Academic Policies and Requirements

These Policies and requirements help to ensure the quality of every student's academic experience. They support the investment our graduates made in their education, and preserve the value of GIA's certificates and diplomas.

Orientation

All on campus and diploma students are required to attend a general orientation session. Students who have already attended classes on the Hong Kong campus, may be excused from the general orientation session if they receive a waiver from your Instructor.

Attendance Policy

Attendance and punctuality are two keys to success at GIA. The curriculum is intense, and students are strongly encouraged not to miss any lectures or laboratory time. Students who exceed the maximum allowable absences or tardiness as defined in this policy are withdrawn form their course or program. There are no excused absences or tardies.

Classes begin promptly at their scheduled starting time. Students who are not in the classroom at that time are marked tardy or absent. Students may not leave the classroom without advising their instructor, other than at regularly scheduled break times.

Tardiness is defined as being absent from the classroom for a total of than less one hour during the daily scheduled class hours, without the instructor's permission, except during scheduled breaks.

Absence is defined as being out of class for a total of more than one hour during the daily scheduled class hours, without the instructor's permission, except during scheduled breaks.
For students who accumulate the maximum number of tardiness, each additional tardy will be charged as one half-day absence, up to the maximum allowed. Students who accumulate more than the maximum number of tardiness and absences will be dismissed.

Students are responsible for being aware of how many times they have been tardy and absent. Students can ask their instructor for an update on their attendance record at any time. Students who approach the maximum limit may be given a courtesy warning by their instructor. Students who reach the maximum limit are placed on Attendance Probation by the Manager. Students who exceed the maximum are withdrawn from their course or program, and may be given the option to repeat class time in another class on a space-available basis.

Students who are withdrawn from their class and who decide to repeat a portion of the course or program will enter the new class with an adjusted number of tardiness and absences. This adjustment is based on either a pro-rated calculation according to the length of the program, or the student's actual previous record, whichever is to the benefit of the student.

For students who are enrolled in a combination program of more than one course or program, such as the Gemologist Program, the attendance policy is applied individually to each section.

Make Up Policy

There is no provision for making up missed class hours. The attendance policy allows for a limited number of absences. Students are strongly advised to avoid missing scheduled quizzes or exams. Students who are not present for a quiz or an examination receive a grade of zero. There are no exceptions.

Completion Time

On Campus students must complete each course or program within a time frame not to exceed 1.5 times the normal duration. Students who do not meet this requirement must repeat the entire program from the beginning, again paying the tuition in full.

Distance Education students who exceed the allowed completion time are dropped from their course or program and final grade of "EXP" (Expired) is entered on their official transcript. And must re-enroll, pay the current tuition rates, and successfully complete that course or program.