Current Student/Faculty Info

Guidelines

Application

• BFA:  Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in the Major and 2.5 overall GPA to remain in good standing in the program. If grades do not improve the student may be placed on probation* or released from the program. In addition, if a student is not attending classes or falls below this in major GPA their inclusion in dept. productions can be terminated.

   

• BA:  Students should maintain a 2.5 overall GPA to be in good standing in the program. If grades do not improve the student may be placed on probation*. In addition, if a student is not attending classes or falls below this in major GPA their inclusion in dept. productions can be terminated.

• Earning a grade less than “C” in any Major course may cause the student to be ineligible for casting or other department production positions. If grades do not improve the student may be placed on probation* or released from the program (BFA only).

• BA: Students pursuing the Theatre concentration may not also pursue the Theatre Minor. Students pursuing the Dance concentration may not also pursue the Dance Minor.
• Academic misconduct - plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation or collusion will result in automatic probation.* Please read Academic Misconduct Policy 3:005 
• Classroom Misconduct - Disruptive behavior in the classroom may be defined, but is not limited to, behavior that obstructs or disrupts the learning environment (e.g., repeated outbursts from a student which disrupts the flow of instruction or prevents concentration on the subject taught , failure to cooperate in maintaining classroom decorum, the presence of non-enrolled visitors in the classroom (including but not limited to minors,) the continued use of any electronic or other noise- or light-emitting device which disturbs or inturrupts the concentration of others (e.g. disturbing noises from text messaging, cell phones, personal digital assistant, laptop computers, games, etc.) will result in automatic probation*. Please read 2019-2020 Student Handbook & Calendar.

*Probationary status will last for one semester or until grades improve and may cause the student to be ineligible for casting, department sponsored travel, or other department production positions.

Though AI writing assistant tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Perplexity can be helpful in teaching a student how to improve their writing and grammar, relying on any AI program to write a paper without any work on your part is easy to spot and ultimately falls under the university guidelines on plagiarism. AI writing programs are a fantastic tool, but that is exactly what they are: a tool to use on the way to your final product. They are not good at making specific, accurate, qualified observations about a particular subject. In other words, they can’t back up what they say with credible citations or sources. They can’t reason or feel and many times they will make up fake citations or source material as a placeholder. So, if AI writes the entire paper, it generally results in a paper that is overly general, flat, unsubstantiated, lacking depth, and sometimes even includes inaccurate or false statements, which is why part of the skill set that needs to be learned is having a conversation with AI so that it becomes an assistant, a TA, or an intern. Think of AI as 1000 naïve interns there to help you.

However!!! The use of AI is increasingly becoming a part of the world, so we want to encourage you to use it! To help you navigate this, here are some guidelines:

• One of the goals of your training here is to help you learn to communicate effectively: that requires practice reading, writing, and editing.
• AI can help you increase the speed that you complete work. AI can help you refine, edit, research, and recognize quality writing. However, if you let it do all of the work, you will not have any employable skills.
• YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FINAL PRODUCT. If you turn in work that is pure AI and it falls flat… that is your responsibility. To that end, please use AI creatively and responsibly, but do not let it do your work for you.

Policies:

• AI is permitted for use for all aspects of classes (with exceptions noted by professors).
• You MUST disclose what AI platform you are using and what prompts you used to get the information you received.
• If you use any AI writing, you must cite it appropriately.
• AI detections tools will be used on your work, so just be up front and all is cool.

Refining Statements to Use with AI:

• Can you do this again but think slower?
• Captains Log Stardate 2027… (it’s stupid but it works…)
• Can you do this again but insert a sense of humor?
• Can you tell me if this essay is written from a Eurocentric point of view?
• How can I make this work more inclusive?
• Can you please proofread this essay?
• Can you think of any examples of...?

The use of AI involves creativity to ask the right questions. That is what we do as entertainment professionals… we learn to ask the right questions. It is not the destination, it’s the journey.

If you want to use AI to help you with an assignment but you are not sure if it is OK… just ask!

Cost: I believe you have access to the paid Microsoft AI (Copilot) through your APSU 360 account. Other AI (ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.) have free versions, but they are the stupidest versions. You have to pay for the newest smartest version. Most of them have some free trial, or free questions per day. Video/image/music AI seems to have some cost involved no matter what.