It is your responsibility to report any problems you might encounter or damaged equipment you notice, right away. Use a Fault Report to report equipment malfunctions or any other facility damage. Not all damage to equipment is directly through user error. Sometimes parts wear out and/or malfunction, through no fault of the user them self. It is of the utmost importance that we are aware of any issues with equipment/facilities so we can work together to ensure these issues are taken care of and equipment is back up and running, in a timely manner.
Please ensure a fault report http://storyartscentre.info/equipmentroom/forms/fault-report/ is clearly filled out either online or a physical copy is placed in the slot outside our Broadcast Technologist Chetan Premjee’s office, room 167. If you require an immediate response during regular business hours and our Tech is not in his office, you can go to the front office and ask.
