General Policies
Due to repeated and flagrant abuses of UF owned scuba diving equipment and continual violations of equipment control policies, failure to adhere to these rules or policies may result in failure of this course, failure to be certified or both:
A. Equipment may only be picked up at the designated check out area.
B. Equipment must be returned within the specified time frame. There is no acceptable reason for late return or failure to return equipment immediately after the dive. No exceptions or excuses.
C. Each individual must pick up all personal and UFADP owned dive equipment from the dive site or boat. Instructors are not responsible for your gear!
D. All equipment must be picked up and returned by the individual to whom it was issued.
E. All equipment must be returned at the same time, together as a package.
F. The equipment issued must be the equipment returned (equipment serial numbers must match).
G. Equipment held beyond prescribed check in time will result in levy of additional rental fee(s) per item of equipment per day. No exceptions or excuses.
H. Lost/stolen equipment will be paid for to DOCE at replacement cost of item as included in UFADP policies and procedures and this syllabus.
I. When damage or breakage occurs during the time the student has charge of the equipment (after checkout and before check in), the student must pay for the broken or damaged equipment at the replacement cost listed in this syllabus.
J. Regulators shall be returned clean, with the dust cap in place and free of any debris in second stage or water in the first stage.
K. The BC, cylinder, and regulator assembly shall be properly carried by the student and shall not be carried by a single shoulder strap nor be dragged.
L. Students found defacing UFADP equipment will automatically be dropped from the course and not receive certification.
M. Students failing to pick up UFADP equipment at the UFADP scheduled check out time must rent equipment from a local vendor. No equipment will be taken to the dive site for these individuals.
N. Upon arriving at the open water dive sites, students must have the following gear in addition to the gear checked out: watch, slate with pencil, and submersible dive tables. Students without this gear will not be allowed to dive and thus will not receive scuba certification.
O. Students who miss dives for any reason at pool, lake, spring, or ocean dive sites do so on their own responsibility. It is the individual's personal responsibility to insure that they participate in the proper number of dives, properly check out equipment and properly return equipment as issued, and have air in their cylinders for each dive.
P. Public disrobing or nudity at pool or open water sites is cause for immediate dismissal from the UFADP course.
Q. Should a student become ill or incapacitated at any point during an academic term, necessitating cessation of scuba training and/or absence from class, they will be referred to the Adaptive Physical Education Program in order to complete the term without credit loss. In no instance(s) will make up session(s) or special consideration(s) be made due to the rigid safety requirements of scuba training.
R. Students must enter the Florida pool area via the designated entrance. Students entering illegally (ie: climbing the fence) will receive an absence for that class day. S. Bicycles may not be parked or chained inside the pool fence enclosure. Use the bike racks provided to secure your bikes.
T. No alcoholic beverages, smoking or possession of any such materials may be present or consumed at anytime in proximity to UFADP activities. Immediate dismissal from the program without academic credit or certification will follow should such activities be discovered.
U. Students who engage in throwing coins, pebbles, or other objects in the pool area will receive an absence for that class day.
V. Cheating on any skills test, quiz, or examination will result in:
- grade of a zero on the event on which they cheated
- non-certification
If contested by the student, the matter will automatically be referred to the UF Student Conduct Committee for resolution.
W. If you have an exam conflict from another class during your scheduled scuba class period the instructor administering the non-scuba test is required by university policy to reschedule without conflict to your scheduled classes. Do not ask to be excused from scuba classes for this reason.
X. Students who fail to attend the class meeting during which UFADP certificates are issued will not receive the UFADP certificate.
Y. All fees must be paid by the specified date in your syllabus. A $25.00 per day late fee paid to DOCE will be required for all late fees. Students failing to pay fees will be administratively dropped from the course. Any student who issues a bad check in any fiscal interaction(s) with DOCE is subject to being dropped from the certification portion of the course.
Z. Any student who exhibits unsafe behavior with regard to self or others during any UFADP activity is subject to immediate non-certification and cessation of all further certification activity. Specifically, no student can, under any conditions, ever, use UFADP equipment to dive on any non-UFADP dive. Students who use UFADP equipment or air at any time or for any purpose other than official UFADP instructor supervised UFADP training dives are subject to immediate non-certification. No refunds of any kind will be made to such person(s).
AA. In order to participate in the second day of open water I diving a UFADP student must have successfully completed the first day of perquisite dives. All dives must be accomplished in the sequence described in this syllabus.
BB. Students found in violation of any UFADP safety practice will not be allowed to dive further with the UFADP.
Note: If you believe that you cannot comply with these policies and rules during this course, which have been developed (since 1971) for your safety (and in view of past violations), please drop this course.