# The WGI/DCI Policy UNLV Percussion supports the marching arts. WGI and DCI build discipline, endurance, and ensemble skills, and many of our alumni and faculty carry proud histories in both. However, both activities now demand so much time, energy, and money that combining either with university study almost always damages your studies. Grades suffer. Excessive absences undermine rehearsals and the shared workload our studio depends on. This policy exists to protect your degree, your studio, and your peers. ## WGI The WGI season collides directly with the academic year: weekend rehearsals from as early as December through April, capped by a week-long championship trip to Ohio in mid-April — the same window as our large-scale Black Box collaboration concert and other major program projects. Therefore: **Students participating in WGI in any capacity will not enroll in or participate in percussion Applied Lessons or Percussion Ensembles during that season.** - Attempting other music requirements or general education courses during a WGI season is your decision to make. - There is a **zero-tolerance policy** in this studio: no WGI activity of any kind takes precedence over even the smallest UNLV Percussion obligation. There is no such thing as an "excused" absence for a WGI conflict. > [!warning] Understand the consequences before you commit > [[3.1.2 Minimum Enrollments and Expectations|Facility access requires enrollment]] in Applied Lessons and a Percussion Ensemble, so a WGI season also means **no access to the Percussion Complex and practice rooms** that semester. It also pauses your progression through [[4.3.0 What are Proficiency Minimums|Proficiency Minimums]], juries, and recital eligibility — which may extend your time to degree completion. **This is not a punishment.** You cannot serve both commitments well, <u>and we will not pretend otherwise</u>. Choose one, do it excellently, and return to the other with our full support. ## DCI DCI is more workable. Auditions scatter across weekends from November to February, and the bulk of the season occupies the summer. - Students pursuing DCI auditions **may remain enrolled** in Applied Lessons and ensembles. - Communicate audition and camp conflicts to your instructor and the Coordinator **as soon as dates are published**, following the protocols in [[3.2.1 Attendance and Professionalism]]. - The same **zero-tolerance standard** applies: a DCI commitment does not take precedence over any UNLV Percussion obligation. Failure to communicate conflicts in advance, or repeated conflicts that erode your contribution to the studio, will lower your Applied Lessons grade and require a conversation about whether concurrent participation remains viable. ## The bottom line **We will never tell you not to march.** We _will_ tell you that you cannot march and be a full member of this studio at the same time during a WGI season. Make the choice deliberately, communicate it early, and own it completely — that is what professionals do.