Code of Conduct

SSA has the right to dismiss any individual if his/her actions or attitudes are deemed detrimental, as set forth below in the SSA Code of Conduct, and that there shall be no refunds issued for such dismissal.

You agree that you have read through, understand, and agree to the SSA Code of Conduct. You further agree that you will review the SSA Code of Conduct with your participant(s) that is/are participating in a program run by SSA. As the parent/guardian/self of a participant attending an SSA program, you understand that your participant must act in a way that is in keeping with the SSA Code of Conduct. You also understand that the student/participant can be dismissed from a program if his/her actions or attitudes seem to be harmful to the atmosphere or to other participants, in the opinion of SSA staff.

You understand that your student/participant can be dismissed, without a refund, from a program for the following reasons:

• Drug/alcohol/tobacco use;
• Viewing pornography or any inappropriate material on the Internet;
• Inappropriate language (swearing, using offensive language, racial slurs, etc.);
• Physical violence or threats of physical violence against other participants or SSA staff;
• Behavior that is deemed disruptive to other students or instructor;
• Damage to facilities or SSA equipment;
• Stealing property of others;
• Inappropriate use of equipment;
• Sexual harassment of other participants or SSA staff;
• Internet hacking;
• Bullying of any kind.

If possession of illegal substances or weapons is suspected, participant(s) will be subject to search and any illegal substances or weapons may be confiscated. If possession of illegal substances or weapons is found, participant(s) will be dismissed from the program immediately. Personal pets or animals are not allowed at SSA. Participant (and therefore parent/guardian) is responsible for any personal items brought to our facilities. Participant promises to respect all SSA staff members and other participants and will treat the facilities and equipment with reasonable care.

All Participants are Expected to be Respectful and Polite

• Participants are expected to be respectful to other participants at all times.
• If a participant electronically posts something that does not follow these guidelines, we will either edit the post or remove it at our discretion;
• At all times, SSA expects that each student will treat others how they would want to be treated;

Bringing electronic devices, including smartphone, laptop, digital camera, handheld console, etc. In most cases, we do NOT require participants to bring any devices to SSA. However, in some courses, the participant may want to learn photography on their own personal device, or may want to upload an iPhone app to their iPhone, for example. Additionally, we understand that parents may want to communicate with their students via cell phone. Should the participant bring a personal device to the program, please note:

• SSA is NOT responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen equipment.
• Personal devices may NOT be used during instructional times—unless they are approved by the instructor.
• We recommend that personal devices be kept in an appropriate place: ie: backpack, purse, pocket. Cell/smart phones can be kept on hand but must be in silent mode during instructional times.
• Accessing the Internet via a local Wi-Fi hotspot at the program location is the sole responsibility of the participant. Participant and parent/guardian must comply with all provider’s terms & conditions, and assume all financial risk. SSA does not facilitate Internet access for non-SSA devices.
• Viewing inappropriate content (including sexual content, inappropriate violence, racism, bullying, etc.) online may result in immediate dismissal from a program, without a refund.
• Any attempts at computer “hacking” will result in immediate dismissal from a program, without a refund. Local authorities will be contacted if warranted.
• In most cases, participants will NOT be permitted to use their personal Steam accounts.
• SSA prohibits any downloading of illegal content, sharing of illegal content, and requires strict adherence and compliance to content copyrights as applicable and protection by law.

Parent/guardian and participant understand that SSA reserves the right to dismiss participant from the program without any prior warning for violating any of the terms of the SSA Code of Conduct.  You acknowledge that upon staff observation of your participant at the SSA program, SSA may determine that the program is not a suitable and/or productive environment for your participant or his/her classmates. In this case, SSA may dismiss the participant and no refund will be issued. SSA will exhaust every reasonable opportunity for an excellent relationship with every participant, however, in some rare cases, SSA may not be a compatible environment for some participants.

You understand that in general, SSA views social networking sites (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), personal websites, and blogs positively and respects the rights of our participants to use them as a medium for self-expression. SSA does, however, also recognize the potential dangers associated with the abuse of social networking sites, and has set forth this policy.

You further understand that for the safety of our participants and to protect the privacy of our staff, SSA requires that participants observe the following policies:

1. Any projects or websites created by participants and hosted on SSA servers may not contain links to websites containing personal information or inappropriate material.
2. Users must follow the terms of use of the said social site, including following the specified age policies.
3. SSA does not allow the use of its company name or logo or those of their corporate partners or community partners on any personal website, social networking group, or blog without written permission by SSA or its corporate or community partners.
4. Participants should also be aware that under no circumstances is staff allowed to give personal contact information for social networking sites, personal websites, blogs, or instant messenger programs. This must be arranged by the participant’s parent/guardian through the Administration offices at SSA.
5. For the safety of our participants/members and to protect the privacy of our staff, SSA has implemented a policy to govern interactions outside of a program. Staff may communicate publicly via the SSA Facebook page. However, staff is not permitted to communicate privately with, give out personal contact info to, or become social media friends with participants under the age of 18. The participant’s parent/guardian must first contact SSA’s Administration office to grant permission for the participant to contact the staff member, and the Administration office will then contact the staff member on the participant’s behalf.
6. Participants may not give their personal contact information to a staff member. To correspond with instructors after the session has ended, the participant’s parent/guardian must contact the Administration office to grant permission for the participant to contact the staff member. The SSA Administration office will then contact the staff member on behalf of the participant.

SSA Facebook Pages. We review every request to join the SSA Facebook Pages before approving a new member. Only current and former participants, supporters or staff members are currently being accepted into the SSA Facebook Page. We feel this will provide the most open environment to share ideas and stories. If we cannot find you in our system as a former or current participant or staff member, we will send you a private message (PM) to confirm who you are.

SSA makes every reasonable effort to prevent participants from being exposed to inappropriate web content. As a safeguard, SSA installs Internet filtering software on SSA computers. No software is 100% perfect, and some inappropriate content may inadvertently be accessed. SSA takes reasonable precautions to guard against inappropriate material being viewed. If inappropriate content is viewed, our staff will follow standard protocol. Please understand that participants found in violation of our “common sense” Internet policy may be removed from a program without receiving a refund.