Providence University Academic Policies:

1. Grading System

Education programs at Providence University utilizes set of marks to indicate student’s progress and achievement for a given course. The course syllabus details specific requirements for each level of achievement. The following criteria are used in assigning a final grade:

• W: Withdrawal; official permission granted to withdraw from the course after the final date for dropping a course.
• S or P: Satisfactory or pass; adequate achievement of course objectives, but no grade points given.
• U: Unsatisfactory; insufficient achievement of course objectives.
• AU: Audit; no grade points given.
• I: Incomplete; a temporary extension granted as defined in the “Policy for Incompletes.”

Grades have been assigned the following numerical values for the purpose of computing the grade point average:

• 96-100 A 4.0
• 91-95 A- 3.7
• 88-90 B+ 3.3
• 84-87 B 3.0
• 81-83 B- 2.7
• 78-80 C+ 2.3
• 74-77 C 2.0
• 71-73 C- 1.7
• 68-70 D+ 1.3
• 64-67 D 1.0
• 61-63 D- 0.7
• 0-60 F 0.0

Grade points per subject are determined by multiplying the grade points assigned to the letter grade earned, times the number of credit hours assigned to the course. A student’s semester and cumulative grade-point average are computed by dividing the total grade points earned by the number of attempted hours.

2. Grade Reports and Appeals

Every student has access to an unofficial copy of his or her transcript through Moodle.  The university’s online student management system. Any discrepancy between the transcript and the student’s personal record must be brought to the attention of the Academic Dean and Registrar. Students have a period of three months from the final date of the semester to appeal any grade recorded on their transcript within that same semester. After this three-month period, grades will be considered final.

3. Academic Probation

At the end of each academic term, a student who fails to maintain the minimum GPA for his or her program (Th.D. in Missiology = 3.5), Th.D. in Christian Education= 3.5), (MDiv = 3.0; Master in Christian Counseling, Masters in Christian Education = 3.0); (Th.M. in Missiology = 3.4) will receive a notification from the Academic Dean and registrar office warning the student of the drop in performance, even if the student’s cumulative GPA meets the minimum requirement. The student should take this warning seriously and make every effort to raise his or her average to acceptable standards during the following term. A student whose GPA falls below the minimum requirements for graduation will be placed on academic probation and will be given two semesters to raise his or her average to the minimum, or to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the registrar and Academic Dean that significant progress is being made to raise the average to the minimum standard. If sufficient progress is not made, the student will be terminated from the program.

4. Drop/Add Policy

A student is able to drop or add a course within an established “grace” period as set in the academic calendar. After the drop/add deadline, a student may no longer enroll in a course. If a student drops a course within this period, the dropped course does not appear on the student’s transcript. The drop/add deadlines are as follows:

• for fall, spring, and summer 5 day intensives – 1 day after the start of each intensive. These deadlines will be noted in the academic calendar.
• for all independent studies – 1 day after enrollment date.
• for all modular courses – first day of course (a student adding a modular class must attend the first day of that class)

The student should be aware of the tuition refund concerning dropped/withdrawn courses as established in the section entitled “Tuition Refund of Dropped/Withdrawn Course(s).”

5. Withdrawal from Course(s) Policy

After the Drop/Add deadline, a student may withdraw from a course(s) only with the written permission of the instructor and registrar. The student will be assigned a “W” (withdrawn) on his or her transcript. Written petitions to withdraw from a particular course are to be made by the student to the registrar; furthermore, petitions for withdrawal must be made within the following deadlines:

• for fall, spring, and summer Trimesters – 1 day after the start of each Trimester. These deadlines will be noted in the academic calendar.
• for all independent studies – 1weeks after enrollment date.
• for all intensive courses – 1 day of course

Withdrawal under any other circumstance or withdrawal ”after” the withdrawal deadline will result in a failing grade “F” for the course. Exceptions will apply only if approved by the academic dean or registrar.

The student should be aware of the tuition refund concerning dropped/withdrawn courses as established in the section entitled “Tuition Refund of Dropped/Withdrawn Course(s).”

6. Withdrawal from University Policy

A student planning to withdraw from the university should report this intention to the Academic Dean and Registrar in writing and is responsible for unpaid bills to the seminary and the bookstore. Should such a student desire to return to the seminary within one academic year of withdrawing, he should notify the registrar and normally need not reapply.

7. Transfer of Credit Policy

A student seeking transfer credit on the basis of master’s-level or doctoral level course work pursued at another institution should present to the registrar prior to registration an official transcript of the previous work, syllabus of the applicable courses, and a catalog from the other institution containing course descriptions of the work for which credit is requested.

8. Retake Policy

In a course in which a student has received a failing grade, permission may be granted by the professor to take a re-examination or resubmit an assignment of sufficient quality to raise the grade to an F/D. Such work must be completed within one month after notification of the failing grade. If the grade is raised to an F/D, the student receives credit for the course but receives a 0.0 GPA for the course.

Students are permitted to repeat a course in which a grade was earned. When a course with an earned grade of an “F” is repeated, both the failing and second grade figure into the cumulative grade-point average. If a student repeats a course that has been passed, both grades will be shown on the transcript, but only the first grade will factor into the student’s GPA.

9. Policy for Assignment Extensions

The syllabus for every course designates the dates assignments are due and the penalty that will be imposed on late submissions. Extensions may be granted on the following basis:

• The student requesting an extension must submit in writing the reason for his/her inability to meet the deadline of the assignment before the scheduled due date.
• This request will be submitted to a committee consisting of the Academic Dean and the Registrar. This committee, in consultation with the professor of the course, will consider the validity of the request. If the committee determines that the student’s explanation is valid, it will grant an extension.
• The professor will have the discretion to set a new due date for the project, although the extension would not normally exceed three weeks after the original date.
• Only one extension will be granted. If the request for an extension is not granted, the project will be subject to the penalties set for unexcused late submissions.

10. Late Submission of Course Assignments Policy

In all courses in which theses, papers, reports on assigned readings, or other special assignments are required, either in place of or in addition to a final examination, these written materials must be submitted on or before the date set by the professor in charge.

A student is expected to complete all work within the term. In special circumstances, however, he may request an incomplete (I), provided that he or she is in agreement with his professor for that course. The incomplete will be removed from the transcript upon completion of course providing it is within the time frame as expressed in the “Policy for Incompletes.”

Each instructor may deal with late assignments. The standard procedure, however, is that for every day late the student will be penalized by a drop of 1 level grade.  A to A-, B+ to B, B- to C+

A student cannot submit the same or similar assignments for more than one requirement at the seminary, unless the instructor explicitly approves this. Neither can a student use work done for another institution (e.g., undergraduate work) to fulfill assignments in courses at the seminary. If you have questions about a possible overlap of work, please check with your instructor.

11. Policy for Incomplete

Students who make an incomplete (I) are required to make up or complete their work by the mid-term point of the following semester. If the work is not completed by the required deadline, the “I” will be changed to “F.” A student who makes up his work within the required time will receive a grade determined by the instructor. Exceptions to this policy are at the discretion of the Academic Dean and President.

12. Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is an academic crime that is never acceptable. In serious cases, it is a flagrant sin against the eighth and ninth commandments, and the seminary cannot tolerate it in any of its forms.

There is often confusion among students as to what constitutes plagiarism. At its basic level, plagiarism is taking another person’s intellectual property and presenting it as if it were one’s own. Practically speaking, it usually involves taking basic units of language (words, phrases, sentence, and paragraphs)—or even thoughts and ideas—without properly accounting for them in footnotes or endnotes.

The following points, including improper and proper examples of citation from the above paragraph, must be understood concerning plagiarism:

• Plagiarism includes undocumented copying of whole phrases.

•  Plagiarism includes undocumented copying of the essential substance of a sentence, even though one changes some words.

•  Plagiarism includes copying of a phrase or phrases of another author, even if they are in one’s own sentence.

• Plagiarism does not include repeating things that are common knowledge, which you might find in a dictionary or encyclopedia, and that anyone could have formulated in that specific manner. These things need not be documented, unless you are doing so at length or you are including definite specifics of your source author. In such a case, you should simply have an opening footnote stating that you are leaning heavily on a particular source.

The best way to avoid unintentional plagiarism is to do your research in a methodical way, making adequate notes of your sources so that ideas do not make their way into your mind without your being able to trace them. Follow this general rule: if in doubt, footnote.

Instances of plagiarism will be dealt with as follows:

• First offense: The student is spoken to by the professor and/or the dean of students and the incident is recorded and entered into the student’s permanent record.
• Second offense: In a second case of plagiarism, the student is suspended for one year. Re-admittance to study at Providence University requires the approval of the president of the seminary in consultation with faculty and the faculty committee.
• Third offense: In a third case of plagiarism, the student is expelled from the university and will not be permitted to graduate with a degree. Expulsion will proceed as determined by the faculty committee with the president.

Scholarship students who withdraw or are expelled as a consequence of plagiarism or any other discipline are required to reimburse the seminary 60% of the total funds received in scholarships.

All cases of plagiarism must be referred to the president, who will then consult with the full-time faculty. Each case will be dealt with individually and may not go exactly according to the above-named steps. In a serious offense (intentional, lengthy, etc.) the first step may be skipped. All second and third offenses—and serious first offenses—of plagiarism will be reported, as decided by the president in consultation with the full-time faculty, to the local church consistory (session or council) of which the student is a member, and to the BOT for any additional action. The president, in consultation with the full-time faculty, is to exercise discretion in this area, and the student retains the right to appeal to the Faculty Committee and Board of Directors.

13. Distance/Online Learning Policies

Any student who desires to take a course via distance learning must submit a written request to the Dean of Academics.   This will initiate the process of enrolling in your desired course. Please see tuition schedule. For distance learning students, the refund policy for a dropped/withdrawn course is as follows:

• Within 1 week, an 80% refund is granted
• Within 2 weeks, 70%
• Within 3 weeks, 60%
• After   4 weeks, 0%.

Notification of a dropped or withdrawn course (as outlined in “Drop/Add Policy” and “Withdrawal from Course[s] Policy”) should be provided by submitting a written statement to this effect (email is fine) to the registrar. The appropriate refund will be sent promptly. If a student fails to notify the registrar of a dropped or withdrawn course within the established deadline, an “F” will be noted on the student’s transcript and no refund will be granted.

The distance learning student is subject to all the same requirements, deadlines, and penalties as set by the instructor for the on-campus students in the course instance.

14. Independent Study Policies

All students enrolled in an online language class have a one month trial period during which they may freely take the course and benefit from the instruction and guidance of the course instructor.

Notification of a dropped course (as outlined in “Drop/Add Policy” and “Withdrawal from Course(s) Policy”) should be provided by submitting a written statement to this effect (email is fine) to the Academic Dean. The appropriate refund will be sent promptly. If a student fails to notify the registrar of a dropped or withdrawn course within the established deadline, an “F” will be noted on the student’s transcript and no refund will be granted.

The university’s policies concerning dropping and withdrawing from a course are effective on the date of enrollment. The refund policy for a dropped/withdrawn course is as follows:

• Within one weeks, an 80% refund is granted
• Within two weeks, 60%
• Within three weeks, 50%
• After four weeks, 0%.

Notification of a dropped course should be provided by submitting a written statement to this effect (email is fine) to the registrar. The appropriate refund will be sent promptly. If a student fails to notify the registrar of a dropped or withdrawn course within the established deadline, an “F” will be noted on the student’s transcript and no refund will be granted; exceptions must be approved by the academic dean. No independent study may exceed 10weeks in duration.

15. Attendance Policy

Each student is expected, barring lawful reasons, to attend every class for which he is registered. Absences caused by illness or other justifiable causes will be permitted to a limited extent. Students should not accrue more unexcused absences than the number of course credit hours. Should absences endanger the student’s performance in class, the instructor will counsel the student. Further absences will normally result in either the reduction of course grades or expulsion from the course. Unexcused absences may also result in the student being placed on academic probation.

16. Student Life and Conduct

Our students represent a wide range of ages, previous employments, church and mission backgrounds, and nationalities. The wide variety enriches the atmosphere and culture of the seminary while providing students with many perspectives and occasions for “iron to sharpen iron,” to assist each other, and to bear each other up in prayer and support. Chapel is held during the spring, summer and fall semesters to allow for student fellowship and mutual spiritual learning, worship, and prayer.

As a community of future leaders of the Christian church, the university seeks to maintain high standards of integrity in all areas of life, including academic work, ministry, and church and community relationships. Given these objectives, the university faculty and governing committees expect students to live according to high standards of faith and to use wise judgment in matters pertaining to personal conduct. Students are expected to show maturity in Christ, love for one another, pronounced patterns of devotion and service, and the responsible use of Christian liberty. All members of the university community are expected to act in accordance with local, state, and federal laws at all times, whether on or off campus.

The university is a smoke-free environment, and is committed to being an institution free of the use of illegal drugs and of the abuse of alcohol. All faculty, staff, and students are required as a condition of employment and/or enrollment not to use illegal drugs or to abuse alcohol. Behavior that is immoral, illegal, or disruptive will result in dismissal.

This standard of behavior is expected to extend into the academic lives of students as well, prohibiting all forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism. Plagiarism is an academic crime that is never acceptable; in serious cases, it is a flagrant sin against the eighth and ninth commandments and the seminary cannot tolerate it in any of its forms. There is often confusion among students as to what constitutes plagiarism; students are required to abide by the guidelines and principles presented in the Student Handbook.