mySMFA

Review Boards Process

All matriculated students who are enrolled in 6 studio credits and above are scheduled for Review Boards. The School reserves the option to withhold scheduling a Review Board for any student who is not meeting the financial obligation to the institution.  Part-time matriculated credit is awarded on the basis of the number of blocks in which the student is enrolled. For each three-hour class blocks, two credits are assigned.

There are two mandatory parts to the Review Board process, which are:

   Review Boards

• The Review Board is the culmination of a student’s entire semester’s work. It is their only opportunity to present the accumulated work of one semester. Each student is allotted a one-and-one-half-hour time slot, during which two instructors and two student reviewers evaluate the student’s work. The student being reviewed participates fully in the evaluation. During the review, each student is given advice and criticism on the work presented.  A written evaluation from all four reviewers is placed in the student’s permanent Review Board file.  Review Boards are administered by the Registrar’s Office.  They take place during the last three weeks of the semester. The schedule is posted on mySMFA, outside the Registrar’s Office,  and at Mission Hill prior to the start of Review Boards. Students are expected to continue working until the last day of the semester, regardless of when their review takes place. Students who need to travel should wait to do so until after the last day of Review Boards.

   Student Reviewing

• In addition to attending one’s own Review Board, all students having a Review Board are required to sit on the Review Boards of two other students. Participating as a student reviewer provides the unique opportunity to view, evaluate, and critique two other students’ works. The faculty and  administration regard student reviewing as an essential part of the educational process. Therefore, failure to participate as a student reviewer will result in Satisfactory Academic Progress (i.e students who don’t attend or do student reviewing will be placed on Warning, Probation or Suspension.

• Arrive at least 15 minutes in advance of assigned student reviewing time; Remain at their assigned board for the entirety of the session; Complete a written evaluation for the student they are reviewing;  Sign the Review Board cover sheet for the student they are reviewing;Obtain faculty signatures and turn in their complete student reviewing verification form when finished to the Registrar’s Office staff.  Students who are more than 15 minutes late for their reviewer assignments or who leave before the session is over will be disqualified for that session.  Failure to comply with the requirements for student reviewing (stated above) the student will be put on warning, probation, or suspension until the reviewing sessions are made up. 

If extraordinary circumstances occur and a student is not able to attend the Review Board, he/she must notify both the Registrar’s Office and the Dean of Students in advance for a postponement. A Review Board Postponement Petition must be submitted to Student Affairs prior to the date of the Review Board. Students are required to meet with the Dean of Students to discuss the petition before the postponement can be granted. Postponement of the Review Board does not automatically release them from student-reviewing responsibilities. Postponement of student reviewing must be arranged separately by contacting the Registrar’s Office.

Availability for rescheduling boards is limited in any given semester. Reschedules occur on a first come, first served basis. A student who misses their review board is not assured a new slot, even if willing to pay the re-schedule fee. Reviews cannot be scheduled outside of the regular Review Board period.

Review Board Appeals

There are a few, rare circumstances that necessitate the scheduling of a new regular Review Board.  These include instances when the reviewers are not able to agree on the number of studio credits that should be awarded (stalemate) and occasions when  communication has failed between the student being reviewed and the reviewers. Students may appeal the outcome of their Review Board to the Dean of Students. In most cases, an investigation will be conducted to determine whether the Review Board functioned properly. In some cases, student will be allowed to have another review board with different faculty members.

Review Boards Off-Campus

Review Boards are scheduled in the School classrooms. In extraordinary instances in which the work students are doing cannot be moved, they may request that the Review Board be held at an outside location, such as their studio. Students must request this exception by completing an Off Campus Review Board Request Form and submitting it to the Registrar’s office for approval before boards begin.  Off Campus requests will not be accepted once boards begin and students should plan on choosing an alternate room during Review Board selection as a back-up plan. All members of the Review Board must be willing to view the work off campus. The student being reviewed is responsible for transportation and all associated costs to and from the location of the Board. These arrangements must be made in writing at least seven days (excluding weekends and holidays) prior to the scheduled Review Board. Travel time to and from the studio is deducted from the one-and-one-half hours allotted. Please note, however, that some instructors will not go to off-campus Review Boards. Contact the Registrar’s Office for more information.  Off-Campus Review Board Request Forms are located in handouts section of Review Boards section.

Note: The Mission Hill Building is considered off-campus for Review Boards for all students except graduate and post-bac students.