Revisions to the Catalog

This catalog addendum contains new and updated information, as well as corrections of errors in the original catalog. AMDA continuously updates information in the Catalog, making every attempt to maintain current and accurate information. However, all content, including course descriptions, faculty listings, program and degree requirements, tuition and fees, policies and programs described herein, is subject to revision, change, addition and deletion without notice. The AMDA Catalog is updated annually and any new or updated information, as well as corrections of errors in the original Catalog, are reflected on this page.

This Catalog is effective October 20, 2025 - October 18, 2026.

The updates listed in this addendum apply to the 2025-2026 catalog:

Effective Monday, July 28, 22:

Academic Policies - Changes of Status

Leave of Absence or Administrative Leave of Absence

An approved leave of absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption within a semester or can be a planned leave after the end of a semester, if the status meets LOA criteria, in an ongoing program for a specific period of time. Students must formally request an LOA with the Office of the Registrar to maintain enrollment status by completing the LOA form. Failure to request an LOA may result in loss of good standing with AMDA. For US citizens or permanent residents receiving federal or private loans, funds already received by the student are to be returned to the lender, depending on the date of the student’s LOA. Federal grant awards such as FSEOG, Pell and institutional awards (e.g., AMDA scholarships) may also be decreased. F-1 International Students must meet with the International Student Affairs Office for impacts of leave on a student’s international student status.

A leave of absence for up to one semester or to the maximum of 180 days since the last day of attendance is granted to students who anticipate returning to AMDA to complete their studies. Students requesting an LOA must be in good standing and making satisfactory academic progress toward a program. Students are required to officially notify the Office of the Registrar in writing, by submitting the form and provide supporting documentation for reinstatement before resuming their studies at AMDA. Students who do not return to continue their studies within one semester will be withdrawn from the program. The withdrawal date on record will be the last date of the LOA or the date the student communicates a decision to withdraw.

A leave of absence may also be initiated by staff when a specific situation requires such action. In these instances, and only after a thorough review and discussion by AMDA staff has occurred with the student, staff will initiate the leave status. These instances pertain only to situations where the student is unable to submit the form.

Federal guidelines state the maximum period of time allowed for an approved LOA is 180 days within a 12-month period. If the student is granted one LOA, and then is granted a second LOA, the total period of both LOAs cannot exceed 180 days within the 12-month period.

A leave of absence must fall into one of the following categories:

Family
If the student is presented with childcare issues, loss of a family member or unexpected medical care of family, the student may request a leave of absence. A leave of absence for family care will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Financial
A student may request a Financial Leave if they need additional time to secure funding or financial aid to apply towards outstanding current or future charges or payments. Students approved for a Financial LOA must be cleared by both the Student Accounts and Financial Aid departments before being approved to return. Students approved for a Financial LOA must be cleared to return after one semester on LOA or they will be withdrawn.

Medical (Injury, Mental Health)
Documentation from a physician or qualified medical practitioner is required for an approved medical leave of absence. Likewise, documentation from a physician or qualified medical practitioner approving the continuation of studies is also required as supporting documentation for readmission. If there is sufficient information to suggest that, because of physical or psychological illness, the student is engaging in or is likely to engage in behavior that could lead to injury to self or others, AMDA may place the student on a medical leave of absence for reasons of personal or community safety.

Military
In the event the student is called to active military duty, a copy of their military orders must be provided to the Registrars Office to arrange for a military leave of absence. Military leave of absence is available only to students in receipt of United States military active duty orders.

Professional Opportunity
Leaves of absence for professional opportunities will only be considered in a student’s final semester.

Effective December 12, 2025:

Academic Policies - Registration

Credit Load

For graduate Degree Programs, full-time enrollment status is considered a credit load of six to 12 (or as prescribed) credits per semester. A credit load of three credits is considered half-time and three credits or fewer is considered less than half-time (part-time).

For undergraduate Degree Programs, full-time enrollment status is considered a credit load of 12 to 17 (or as prescribed) credits per semester. Nine to 11.5 credits is considered three-quarter time, six to 8.5 credits is considered half-time and six credits or fewer is considered less than half-time (part-time). AMDA expects all students to maintain a full-time credit load for timely program completion.

Full tuition charges for the semester are applied to undergraduate Degree Program students who are enrolled in 12 to 17.0 credits (15 credits for Certificate Programs). Students who register for more than 17 credits (undergraduate Degree Program) or 15 credits (Certificate Programs) will incur additional tuition charges on a per-credit basis.

All supplemental courses, whether taken for credit or not-for-credit, will be charged at the institution’s current per-credit tuition rate. The credit value assigned to each supplemental course will be stated on the supplemental add form, regardless of whether that value aligns with the credit structure of comparable courses on the same campus. Students must review the institution’s website for the current tuition rate.

Undergraduate Degree Program students enrolled less than full time during their course of study may not be making normal academic progress, leading to a possible delay in graduation.

AOS and Certificate Program students are required to register for their curriculum’s courses as prescribed and are considered full-time for each of their four semesters.

Academic Policies - Full-Time Enrollment

To maintain full-time enrollment status, AMDA students must be registered for a minimum of six credit hours per semester for graduate Degree Programs, 12 credit hours per semester for undergraduate Degree Programs and 15 credit hours or 30 clock hours per semester for Certificate Programs.

Credit Load

Undergraduate Degree Program students enrolled less than full time during their course of study may not be making normal academic progress, leading to a possible delay in graduation.

AOS and Certificate Program students are required to register for their curriculum’s courses as prescribed and are considered full-time for each of their four semesters.

Course Add/Drop Policy

The Add/Drop period happens during the first week of the semester. Students add or drop courses through the Student Portal within the Add/Drop period of the semester without transcript notation or financial liability. Students may not drop required courses. As their curriculum is prescribed, AOS and Certificate program students are only able to add/drop any supplemental or audited courses available for their program.

Tuition charges are prorated based on a change in credit load if the credit load falls below 12 credits or is increased over the prescribed credit load offering per semester. Students are responsible for checking their total credit load per semester to ensure they are at full-time status. After the Add/Drop period, withdrawing from a course requires the Add/Drop form. All original course fees and requirements are applied to the student until an add/drop has been fully processed.

Students may register for any offered course as long as the prerequisites have been met, with the exception of dance, individual voice, vocal coaching and productions taken for credit. These classes are assigned and registered by the Office of the Registrar. Changes to levels for courses (e.g., Dance and Musicianship) may only be initiated by instructors and through departmental procedure. If a student selected a dance discipline during the course pre- registration process (e.g., Ballet or Jazz), dance discipline changes during the Add/Drop period may only be permitted via the Add/Drop form.

Course Withdrawal

(moved from Grading Procedures: Course Withdrawal)
Bachelor or Master Program students may withdraw from a course between the second and the 11th week of the semester by submitting the Add/Drop form. Tuition charges are unaffected. A “W” does not affect the student’s GPA but is calculated as attempted credits in the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) calculation.

Week 1: Students may add or drop courses within the first five days of the semester. After Friday of the first week of the semester, students may only withdraw from a course.
Weeks 2–11: Students who withdraw from a course during the second through the 11th week will have a “W” (Withdrawal) recorded on their official transcript record.
Weeks 12–15: Students are no longer permitted to withdraw and will earn the grade received for the course.

Certificate and AOS Programs
Due to the nature of the program structure in the Certificate and AOS Programs, course withdrawal is rare and may have impacts on financial aid and student accounts. Generally, students with only medical reasons will be considered for course withdrawal. If approved, certificate program students who opt to withdraw from a course by Friday of the 13th week of the semester will receive a “W”. Students who withdraw after Friday of the 13th week of the semester will receive the grade assigned by the instructor. Students who are requesting to withdraw from a course for any reason should contact Student Affairs.

Academic Policies - Changes of Status

Withdrawal

Withdrawing from AMDA means discontinuing attendance in all courses and the program in which the student is enrolled. Students can initiate a withdrawal by submitting a Change of Status/Withdrawal form to the Office of the Registrar. This notice may be provided by mail, email, or hand delivery. The day of withdrawal is considered the day the withdrawal form is received by the Office of the Registrar. Students who intend to withdraw are required to meet with the following departments as part of the exit process: Student Affairs, Office of the Registrar, Housing (if applicable), Financial Aid (if applicable) and Student Accounts.

It is important to note that students who withdraw are not automatically granted readmission. Any student whose status is withdrawn must apply for readmission (see the Readmission section below for more information).

Administrative Withdrawal

Administrative (unofficial) withdrawals are processed by the Office of the Registrar. Students who are delinquent on their student accounts, do not register or do not apply for a status change (if applicable) by the end of the semester will be administratively withdrawn from AMDA. If the student’s plans are not clarified by the end of the semester in question, the school will assume that the student has chosen to withdraw from the program. The student must respond within 14 business days of the date posted on the Withdrawal Notification letter.

AMDA may also withdraw a student under the following conditions:

Violation of Probation: Any student who is found responsible for academic or conduct violations while on probation will be withdrawn from AMDA.
There are occasions when AMDA may determine that a student is unable to engage in the basic required activities necessary to obtain an education. Such a situation may occur when a student is unable to achieve academic progress. It may also arise when a student impedes the progress of others with their behavior. If such a situation arises, AMDA will conduct an individualized assessment of the student in order to determine whether the student may remain enrolled in the program. In exigent circumstances, AMDA may take immediate measures to dismiss or withdraw a student. If such an immediate measure is necessary, the student will immediately thereafter be given an opportunity to be heard and to present their position and any additional information.
AMDA reserves the right to request or require students to withdraw from the college and residential housing for reasons pertaining to mental or physical health when the student’s words or behavior exhibit a direct threat of harm to themselves or others or when a student’s behavior as it relates to mental or physical health significantly disrupts the ability of other students to participate in the educational programs offered by the college. Such withdrawal may include complete withdrawal from enrollment at AMDA and residential housing. AMDA further reserves the right to request that a student submit written medical clearance from a psychiatrist or applicable medical practitioner before returning to school or being allowed to live in AMDA residential housing.
Any reasons including, but not limited to, the list standards under the Student Standards section and the Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook.

The date of withdrawal is considered effective the day the Office of the Registrar sends the Withdrawal Notification to the student. Consecutive absences totaling 30% or more of the calendar days of a semester, as recorded and reported by the instructors, will result in withdrawal of the student from the program. A grade posting of WF with the academic impact of an F grade will be recorded for all courses. If a student is dismissed from a course or program for lack of attendance, the date of withdrawal is considered the student's last date of attendance.

AMDA acknowledges that each situation is unique to the individual circumstances and therefore will act accordingly. Readmission after such withdrawal will be on a case-by-case basis and is not guaranteed.

Costs & Financial Aid - Tuition Refund Policy

Tuition Refund Policy

Return of federal funds is administered in accordance with US Department of Education regulations. Students who received federal financial aid will be entitled to a refund of monies not paid from federal funds. If the school cancels or discontinues a course or program, the school will make a full refund of all charges. Refunds are paid within 45 days of cancellation, withdrawal, or course/program discontinuation. Distance education programs may have different tuition refund policies as mandated by the state in which the student is located. Contact the Student Accounts Department for state-specific refund policies.

New students who cancel within the first week (seven days) of the semester receive all monies returned with the exception of any nonrefundable fees. A week is defined as Monday through Sunday. Thereafter, students will be liable for any nonrefundable fees, the cost of any textbook or supplies accepted and the tuition liability as of the student’s last date of physical attendance. All courses, including supplemental and audited courses, are subject to these refund policies and procedures.

Costs & Financial Aid - Withdrawal and Leave of Absence

Withdrawal and Leave of Absence

Students who withdraw or take a leave of absence from AMDA after instruction has started will receive a prorated credit for unused portions of the tuition and other refundable charges provided they have completed less than 60 percent of the semester.

AMDA will determine the charges by using the number of calendar days completed by the student divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester the student withdrew, multiplied by the tuition and other refundable charges. Any days prior to the student's last day of attendance for which the student was scheduled to attend but was absent shall be included in the calculation of days or hours attended. If the amount of calendar days completed by the student equals or exceeds 60 percent of the semester, the student is not eligible for a credit. The total number of calendar days in a semester shall include weekends and holidays under five consecutive days, but exclude any scheduled breaks of more than five days.

Glossary of Academic Terms

Supplemental Course: A course that provides additional instruction or support that enhances learning in a primary course or program. It does not replace required coursework and may or may not carry credit.