DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY:
Alcohol or drugs are strictly prohibited on all our campuses. SOCAPA supervisors have the right to search for illegal substances.

PAYMENT POLICY, DEPOSIT, TUITION & REFUNDS:
A non-refundable, $500 deposit is required to secure a spot in all of SOCAPA’s Summer Programs. The final tuition balance is due no later than May 1 (Please note that we may be able to accept more students after this payment deadline. Call our office to arrange). If we have not received payment by May 1, SOCAPA reserves the right to cancel unpaid applicants with no return of fees. Prior to April 1, all tuition, except the $500 deposit, is fully refundable. For cancellations between April 1 and May 1, we will refund 50% of the tuition and fees. After May 15, there are no refunds, except in the form of camp credit. Camp credit is good towards any of our summer 2010 programs and is transferable to family members with the same last name. In the case that camp credit is issued prior to June 15, the amount of camp credit will be the amount paid to SOCAPA less a $1000 cancellation fee. For cancellations after June 15, camp credit will be issued for one half the amount of the tuition portion of the invoice – there will be no refund or camp credit for the Room & Board portion of the invoice. For this reason, SOCAPA highly recommends that students secure travel insurance to cover trip cancellation, interruption and/or medical emergency. For more on travel insurance, please visit: Assurance Solutions.

Students sent home in violation of our rules, for medical reasons, at the discretion of the student, family, or SOCAPA will receive no refund.

CANCELATION POLICY:
SOCAPA reserves the right to cancel any program before its start date. In the unlikely event that cancellation should occur, you have the option of a complete refund or transfer to another program. Registrant waives any and all damages that may otherwise arise out of any program cancellation and agrees to accept as liquidated damages said registration fees. We highly discourage making nonrefundable or nonchangeable travel arrangements to and from our programs.

COMMUNICATION:
Our Manhattan office is reachable by phone and e-mail twenty-four hours a day. In addition, the resident assistant on duty will have an emergency cell phone on their person at all times. Illness and problems are handled immediately and the family is always contacted directly.

SUPERVISION:
The number one priority at the School of Cinema and Performing Arts is the safety and well-being of our students. SOCAPA has a full staff of qualified supervisors on-duty at all times during the program. All of our counselors and teaching assistants are at least twenty-one years of age and have strong leadership skills and experience. Most have degrees in either visual or performing arts from prestigious universities and many have been through Residence Assistant training programs.

On evenings and weekends when students are not in class or on shoots, SOCAPA provides a full schedule of mandatory activities until 10pm. Students must be in their rooms for check-in at 10:30pm and lights-out is at 11:00pm. Our supervisors will make rounds and conduct sporadic room checks after lights-out to make sure the students remain in their rooms. There will be at least one SOCAPA resident supervisor on duty per floor of students and one SOCAPA resident director on-duty per dormitory building.

Students are not allowed in the dormitory rooms of members of the opposite sex unless it is for filming purposes and there is a SOCAPA supervisor present.

Students are not permitted to leave the campus area without a SOCAPA Buddy or supervisor unless they have the prior written consent of parent/guardian. If parent/guardian would like to sign out a student for any period of time, we require that a letter of consent be written, signed and faxed (or e-mailed) to our office detailing to whom we should release the student, when they should be released and for how long, and a contact number where the student will be. Students must notify a supervisor upon departure and return. Students must be back no later than check-in (10:30pm) unless spending the entire night (10:30pm – 8:00am) off campus.

SOCAPA students have limited amounts of personal time during the program. Generally, they have short periods of downtime after classes but before dinner, and after dinner but before the evening activity. There is also some scheduled free time on weekends, particularly on Sunday mornings. Most students use this time to catch up on sleep, to do laundry, and to write and rehearse. SOCAPA allows students to use this downtime to explore the area surrounding the campus in order to scout for prospective locations or to shop for props, costumes or personal items. Students must meet/adhere to all of the following requirements/rules in order to leave campus grounds without a SOCAPA supervisor (high school and pre-college programs only. This does not apply to the Youth Program).

• They must follow our “buddy system” and have another SOCAPA student with them AT ALL TIMES. They are never to go off on their own.
• They must notify someone by signing out in our campus office as to where they are going, why, and when we can expect them back.
• Upon return, students must sign back in with the office.
• Students are responsible for knowing by when they must return. If students return later than expected or return late for class/evening meeting/curfew, etc., the off-campus privilege may be revoked.

If parent/guardian does not want their child to be permitted to leave campus without a supervisor during downtime, they can call our main office to make other supervisory arrangements.