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Student Code of Conduct

Cornish College of the Arts expects and requires all of its students to develop, adhere to, and maintain high standards of scholarship and conduct. The Student Code of Conduct is the guiding document for Cornish community standards and outlines all rights and responsibilities afforded to Cornish students. All students are responsible for reading and understanding the information in this document found in the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook is available on the main Cornish website and as a downloadable PDF document from the Student Life section of Compass.

For further information on the Student Code of Conduct, please contact the Dean of Student Affairs or Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

Academic Freedom

Students have the following rights regarding academic freedom: 

  • Students are guaranteed the rights of free inquiry, expression, and assembly upon and within College facilities that are generally open and available to the public. 

  • Students are free to pursue appropriate educational objectives from among the College’s curricula, programs, and services. 

  • Students shall be protected against prejudicial or arbitrary and capricious academic evaluation. At the same time, students are responsible for maintaining the standards of academic performance established by each of their instructors as outlined in the course syllabus and as overseen by their Department and Academic Affairs. 

  • Students have the right to a learning environment which is free from unlawful discrimination, inappropriate, and disrespectful conduct, and any and all harassment. 

  • Students are protected against improper disclosure of their views, beliefs, and political associations that instructors acquire in the course of their work as instructors, advisors, and counselors. Such information is considered confidential. 

  • Students have the right to privacy of all student records according to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. 

Academic Integrity

All members of the College community are expected to maintain the highest levels of integrity. Earning a degree should represent genuine learning, and how students learn is as important as what they learn. This is why the College expects all students to demonstrate the highest level of integrity in their academic pursuits and abide by its Academic Integrity Policy. For more regarding the Academic Integrity policy, please see the Student Handbook.

Academic Calendar and Official Holidays

In the United States and the State of Washington, many holidays are recognized as legal holidays. Cornish College of the Arts recognizes these legal holidays and does not hold classes on these days. For the dates of holidays observed by Cornish, please review the Academic Calendar on Compass and the Cornish website.

Cornish recognizes that our community is diverse in background and religious affiliation and wants to ensure that our students are supported in the practice of their personal religious faith. Students are excused on the major holidays of their faith should they wish to observe such holidays. These include, but are not limited to: the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter; the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and the evening of the first night of Pesach; and the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Students who observe religious holidays during class times are responsible for informing their teachers in advance and for making up any missed classwork.


Directory Information

Cornish College of the Arts will release to any third-party inquiry information that is defined as “Directory Information.” Directory Information consists of the following: name, telephone number, email, major, class level (e.g., sophomore), image/credits in photographs and video, printed name on event programs and posters, degrees and awards, dates of attendance, and enrollment status (e.g., full-time). Students may request that Directory Information remain confidential from internal and/or external constituencies by submitting the request in writing to the Registration & Records Office or online using Compass. See also Student Privacy/Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in this section.

Change of Name

Students who request that their legal names be changed on academic and financial records must provide the Registrar with an original social security card, passport, marriage certificate, or court order that certifies that the student has legally changed his/her/their name. Records will be amended after the Registrar has reviewed and approved the appropriate documentation. The Registration & Records Office will be responsible for notifying the College staff of the name change. Copies of the name change documentation will be retained in the student’s academic file.

Students may request at any time that their chosen name be made the primary name used on Compass, the College’s student information system, and/or that their email address be changed to reflect their preferred name. Students should contact the Registration & Records Office for details.


Change of Sex

Students who request that their sex be changed on college records must provide the Registrar with an original social security card, driver’s license reflecting changed sex, passport, or court order that certifies that the student has legally changed her/his/their gender. Records will be amended after the Registrar has reviewed and approved the appropriate documentation. The Registration & Records Office will be responsible for notifying the College staff of the sex change. Copies of the sex change documentation will be retained in the student’s academic file.


Notice of Nondiscrimination

Cornish College of the Arts does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits all forms of sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment and discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity, in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX, including in admission and employment.

Inquiries about Title IX may be referred to the College’s Title IX Coordinator, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, or both. CCA’s Title IX Coordinator is:


Dr. Brittany D Henderson, Dean of Student Affairs 

Mailing Address: Office of Student Life, 1000 Lenora St. Seattle, WA 98121

Email Address: bhenderson@cornish.edu or titleix@cornish.edu

Phone Number: 206-726-5174 (office)

The College’s nondiscrimination policy and grievance procedures can be located on the College’s website and in the Student Handbook, Employee Handbook, and College Policy Manual.

To report information about conduct that may constitute sex discrimination or make a complaint of sex discrimination under Title IX complete the online reporting form and/or contact the Title IX Coordinator.

Equal Opportunity

Cornish College of the Arts does not discriminate in education or employment on the basis of gender, race, national origin, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. This policy is consistent with relevant federal regulations and statutes, including those pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Student Privacy/Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The right to privacy, as provided by the Buckley Amendment (the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act or FERPA), requires that Cornish College of the Arts refrain from disclosing a student’s academic information to a public or private person or agency without prior permission from the student. Students may review their educational records, excluding recommendations, evaluations, and other privacy notices, by contacting the Registration & Records Office. The College is allowed to define which administrators, faculty, staff, and outside agencies will be allowed access to student records. Students can obtain a copy of the Student Rights under FERPA (Educational Privacy Statement) on Compass, along with the procedure for requesting to inspect educational records. This procedure is also printed in the Student Handbook. 

Students have the right to file complaints concerning any alleged failures to comply with this act.

Direct concerns in writing to the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5920


Solomon Amendment

In accordance with the Solomon Amendment, Cornish College of the Arts is required to disclose the name, address, phone number, date of birth, major, and class level of all enrolled students upon request of any branch of the military. The 1996 Solomon Amendment provides for the Secretary of Defense to deny federal funding to institutions of higher learning if they prohibit or prevent ROTC or military recruitment on campus.

Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act (Clery Act)

As part of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, codified as Title 20 U.S.C. §1092 (f), on or by October 1st of each year, post-secondary educational institutions must publish and distribute their Annual Campus Security Report to current and prospective students and employees. This report is required to provide crime statistics for the prior three years, policy statements regarding various safety and security measures, campus crime prevention program descriptions, and procedures to be followed in the investigation and prosecution of alleged sex offenses.

Additionally, the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act requires higher education institutions to annually report fire safety information to the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Specifically, campuses are required to publicly provide:

  • Statistics for each on-campus student housing facility, including the number of fires and causes; the number of injuries and deaths related to fires; and the value of property damage caused by fires

  • Descriptions of each on-campus student housing facility’s fire safety systems

  • The number of mandatory, supervised fire drills

  • Policies or rules on portable electronic appliances; smoking and open flames; evacuation procedures; fire safety education and training programs provided to students, faculty, and staff

  • Plans for future fire safety improvements, if needed, and

  • An annual report to the campus community.

This information is published through Campus Security and is available to interested parties at any time upon request. The annual campus security report is also posted on the college website under the caption Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.