Code of Conduct

Students enrolled on courses/classes with Manchester Actors’ Platform or working in association with Manchester Actors’ Platform (MAP) are expected to behave in a way that mirrors the expectations of the industry. 

 

An outline of these expectations can be seen below; 

 

Lateness;

Students are expected to be on time for every class. This means being present before the start of class and ready to work when the class is scheduled to commence. Repeated lateness will be noted as a breach of the code of conduct. 

 

Absence; 

Whereas MAP understand that some absence might occur, those signed up on any courses must be present for every class. Repeated absence or absences taken for reasons that are not deemed Urgent Personal Business (see Urgent Personal Business below) will be noted as a breach of the code of conduct. In particular, absences, without reasons deemed as UPB, that hinder the learning of other students will be noted as a serious breach of the code of conduct. Regardless of the reason for absence, all students must attend at least 80% of their training to remain on the course. If a student drops below this attendance, they will be asked to leave. They will only be allowed to resit the Entry level courses (where this applies). All other courses and training will be terminated and no refunds will be made. 

 

Urgent Personal Business;

Matters of Urgent Personal Business are the only circumstances when absence will be deemed to not breach the code of conduct. Examples of UPB are; death of a family member, close relative, friend, serious illness, accident or medial emergency. All decisions on UPB will held at the discretion of the staff. 

 

Lack of Professionalism; 

Students may be asked to prepare material for certain classes/sessions and/or bring certain materials with them to a class. Failure to prepare properly and/or failure to bring the correct materials will be noted as a breach of the code of conduct. 

 

Co-operation and Responsibilities whilst training with MAP; 

a) Students should be professional, co-operative and courteous at all times to staff and fellow students alike.

Any conduct which disrupts the smooth progress of a class, or obstructs the learning of another student, will be regarded as a breach of the code of conduct.

b) Students are expected to maintain high standards of personal presentation and hygiene.

c) Students should treat all equipment with care, and keep spaces clean and tidy at all time. Students must leave the studio as they found it at all times. Damage to the studio or equipment which is clearly due to carelessness will be deemed as a breach of the code of conduct.

d) Non-paying students are not allowed to participate in classes under any circumstances.

e) Students with MAP are reminded that they are legally classed as adults, and that parents, guardians or other friends or family members should not attempt to negotiate with MAP on their behalf. 

 

Payments; 

All payments, deposits or balances, must be paid before the start of the first class/MAPsterclass. Failure to pay will result in the student not being allowed to take part. In the case of filmed projects, self-tapes, etc., the finished product will not be released until payment has been made. 

 

Payments paid as deposits are non-refundable unless MAP cancel the class/workshop. Should those who have paid the deposits wish to cancel their participation in the class they will lose this deposit and all monies paid will be retained by MAP. In the case of ‘Earlybird Deals’, should a student be unable to continue/choose to leave the class, all monies will be retained by MAP. 

 

Ownership Rights;

In agreeing to use MAP for filmed projects, showreels, filmed classes etc. you waive the rights for MAP to use said material in any future promotional activities. The only exemption to the rule is when material within the filmed project is copyrighted and express permission from the owners has not been sought. 

 

Equal Opportunities/Bullying;

MAP operate within the guidelines of Equal Opportunities Policies. Any student of MAP seen to be abusing these guidelines will be in breach of the code of conduct. Abuse of these guidelines lies in;

 

-Physical or psychological abuse of another student/tutor

-Racist, sexist or derogatory comments towards another student/tutor

-Discrimination on any grounds of another student/tutor

-Behaviour deemed offensive or directly hindering the training of another student

 

Any such breaches that contravene the Equal Opportunities guidelines will be deemed a serious breach of the code of conduct and the student will be asked to leave the classe/course pending further investigation.

 

NB: Any behavior outside of the terms listed, that MAP staff consider to be contrary to the professional standards that MAP wish to uphold, will be treated as a breach of the code of conduct. 

 

Contact: 

Students must respect that email is the primary use of contact and must, as any agent would demand, be in a position to recieve, respond to and deal with email communications asap. Failure to do so could mean missing vital information. MAP, if emails have been sent to the address you provided, cannot be held responsible for missed information. 

 

 

Action Upon Breaching The Code of Conduct;

 

Dismissal; 

Should a breach of the code of conduct be serious or numerous enough to become problematic, the said student may be asked to leave the specific course/class. This decision is made at the discretion of the course leader. If this happens, students agree that no refunds will be given and that all monies received will be withheld by MAP. 

 

Permanent Dismissal; 

Should students breach the code of conduct on several occasions in different ways repeatedly i.e. lack of professionalism, lateness & absence, then the said student may be disallowed to join any future courses with MAP. Any monies paid to date for courses will be withheld by MAP. 

 

Should a student breach the code of conduct and the staff at MAP deem the action to be a serious breach, then the student will be asked to leave the class/course immediately. Further investigations and discussions will be held hereafter and a decision made at a later date, as to whether the exclusion is permanent. 

 

Manchester Actors’ Platform; 

We at MAP understand that the nature of industry and training means that in some instances, certain courses may not be useful to a particular individual. As part of the training, it may seem that the training is hard or at times not enjoyable; this is to maintain the rigorous standards that MAP and the industry represent. Should a student withdraw from a course, MAP promise to give their support to said student and will ensure that everything has been done to maintain what is expected of MAP as a training body. This may include a 1-1 tutorial to discuss their feelings on the issue, a detailed explanation as to why they might be finding the course/class hard and/or alternatives to managing the demands of the course. No ill feeling will be maintained between any member of staff at MAP and a student on our courses. 

 

MAP reserve the right to update or change the code of conduct as and when they see fit.

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