Policy Changes & Updates
New Policies: Fall 2025
Independent Study Policy Update - Effective Fall 2025
Policy: Full-Time Faculty Supervision Required for Production-Based Independent Studies
To ensure academic consistency, fair labor practices, and sustainable mentorship, the School of Cinematic Arts has adopted a new policy regarding the supervision of Independent Studies involving production work.
Key Changes:
Starting Fall 2025, only full-time faculty may supervise production-based Independent Study projects that involve DePaul production resources (equipment, space, etc.).
Non-Production Projects Unchanged: Part-time faculty may supervise non-production Independent Study projects at their discretion, as long as the work does not involve university production equipment, spaces, or support.
·Protects part-time faculty from being overextended or pressured into high-labor supervision beyond their compensated roles.
·Ensures more consistent oversight aligned with departmental production standards, policies, and safety protocols.
·Improves student support by connecting production projects to faculty involved in curriculum and resource planning.
Extra Credit Policy Update - Effective Fall 2025
Policy: Discontinuation of the “Extra Credit” Production Category
Beginning Fall 2025, the School of Cinematic Arts will discontinue the use of the “Extra Credit” project category for student productions in Webcheckout and the Production Office.
Important: Students may still complete extra credit assignments assigned by instructors as part of formal coursework. What’s changing is the ability to initiate stand-alone productions under the "Extra Credit" label in our production systems.
Key Changes
“Extra Credit” Category Removed: The “Extra Credit” option will no longer be available when reserving equipment, spaces, or submitting production paperwork. This applies to stand-alone projects not directly tied to a formal course assignment.
Alternative Paths for Independent Projects: Students wishing to pursue projects outside of class can propose:
· Independent Studies (requires faculty and administrative approval)
· Anytime Projects (submitted through approved departmental channels)
· Formal coursework projects tied to existing class syllabi
Why This Policy Changed
·Re-centers Academic Priorities: Protects access to equipment, spaces, and Production Office support for course-based and approved academic productions.
·Promotes Oversight and Safety: Reduces unsupervised or loosely supervised productions that often operate outside established academic or safety protocols.
·Supports Faculty Workload Equity: Ensures part-time faculty are not expected to oversee large-scale productions informally or without compensation.
·Reduces System Overload: As extra credit productions grew in volume and complexity, the category exceeded the original intent and outpaced available resources needed to support all student work equitably.
Anytime Project Policy Update - Effective Fall 2025
Policy: Expanded Student Equipment Access through Anytime Projects
To encourage creative practice outside of formal coursework, the School of Cinematic Arts is launching a new policy that formalizes “Anytime Projects” a simplified, low-barrier way for students to access gear for small, self-initiated productions.
Key Changes
New Pathway for Informal Filmmaking: Starting Fall 2025, students may reserve equipment for personal, non-course projects without going through the Production Office, as long as they meet certain eligibility criteria.
What Is an Anytime Project?
An Anytime Project is a self-directed, informal production that uses only the designated equipment, is filmed at a personal residence or on public property where public access is not obstructed, involves a team of no more than five people, and does not require university support or special approvals (such as insurance, stunts, intimacy scenes, prop weapons, or use of DePaul spaces).These projects are designed for lower-risk, independent filmmaking that encourages experimentation, technical practice, and creativity outside of coursework with minimal administrative oversight.
Who Can Participate?
To qualify for an Anytime Project, students must:
· Have completed SCA Production Training
· Follow all safety and content guidelines
· Confirm eligibility and sign a compliance form at checkout
Students who have completed FILM 110 may access an expanded equipment list that includes the FX6 camera.
What Equipment Is Included?
All "Anytime Project" Equipment List
The Anytime Project Equipment includes:
· DSLRs
· Entry-level cinema cameras
· Basic lighting kits
· Basic audio kits
Gear is selected for ease of use, durability, and availability. It is not intended for stunts, paid work, or complex shoots.
Equipment Access Policy Update - Effective Fall 2025
Policy: Streamlined Student Equipment Access
To support evolving production workflows and align with the updated Anytime Project model, Independent Study policies, and course structures, the School of Cinematic Arts is updating several equipment access policies starting Fall 2025.
Key Changes
30-Day Reservation Window: All eligible student productions will now follow a 30-day equipment reservation window. MFA thesis projects will continue to receive 60-day advance access.
7-Day Rule Eliminated: The previous policy requiring a 7-day waiting period between equipment reservations for the same project has been discontinued. Projects are now formally tied to coursework, thesis plans, or the Anytime Project framework, making this rule unnecessary.
Ending Zero-Credit Film Production Independent Studies - Effective Fall 2026
Policy: Credit Required for Film Production Independent Studies
Starting in the 2026–27 academic year, zero-credit Independent Studies involving film production will no longer be permitted if they require any university resources such as equipment, spaces, or Production Office support. These projects must now be taken for academic credit (2 or 4 hours) and be supervised by full-time faculty.
This policy applies only to film production projects. Independent Studies in other areas that do not require university resources may continue to be taken for zero credit.
Credit Guidelines for Production Projects
Students and faculty will determine the appropriate credit load based on the scale and complexity of the project:
2 Credit Hours For smaller productions with minimal equipment and limited mentorship needs.
4 Credit Hours For larger, more involved projects requiring significant equipment, production management, and sustained faculty oversight.
A rubric will be developed in 2025–26 to help determine credit load based on project scope, equipment needs, and expected faculty involvement.
Current Policies
Equipment Center Policies
• Winter, Spring Quarters: 4 days or 96 consecutive hours: (Example: Equipment checked out Thursday morning at 10am is due back Monday morning at 9:59am, etc.)
• December Intercession and Summer Session: 10 days Maximum or 240 consecutive hours
• Equipment Centers reserve the right to limit resource quantities (number of pieces of equipment reserved)
• Reserved equipment must be picked up on the scheduled reservation time and date, penalties apply for late or no shows.
• ALL reservations for equipment at any DePaul SCA facility must go through Web Checkout at least one business day in advance, no walk-up window reservations will be accepted.
• Students can reserve equipment up to 30 days in advance of their first shoot day, with an exception for MFA Thesis films which can reserve up to 60 days in advance.
Stage Reservation Duration & Policies
USE OF CINESPACE STAGES
• DePaul Cinespace Stage use must strictly adhere to these guidelines. DCS staff and management have the right to amend guidelines as deemed necessary.
• All stages at DePaul are to be treated as professional sound stages. Safety guidelines are to be followed at all times. A Stage Technician will be on-site during your reserved stage time to answer questions and provide guidance.
• Full stage policies are provided with each reservation and can be found on SCA Central in D2L. The person named on the reservation is responsible for ensuring policies are followed by all cast and crew.
• Your use of Cinespace stages signifies your agreement to abide by all policies. Failure to comply may result in a penalty per incident.
• Priority for stage use is given first to scheduled courses, and second to MFA graduate students for Thesis Film completion.
• Stages may be reserved by faculty and/or staff on a case-by-case basis for special event use, using the same system for reservations via the Production Office for a project number and Patron Portal to make the reservations. See appendix for a list of stages.
• One project cannot reserve two stages at one time on any day. Penalties for misuse related to the Cinespace Stages apply, see end of this chapter for rates and rules.
• Reservations for multiple stages used by the same project may not overlap. The first stage must be completely wrapped, reset and cleaned before moving to a different stage.
• Equipment and Stage Cancellations Students must call the appropriate equipment and/or stage check-out center in advance to cancel equipment reservations no less than one business day prior to the scheduled pickup. Late cancellations result in a penalty. --“Late” in this case is defined as “returned after the scheduled time”--
Policy highlights include:
• No food or drink is allowed on any stages for craft service or meals—use breezeway or reserve a classroom
• Smoking or open flames of any size are not permitted in the building.
• A four-foot fire lane must be kept clear (marked by yellow line around the stage perimeter). Nothing can be left unattended in this area for any duration.
• Each stage includes a specific, standard equipment package. Equipment and set dressing must not be moved between stages. Additional equipment must be reserved via The Shack (Patron Portal) at least 24 hours in advance.
• Plan for extra time to fully restore all spaces, including stages, classrooms, hair and make-up room, kitchen, or any other space you have used. Depending on the scope of your project, this could be additional wrap days, or just 30 minutes to an hour after shooting has concluded.
SCA Production Policies
For all the SCA production policies visit - Production Policies & Safety Standards.
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