Procedures & Policies

Please don't hesitate to contact us for questions, concerns, or advice on course selection.

• Phone: 215-972-7632 (We encourage you to include your email address in your message so that we can respond by sending documents and links when needed.)
• Email: continuinged@pafa.edu
• Visit: The Continuing Education Programs is located on the 3rd floor of the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building. Enter the building through the School Entrance on Lenfest Plaza and check in at the Security Desk. 
• Winter/Spring 2025 office hours (starting January 6; subject to change for winter interim, holidays, and course scheduling):
  • Monday, 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (open until 6:30 for courses starting)
  • Wednesday, 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. 
  • Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 
  • Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (may be closed when no weekend classes are in session)
  • Sunday, closed

To enter PAFA’s buildings and participate in on-campus classes as a CE student, the following documentation is required, per the directives of PAFA’s Office of Safety and Security.  

• CE students enrolled in multi-week classes must present a new or updated PAFA photo ID card.  Enrolled students will be emailed instructions on how to submit a photo to obtain new ID; returning students with an ID from a previous course should reuse the same card, which will be updated for the current semester by PAFA security (always save your card!).  Note:  Your PAFA ID confers school access and benefits for the length of your semester course(s), from the start date to the last day of your classes.
• Students enrolled in workshops or courses running one-week or less are not eligible for PAFA ID cards but must check/sign in at the Security Desk with alternate identification to enter PAFA’s buildings for the length of their courses.  Semester access privileges are not issued to students enrolled in workshops or one-week intensives.  
• Students enrolled in online or off-campus/outdoor courses are not eligible to receive a PAFA ID card.
• There is a $15 replacement fee for lost or damaged IDs. Contact the Continuing Education office at continuinged@pafa.edu to arrange to pay the fee before obtaining a new card.

PAFA no longer requires COVID vaccination based on current science and City of Philadelphia regulations.  However, PAFA and the CDC strongly recommend the COVID vaccination for all students and employees who are eligible.  We will continue to monitor campus policies for COVID-19 safety and prevention, in accordance with local, state, and federal guidelines.   

• Follow the latest CDC guidance for what to do if you have symptoms of a respiratory virus such as COVID-19, flu, or Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), or have tested positive for a respiratory virus.
• If you are sick, you should stay home. You can return to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours:
  • Your symptoms are getting better overall AND
  • You are fever-free without fever-reducing medicine.
• When you go back to your normal activities, take added precautions over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks,physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors.
• If you are exposed to someone with a respiratory virus, monitor your symptoms and take added precautions for 1-2 weeks (see above). In case you did get the virus, this will help reduce the risk of getting anyone else sick.

Thank you for your cooperation and commitment to a safe and productive campus.

• Full payment is due at the time of registration.  PAFA cannot prorate courses for late registration, withdrawals or missed classes.
• Registration and payment is available online via VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover Card.  PayPal payment arrangements may be available upon request for international addresses.
• Mailed and in-person check, money order, or cash payments may be accepted by special arrangement -- please confirm with the CE office prior to registration by calling 215-972-2029 or emailing continuinged@pafa.edu.
• Students issuing payment via a scholarship or award from a third party must ensure that payment is received in full by PAFA prior to the course start date, or provide official verification that the balance due will be deposited by an approved alternate date within the term, in order to complete registration.  Early registration discounts do not apply for registrations incomplete due to pending payments.  Students are responsible for all arrangements with their third-party payer and must abide by the payer’s policies for use of funds. 
• PAFA has the right to invalidate registrations for outstanding balances not received by payment deadlines.
• For check payments returned by the bank as unpaid, or for credit/debit card payments that are returned as chargebacks, the student must repay the original amount of the payment plus a returned check/chargeback fee of $35. 
• Registration holds may be placed on students’ accounts for unpaid tuition or fees and for documented disciplinary issues or failure to comply with policies.

If minimum enrollment is not met, a class will be canceled on or shortly after its registration deadline date.  Students will be notified by phone and may choose to transfer into another class or receive a full tuition and fee refund.  Please register early to help prevent course cancellations!  Travel insurance is recommended for students attending from a distance for onsite classes.

In the rare event that COVID-19 or another urgent issue requires PAFA’s cancellation of a course in progress, a prorated refund or credit will be issued to enrolled students for all missed sessions.

PAFA is accredited through the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).  PAFA is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD). 

UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT

Courses meeting contact hour requirements (30 hours minimum, not including lunch breaks) are available for 1.0, 1.5, or 3.0 undergraduate credits as marked.  If taken for credit, you may incur additional coursework, and will receive a course grade and appropriate credit that will appear on an official PAFA transcript, if requested.  For an official transcript, please submit a completed Transcript Request Form to PAFA's School Registrar with appropriate payment.

Changes in credit status (for both non-credit to credit and credit to non-credit) must be completed through the CE office (not the course instructor) by the following deadlines:

• Fall/Spring Twelve- to Fifteen-Week Courses - Prior to the third class.
• Fall/Spring Short/Condensed Courses (fewer than 12 weeks) - Prior to the second class.  
• Summer Multiple-Week Classes and One-Week Intensives - Prior to the second class. 

Email continuinged@pafa.edu to arrange changes in credit status and payment of associated tuition fees, if applicable.  Credit status cannot be changed after the deadlines above or retroactively after courses are completed.  No refunds are issued for changes from credit to non-credit.

GRADUATE CREDIT (Summer Only)

The Summer Studio/Critique Program is available for 3.0 graduate credits.

PAFA is approved to provide Pennsylvania Act 48 hours and New Jersey Department of Education Professional Development Credit for its courses and workshops.  Courses and workshops are eligible for the number of contact hours for which they meet (excluding lunch breaks). Courses need not be taken for PAFA undergraduate academic credit to be eligible for professional development credit hours (see credit options and tuition pricing on individual courses).  Educators electing to receive PA Act 48 or NJ Professional Development Credit should notify the Continuing Education Programs office by emailing continuinged@pafa.edu when registering. PA educators must provide their six-digit Professional Educator Identification Number.  Hours/credits for all course requests are processed after the semester ends, unless needed by an earlier date.  Please note that PAFA may not be able to accommodate all rush requests, but every effort will be made to process credits/hours as quickly as possible. 

Access to PAFA’s classroom facilities, including the cast collection and library, is granted only to students enrolled in in-person on-campus courses, with appropriate ID/vaccination requirements, for the length of their courses (start-date to end-date).  Only students currently enrolled in printmaking or sculpture classes are approved for access to PAFA’s Print and Sculpture Shops.  Students enrolled in online courses are not approved to access PAFA’s campus facilities. 

• Students are required to use odorless solvents, i.e. Turpenoid.  NO TURPENTINE.
• Spray fixatives must be used outdoors or in the 10th floor spray booth.  No indoor spraying allowed.
• Please do not empty solvents and/or paints into sinks or trashcans.  Use appropriately-labeled barrels, located near each floor’s utility sinks.
• Students are responsible for cleaning up after themselves before leaving class.
• Students may not touch, move, or place anything on/against the bases or any part of the antique cast collection in the Cast Hall or cast exhibition spaces.
• PAFA is not responsible for artwork or other belongings left in any PAFA studio or classroom.
• Students enrolled in sculpture or printmaking courses must abide by the rules established by the Shop Managers. 

For more information about the policies, procedures, and services offered at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, including Title IX and VAWA policies, DEIB commitment, and Safety and Security services, please see https://www.pafa.org/about.  

By registering for a CE class, students agree to abide by PAFA's policies and regulations.  Failure to comply with school policies and procedures may result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal with forfeiture of tuition and fees.  

The closure, delayed opening, or early dismissal of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will be determined jointly by the Dean of the School and the Museum Director, with approval of the President. Such closing or delay would include the school, galleries and administrative offices. Decisions regarding the cancellation of special events and evening classes may be made later in the day.  To find out if PAFA is closed or delayed, check one of the following:

• PAFA's homepage - A banner message will be displayed only in the event of a closing or delay (no message will be posted if there is no closing/delay)
• PAFA’s main number, 215-972-7600 – An outgoing message advising of a close or delay will be recorded by 6:30 a.m. for morning classes/activities and updated as needed

PAFA is conveniently located near the SEPTA Market East and Suburban train stations, bus and trolley stops and PATCO Hi-Speed Line station stops.  For maps and directions, please see PAFA's Visitors' Information page.  Discounted parking is available at the Parkway Corporation Garage at the southwest corner of Broad and Race streets and at their outdoor lot at the northeast corner of 15th and Cherry streets. Wheelchair accessible spaces available on the 3rd level of garage and in the outdoor lot. To receive discounted parking rates, please obtain a validation sticker from the Security Desk at the Lenfest Plaza (Student) Entrance of either the Hamilton or Historic Landmark Buildings.  Look up location and rate information at Broad & Race | ParkwayCorp and 15th & Cherry | ParkwayCorp.  Students with validation stickers receive 20% off the posted rates.