Policies

Each camper, staff member and volunteer is responsible for reading and honoring the policies of ACU Summer Academy. Any camper, staff member or volunteer who fails to honor the policies of ACU Summer Academy will be subject to immediate dismissal from the camp community.

As a community of character, Abilene Christian University seeks to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. Through Summer Academy, ACU extends that educational process to pre-university students. Participation in Summer Academy is participation in a rich community of faith, guided by expectations of Christian character. This influences the way we treat one another and conduct ourselves as individuals and groups both on and off the campus.

General Policies

Students will:

• Follow the leadership of the Summer Academy Director and designated camp staff/faculty members.
• Conduct themselves in a manner that contributes to the unity, compassion, and safety of each member of the camp community. Safe behavior is expected of all campers and staff. Any camper or staff member who presents a risk to themselves or others within the camp community may be dismissed from camp at the discretion of the Director. No horseplay pranks or practical jokes endangering others will be tolerated.
• Acknowledge and follow the camp schedule, participating in all planned activities. Campers and staff should not wander off on their own, but should remain in scheduled activities at all times.
• Conduct themselves in a Christian manner, all students will be held to the ACU Student Code of Conduct, copies are available upon request.

Specific Policies

1. Cancellations

Upon admission, students must pay a $100 deposit in order to secure their reservation at Summer Academy. Full tuition refunds, including deposit, will be made to students who cancel their Summer Academy reservation at least 30 days prior to the start of their session. Students who cancel less than 30 days prior to the start of their session will receive a refund of their tuition, less the $100 deposit. Students who do not attend Summer Academy and fail to notify the Summer Academy office of their cancellation at least 48 hours prior to the start of their session will forfeit the entire tuition, including the deposit.

2. Acknowledge and honor the ACU dress code in daily choices of attire

Appropriate clothing for a variety of activities is necessary. Modesty is expected.

• Extremes are not acceptable, including halter tops, tank tops, bare midriffs, and short and/or revealing skirts and shorts.
• Shorts and skirts must be mid-thigh or longer.
• Clothing with inappropriate advertising, pictures, and/or sayings that are contrary to the mission and Christian standards of ACU is prohibited.

Camp staff are responsible for implementation of these expectation

• Campers, staff and volunteers will be asked to return to their room and change any clothing that fails to honor these guidelines.

3. Secure and protect personal property

Campers and staff should lock their residence hall doors whenever they exit their rooms and keep their keys with them at all times.

4. Cell Phones

Each camp day is full and our programming is focused on equipping each camp participant for his/her academic journey. We trust that God is at work in each heart and we commit ourselves to “protect the educational environment.” That means we do everything we can to create an intentional setting where campers and staff can focus as much of their attention in class time, small group time and planned activities, without the distractions that often come outside of this camp community. We also want to preserve the environment for our camp and the many other camps that will be in session on the campus.

To honor our commitment, we encourage campers to limit their cell phone use. For those who bring a cell phone to camp, we require that the cell phone be left in their bags, with the ringer on silent (not vibrate, silent) during daily camp activities. Campers may only use their phones during the breaks between classes and activities. Students will not be allowed to take phone calls or texts during class, meals nor during any activity time. We also ask students to respect their peers’ study space, no calls will be allowed in the residence halls after lights out or before breakfast.

Here are the main guidelines:

• Do not use your phone, unless it is an emergency.
• If you must use your phone, please take the call or the text to a quiet area where you will not be bothering anyone else.
• Keep all communication short, no more than 15 minutes between activities, class or meals.

If a camper uses his/her cell phone excessively or violates any of these guidelines, it will be taken up by a staff member and returned at the end of the day.

We ask campers and parents to partner with us to preserve the camp community for the academic focus that comes with a camp like Summer Academy.

5. Visitation of other student’s dorms/pods

Students will be allowed to visit the common areas of the dorms of their friends (regardless of gender) during the evening study hours. These visitations will only be allowed when a staff member is present in the pod. However, at lights out, students must return to their own pods/rooms for the remainder of the night.

Students of opposite gender should not at any time be found in each other’s rooms, regardless of reason. Violation of this policy will lead to immediate dismissal from the camp, with no refund. This policy will also be strictly enforced during Session One’s trip to NM and CO.

6. Photo/Video

Campers and staff may take pictures for personal use only. Since we have some campers who request that we do not allow their images to be made public in pictures or videos, campers and staff should not post any camp pictures or videos of other students to any kind of public site, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.

Students will be encouraged to take pictures of their experiences and post those pictures on a private Summer Academy blog.

7. Visitors during camp sessions

For the protection of our campers, we operate each ACU Camps session as a “closed campus”. Non-camper visitors (including faculty, parents, siblings, friends or other family members) are not allowed in the campers’ residence halls. In the event of an emergency, parents requesting access to visit a camper should contact the Camp Office.

8. The use or possession of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco or other controlled substances is not permitted

Any staff, volunteer or camper who violates this policy will be immediately dismissed from the camp.

9. Operate motor vehicles according to stated policy

Only designated adult staff members will operate motor vehicles during camp sessions. Campers who drive themselves to camp will be asked to register their vehicle and turn in their keys to the Summer Academy Director for the duration of the camp session.

10. Consequences

Violations of any of the above codes will be handled by the Director of Summer Academy. If necessary other ACU administrators may be consulted, including the Dean of the Honors College, the Student Life office or ACU Police.

Consequences will vary based on the severity of the violation, and the number of times that particular student has violated policies. 

But, will follow these general guidelines:

• First violation: verbal warning from the Director of Summer Academy
• Second violation: private consultation with the Director, written warning will be issued.
• Third violation: parents will be contacted, private meeting with the Director to determine future action

Policies for Session One’s trip to CitySquare in Dallas, TX

1. All above policies are enforced during the trip, especially in regards to courtesy and safety for all campers.
2. Any student found to be in the room of someone of the opposite gender, regardless of reason, will automatically be sent home, at the parent’s expense.
3. Students will not be allowed, at any time, to go off on their own during our trip. If a student needs to leave the group, they must have their excursion approved by the Director and be accompanied at all times by a staff member. Violation of this rule will lead to automatic dismissal and the student(s) found in violation will be sent home at their parent’s expense.
4. Students are not allowed to be in possession of drugs, alcohol or tobacco during the trip. Use of any of these is strictly prohibited.
5. Any student found to be using their phone (for texting, calling, or gaming) during assigned activity time, will have their phone taken up and returned at lights out.
6. Students must abide by rules of basic decorum, especially in public places or when visiting these ancient sites. All students are considered representatives of ACU while on this trip, and will be bound by ACU’s Student Code of Conduct. 

Consequences of Violations while on trip:

Violations of rules 2, 3 or 4 lead to automatic dismissal and the student(s) in question will be sent home at their parent’s expense.

Violations of 1, 5 or 6 will be handled in this manner:

• First violation: a verbal warning
• Second violation: a written warning and private consultation with the Director of the camp.
• Third violation: student will be removed from other students for the remainder of the days’ activities.