Classes are an OPTIONAL system in Hogwarts.io. Classes grant the player access to certain spells, grant House Points in exchange for good grades, and add depth to the RP setting. 

Classes open up to you the user once the following two prerequisites are met:

1. Been a member on the site for more than 10 days.
2. Made more than 20 posts on site (this excludes forum games).

Note: Please consider the spirit of the site. Do not simply spam single letters or numbers.

This process is automatic and you need to do anything else to accomplish this. You can find classes in one of two places:

1. In the area that the class is being held. There will be a button near the top of the forum area that invites you to take a look at a class.
2. By clicking on your profile picture on the top right hand side of the screen. The drop down menu has the option for a report card. Click on this and you will be able to see all of the classes we have available (once this is available to you) as well as your grades and what classes have lessons that you have not yet completed. By navigating this screen you can also complete your lessons.

Classes are how you learn spells. You can also learn the spells at the end of the year when you graduate, but that means waiting a full year. 

Note to Players Regarding Grading -- Professors try the best they can to grade everything by the end of the month, please remember you had a whole month to submit an assignment. Expecting them to have the last day of the month free for last minute submissions is not a realistic expectation. If you submit something the last few days of the month, there is a very good chance that the homework might not be graded. For those that want a concrete statement of how long -- within the last week there is no promises. While most try for within the last day that is not a promise, that is them giving their best effort. Subsequent statements by Professors stating promises that contradict this (ie. 24hours exactly, 12 hours, etc.) is a promise from them for their grading which they have the right to later withdraw and does not automatically pass on like a double lifetime warrantee to the next Professor that takes over their role. They can not speak for the staff as an aggregate only what their abilities are in terms of grading. We will not (and can not) retroactively add the points you earned in the next month to the previous month to make you the top 3, 10, etc. Those points are added by the system for the next month.

Edit Log
April 2, 2021 -- Note to Players Link

Homework & Class System

Classes open up to users once they have been on the site for 10 full days (this resets at midnight Paris time (GMT+1 in Winter and GMT+2 in Summer) so for some this may be closer to 11 days as well as 20 on site posts. We do have some forum games you are free to join, but please know that making a single thread and typing 1 in the first post, 2 in the second post, 3 in the third and so on to reach the 20 is cheating and not allowed. We do expect players to interface with community members through roleplay or at the very least forum games.

Players earn house points based on their grade. House points are tracked on our main page and reset monthly on the first of the month at midnight GMT+2. The winning house and top students for the month are celebrated on our splash page and often receive a reward.

Tips for Getting Good Grades:

• Read the lesson carefully.
• Read the instructions for the class carefully.
• Respect confidentiality - meaning use a moniker if you are asked to provide a roleplay and find using first, second or third person without name use too difficult. IF you use a moniker, clearly state that you are using a moniker (that is a different name in place of your own). Also use a different moniker each time you do a homework.
• Do not plagiarize your answers. This is something that can get you into a lot of trouble and you may either get a bad grade or your homework sent back.
• Do not copy your answers from a previous assignment. For players that have made a new character, you do need to write things again in your own words. Copy-pasting your old work will result in it being sent back.
• Do not give out the answers, do the assignments for other players or ask the staff/other players for the answers to assignments. This may result in the loss of your ability to participate in our lesson system.
• Seek clarification as needed. Nobody should give you the answers, but if you do not understand what is being asked please bring up your question.

Please do NOT use the same pseudonyms in your homeworks, even across different subjects. Particularly if you choose to use very unique names. With our newest staff roles - the Assistants - they now are regularly grading homework for multiple classes. Other professors or HoH do as well, especially towards the end of the month or when the original professor is unavailable in real life. We may recognise the pseudonyms if you choose to repeat them. Please choose different names in EVERY piece of homework to avoid breaking anonymity, if you wish to add a name at all.

Do not have other players make posts for you (aka do your homework for you). This may result in losing the points you earned, the loss of the ability to do homework, failure, loss of spells earned, etc. It may even result in banning. Please do not have others post for you.

Learning Spells

You can learn spells one of three ways:

1 - By doing the Class and getting graded. Once complete (and graded) you will have access to the spell. Does this mean you can spam letters and words and get all Ts and get all the spells for the year upon completion? No. Upon getting a T you will not learn the spell, instead you will have to wait until the year's end to gain access to this spell. (Refer to #2) 
2 - By graduating for the year. By graduating from year 1 to year 2 or 2 to 3 and so on, you will gain access to all the spells taught for the previous year. Some might ask what is the advantage of doing the homework in the first place? The answer is earlier access to those spells. Also, it gives players House Points and bragging rights.
3 - By using the Prodigal Series of Abilities. By acquiring the Prodigal Charms ability for instance, a user will be able to access and learn spells a year ahead of time. This can also be used to avoid the homework assignments entirely for those that do not enjoy the homework system and just want to RP learning. Some people do not want to do the homework OR wait a full year, this is basically another means of learning for those users.

• Take your time when you are doing your homework/classes. Read the roleplay, the instructions and the questions fully and completely.
• When you answer a question, review your answer and make sure that it satisfies the following: did it answer the question completely and correctly, if the question requires a word count did you meet it, is the answer in your own words (do not copy and paste because that is plagiarism and you will be docked for it).
• If you are writing a role-play make sure that you have a disclaimer about the pseudonym you are using. Failure to do so, or actually using your name will result in docked points. If you do not use a name and only use he/she/they you do not need a disclaimer, but be careful that you do not use other descriptors (Specialty Race, House, etc) because that also break anonymity.
• If you do not understand a question or you do not have access to certain resources that would make it possible for you to answer a question, please ask your Professor about it. There are Q&A threads in every Professor's classroom area. You can also owl the Professor for clarification. Please remember that your Professor is a person too, do not talk to them in a condescending manner -- asking questions out of character is you asking the question not your character so using your character as an excuse for rudeness will not be accepted and will be considered flaming or baiting.
• All classes are confidential, meaning a Professor will not know it is you when they are grading your paper. Your good/bad grade is not based on like or dislike for you but rather the work that is submitted.