FAQs and Refund Policies

Find additional information on policies and procedures of the Center for Creative Exploration at PCA&D. If you need more information, please contact us.

Our young artist program is open to students in grades 1 – 9. Pre-college classes are best suited for students in grades 9 – 12. Most adult enrichment courses are for ages 16 and up.

In order to secure your spot in a class or workshop, you must fill out our online registration form and submit payment in full.  You may register online here or call during business hours (8 am – 4 pm) at 717-396-7833 ext 1005.

After your registration is received and processed, you will receive an email with your schedule and confirmation information that details items such as parking, inclement weather, policy, etc. If you do not receive this supply list email within 72 hours (and it’s not in your spam/junk folder), please email us at ce@pcad.edu.

Registering for a course implies your understanding of the schedule and costs and terms for course cancellations, student withdrawals, and refunds. We highly encourage registration more than one week prior to the start of class.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, and CCE digital gift cards. For those who wish to mail in their registration form, we also accept payment by check or money order made payable to Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.

CCE offers digital gift certificates for non-degree coursework. Cards can be purchased and emailed to the intended recipient on a chosen date. Digital gift cards are non-refundable. Digital cards and additional terms of service can be found at https://pcad.edu/product-category/gift-cards/. 

In order to receive state and/or federal financial aid, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits and be matriculated in the BFA program. If that interests you, find out more about our BFA degrees.

CCE does offer scholarship opportunities for students in grades 1-12. For more information email ce@pcad.edu. 

Yes, we do offer discounts to both teachers and veterans. Please email ce@pcad.edu or call 717-396-7833 ext 1005 to learn more about options.

ACT48 credit is available for any credit-bearing course. If you are interested in receiving ACT48 credit, please include your ID number with your registration We’ll take care of registering your hours. Hours will not be submitted until 2 weeks after the completion of the course.

After your registration has been received and processed, a registration confirmation with a link to supply lists (located on a tab behind the class description) will be emailed to you within 72 hours. If you do not receive this email within 72 hours (and it’s not in your spam/junk folder), please email us at ce@pcad.edu. Supplies vary greatly by course and instructor. Some classes have fees that include the cost of supplies, and therefore you will not receive a supply list for that class or workshop. Many in-person classes for students in grades 1-8 include all supplies.

Any in-person course that uses a computer and software (Photoshop, HTML, etc) will take place in our computer labs. You will have access to a computer with all of the appropriate software. All coursework can be completed during class time, so there’s no need to install software on your home machine unless you wish to continue your learning at home. For classes that use programs from the Adobe Creative Cloud, you must use an Adobe ID to log in to our labs. An Adobe ID is free to create.

For any distance learning class, a computer is required. Some distance learning classes are offered with access to software for a limited period of time. Please refer to the course description and supply list for details about software access or contact us at ce@pcad.edu.

All of our youth instructors who teach classes for grades 1 – 9 are K-12 certified in art or have extensive experience teaching art. Every instructor teaching students that are under the age of 18 has cleared criminal history background checks and child abuse clearances through the State of Pennsylvania as well as the fingerprint-based federal criminal history database administered by the FBI.

The costs of the certificate programs vary. There is no entry fee to declare your interest in the certificate programs offered through the Center for Creative Exploration. You may either declare your interest first or begin taking classes. You will pay for classes as you register for them. The classes in the program vary in cost and certificate programs have varying requirements.  You may incur additional associated costs such as equipment or supplies, however, these costs would not be made payable to PCA&D. Find more information on our certificate programs page

Regular attendance is mandatory for all credit-bearing classes. Generally, students are not permitted absences from more than two full class sessions in any course, in any semester. Refer to your specific course syllabus for the complete attendance policy and for any instructor’s addendum to this policy.

Generally, grades are issued within two weeks of the completion of each semester. All grade reports are issued by mail and email.

Parking on Prince Street is free on weekdays after 6:00 pm. There is non-metered parking within two blocks of the college, and parking garages on Water and Prince Street. Parking meters and pay-by-space kiosks are enforced during the daytime and on Saturdays. The Lancaster Parking Authority owns and operates these meters and garages. For more information, visit: http://www.lancasterparkingauthority.com.

Watch our website or WGAL 8 (NBC) wgal.com for closing information. If the college is closed, this means that all Center for Creative Exploration classes have been canceled for the day. Classes will be rescheduled and students will be notified of the make-up day at their next regularly scheduled class.

All refund requests must be made in writing and sent to ce@pcad.edu. Only tuition is refundable. All fees are non-refundable, including the $25 registration fee for non-credit and youth classes, $55 for computer lab courses, and 25% for workshops, which is embedded in the published cost of all courses. Contact the Center for Creative Exploration office to receive a breakdown of additional fees (ce@pcad.edu). Some classes have lab and/or material fees. Refunds will be made within 30 business days of receipt of the request. The refund amount is based on the point of withdrawal from the course less all applicable fees.

Credit Course Refund Schedule
1. Five business days prior to the start of course: 100% of paid tuition (not applicable fees)
2. Less than five days prior to the start of the course: 75% of the paid tuition (not applicable fees).
3. Prior to second class: 50% of paid tuition (not applicable fees).
4. After the above schedule: no refund.

Non-Credit and Youth Course Refund Schedule
1. Prior to the start of the course: 100% refund of paid tuition (not applicable fees). Requests must be received in writing three business days prior to the start of the course.
2. No refunds after the first class meeting.

Workshop Refund Schedule
1. Prior to the start of the workshop: 75% refund of paid tuition (not applicable fees). Requests must be received in writing three business days prior to the start of the course.
2. No refunds after the first class meeting or workshop.

Digital Gift Cards
CCE digital gift cards are non-refundable.

PCA&D reserves the right to cancel any course or workshop for insufficient enrollment and to substitute instructors when necessary. If we must cancel a course or workshop, all registered students will receive notice by email and/or text prior to the start date of the course. All payments, including all fees, will be fully refunded.

Yes. Any topic that is currently covered in our classes can be modified into a custom course for your employees either for corporate, small business, or non-profit training.  We will also consider private classes for families or friend groups. Additional topics can be created based on available instructors. The required group size is 5-15. Pricing may vary from our regular schedule depending on length, time of year, and time of day. Contact us at ce@pcad.edu or (717)396-7833 ext 1005 to discuss.