Policies

Students enrolled in Adult Continuing Education noncredit certificate programs are expected to attend all classes at the scheduled time, arrive prepared, and successfully complete all assignments for the course to count toward program requirements.

Students who withdraw from a course must do so in writing. Nonattendance does not constitute an official withdrawal.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) records the courses for which a student registers on the permanent record. SAIC adheres to a credit/no credit grading system, as does Adult Continuing Education (ACE) in Continuing Studies (CS).

ACE courses are not offered for credit and are indicated by the grading basis AUD, or Audit, on the Registration Statement and Transcript. Students enrolled in noncredit (Audit) courses at SAIC are required to attend all class sessions, successfully complete all coursework, and pay the tuition amount indicated on the Statement of Account.

If a student requires verification of successful completion of a course in lieu of credit or grade for purposes of reimbursement or any other reason, the student may download a Letter of Successful Completion/Student Evaluation‌ and provide it to the instructor prior to the last day of class. This will ensure that the instructor can return the completed form to the student at the end of the course. The instructor may also use this form to give a written evaluation of student performance. The Letter of Successful Completion/Student Evaluation is for student use only and will not be documented on the permanent record.‌ Both parties should sign the form, and the form should be returned to and retained by the student.

Students that require proof of enrollment for an employer or other reimbursement program can either request a Letter of Successful Completion/Student Evaluation or make a formal transcript request.

A prerequisite or its equivalent is a course or other requirement deemed necessary to ensure the greatest possible likelihood of student success. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of and meet any course prerequisite(s) prior to registration.

The Adult Continuing Education program reserves the right to enforce prerequisite requirements and may deny or permit enrollment accordingly. Students may be administratively dropped from any course for which they have not met the prerequisite(s).

A student that does not meet the prerequisite(s) for a specific course but feels that they are academically prepared to take the course may request permission from the Adult Continuing Education program.

Students may not enroll in a course and its prerequisite(s) in the same term.

Transcript requests can be made online. Full details are available online. 

Policies are subject to change.

Active certificate students are defined as those whose enrollment in the Adult Continuing Education program has not been interrupted for one year.

Continuing Studies will classify a student not enrolled in courses for one year as inactive. Students classified as inactive are subject to curriculum requirements at the time of re-enrollment, rather than as stated at the time candidacy was originally declared. Upon re-entry to the program, students must reenroll and pay the nonrefundable fee of $100.

Students may pursue only one certificate at a time.

Completion of all certificates requires a portfolio review, fulfilled by participation in Portfolio Review Day. The portfolio review must take place within one year of successfully completing required certificate program coursework. 

Students may apply one SAIC course (Adult Continuing Education, from the degree program, or Ox-Bow) completed in the past year to their certificate coursework requirements.

Students may not apply a course toward their certificate coursework requirements more than once unless it is topically based and taken for a different topic area in a different term.

Visit saic.edu/alumni, select Alumni Benefits, then Continuing Studies Certificate Alumni. 

Policies are subject to change.