Consistent attendance is critical to learning, growth, and academic success; therefore, students are expected to attend all class meetings. Students must be present for all regularly scheduled examinations and course activities and should submit complete assignments when they are due unless alternative arrangements are made in advance with the instructor.

The graphic design department has specific requirements and expectations beyond the general KCAI attendance expectations. Please review those on the gd department policy page.

our department collectively determines our attendance and engagement policies. Instructors are still required, however, to report absences in their MyKCAI portal within 48 hours of the class meeting.

KCAI values our student’s health and wellness, which is why each course allows a specified number and/or percentage of total absences before the absences impact the final course grade. In the instance that you will not be able to attend a class or course activity, please reach out to the instructor. Faculty and staff across the campus are here to help support you in your academic career. However, it is your responsibility to manage your absences and ask for the help that you need throughout the semester to ensure your success. You can access various helpful on-campus and telemedicine resources through the myKCAI portal [student services > mental health and medical services].

If you are unable to attend class due to an illness, notify your instructors prior to missing class.

If you are unable to attend due to a chronic illness or injury, follow the policy/procedures outlined in KCAI’s Disclosure of Disability and Student Accommodation Process, located on MyKCAI/Campus Policies.

KCAI students with disabilities are invited to disclose any disabilities they may have, but such a disclosure is not mandatory. Once documentation of a disability is received, students are provided with reasonable accommodations, which are designed to provide equal access to the material and environment of the classes that the students are enrolled in. Unlike the services that are available to the student body in its entirety, accommodations are mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and are dependent on appropriate documentation.

Students are encouraged to notify the Assistant Director of Student Support, disabilityservices@kcai.edu if accommodations are requested. To request accommodations, please fill out the request form on MyKCAI.

Disability Services is located on the second floor of DeBruce Hall. [view policy]

Kansas City Art Institute prohibits Sexual Harassment (including quid pro quo, hostile environment, sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking) that occurs within its educational programs and activities. Sexual misconduct that falls outside the jurisdiction of KCAI’s Sexual Harassment Title IX policy may be a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. [view policy]

KCAI is committed to a campus environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, where each individual has the right to a positive atmosphere that promotes equal opportunity. The Kansas City Art Institute prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, gender, gender identity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, parental status, genetic information, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state or local law. [view policy]

KCAI is committed to preserving a safe and welcoming educational environment for all students. As part of this effort, all KCAI faculty and staff have an obligation to report certain issues relating to the health, safety, and well-being of campus community members. Faculty and staff must report alleged violations, including but not limited to, Sexual Harassment (Title IX), Discrimination and Harassment, Student Code of Conduct, and Clery reportable crimes (sex crimes, serious persons crimes, burglary, auto thefts, and/or arson). Reports should be made to the Director of Safety and Security, Vice President and Dean of Students, or Associate Vice President of Student Affairs.

The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is committed to creating and maintaining an environment where individual and institutional responsibility combines to promote each student’s development. Students are encouraged to help create an environment that stimulates their education and is consistent with the values of the college. With that freedom comes a responsibility to respect others. All individuals at KCAI are considered adults, and it is assumed they will maintain standards of conduct and academic honesty appropriate to membership in the college community. The college accepts and retains students on the condition that they observe these standards. [view policy]

Consistent with federal law, KCAI does not discriminate and will not exclude students from its programs and activities, on the basis of a student’s pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from pregnancy. In addition, KCAI prohibits application of any rule related to a student’s parental, family, or marital status that treats students differently based on their sex.

Consistent with this policy, KCAI will make reasonable and responsive adjustments to its programs based on a student’s temporary pregnancy status. Examples of such reasonable adjustments include provision of a larger desk, permission for frequent trips to the bathroom, and temporary parking close to a building. Services may vary depending on factors such as the type of pregnancy, medical documentation provided, and the academic program in which the student is enrolled. Pregnant students are also eligible to receive the same services that KCAI provides to students with other temporary medical conditions. [view policy]

Class lectures, discussions, and materials (including, but not limited to PDFs, videos, exams, and assignments) that teachers post/upload on Google Classroom may not be recorded , reproduced, or shared.  The only students permitted to record class activity and pre-recorded lectures are students who have been approved for academic accommodations through KCAIs Disability Services (disabilityservices@kcai.edu).  Refusal to adhere to these conditions may result in a violation of the Student Code of Conduct / Academic Honesty Policy.

Our rich institutional heritage challenges us to engage in and provide leadership for addressing the critical social and political issues of our time. The College is committed to the ideal of free and open inquiry in all matters, as freedom of expression allows us to continually strive to better society and to address injustices. Freedom of expression is invaluable to the institution because it brings together multiple opinions, allows them to coalesce and/or clash, and opens them to the community’s reflections, analyses, and critiques.

The freedom to debate and discuss the merits of competing ideas does not, of course, mean that individuals may say whatever they wish, wherever they wish. We have obligations to protect the dignity and security of all members of the College community from those who would seek to use speech primarily to deprive others of their freedom to learn, their freedom to contribute, and their freedom to participate in our community. Thus, the College may seek to restrict expression that: 1) violates state or federal law; 2) constitutes slander, threats, or harassment; 3) unreasonably invades individual privacy or violates confidentiality interests; or, 4) is directly incompatible with the functioning of the College.

Major studio courses must be passed with a C- or better. Students earning a D or D+ grade in these courses will typically be required to repeat the course; the timing of the course(s) repeated and progression in major studio will be at the discretion of the department chair. 

The policy may be found in its entirety on myKCAI, policy title: “grading system”.