Academic Accountability
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Registration
Registration dates for the beginning of each semester are designated on the seminary calendar. Registration happens after students meet with their assigned adviser advisor and are given registration clearance. Dropping Dropping and adding courses can happen online up to the first day of the semester. After that students must work through the registrar's office.
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A student who registers for at least 9 credit hours a semester shall be considered a full-time student and is classified according to the number of hours completed and recorded in the Registrar’s Office registrar’s office at the beginning of the semester. Anyone taking less than 9 credit hours is a part-time student.
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Advance approval should be secured from the dean or associate dean of the seminary before enrolling for work in other institutions with the intention of transferring credit to Eastern Mennonite Seminary for graduation, keeping in mind that the majority of credits toward a degree at EMS must at EMS must be earned at EMSat EMS.
Residency Requirement
The seminary encourages residential studies but recognizes the value and convenience of distance learning. EMS EMS offers courses in a variety of formats, including on-campus and synchronously online. Students Students seeking ordination are encouraged to contact their ecclesial bodies for guidance regarding completing coursework at EMS through distance education. Since Since EMS is approved by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church, Methodist students seeking ordination may attend virtually less than 50% of the class time of a course.
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While we recognize that it is very difficult to guard against all forms of student fraud while enrolled in an online course, the ultimate goal of EMU is to verify that the online student who is registered for a particular course is, in fact, the same student who is performing the work. To To meet that goal, we will do the following:
All online courses are required to have one synchronous video session at the beginning of the course.
Hybrid students are required to get a picture ID while on campus.
Video Conferencing Policy
In light of the fact that Seminary culture increasingly includes video conferencing, we need to have in place policies that will guide how video conferencing is used. Our Our goal is to both make it easier for students’ students to take courses and also make the instructor’s experience work as smoothly as possible.
If any student has a legitimate reason why they must be absent from a particular class session and notifies the instructor in advance, video conferencing software may be used in place of in-person attendance.
With agreement from the instructor prior to the start of the course, students who reside at least 75 miles from campus may connect to the class sessions via video conferencing on an ongoing basis. Students need to keep in mind that connecting via video conferencing for 50% or more of class sessions will mean that the course does not count toward residency for their degree program.
Students using video conferencing are responsible to have appropriate technology and setting to connect by video and audio to class sessions without foreseeable interruption.
Faculty are encouraged to develop pedagogy that allows for video conferencing in each of their courses, and, as necessary, to set appropriate limits to the number of students per course connecting in this way and/or to the number of sessions students may attend via video conferencing.
Advanced Standing Credit for Study
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On rare occasions, coursework taken at a non-accredited study center will be evaluated by the Associate Dean to determine whether it can be considered as as credit for study. With With the submission of a certificate of completion and a recording fee, a student can request that such nontransferable credit be applied toward advanced standing provided at least 45 hours were invested per credit hour granted, faculty had the required credentials, the reading, writing and research projects were appropriately rigorous for graduate level studies and the content meets degree requirements. No more than one-sixth of the total credits required for a degree will be granted as advanced standing credit.
The seminary awards credit for Clinical Pastoral Education units offered by a CPE Center a CPE Center accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education other than EMS. With the submission of a CPE professional a CPE professional certificate of completion and the payment of a recording fee, a student will receive 6 semester hours of credit for a CPE unit a CPE unit applied toward the relevant degree at EMSat EMS.
Grading System and Quality Points
The seminary maintains both qualitative and quantitative requirements. Daily classwork, tests, examinations, attendance and attitude all enter into the determination of standing and credit. Since seminary students are working at the graduate level, it is expected that many will earn earn A ’s and and B ’s. Grade Grade C is is minimally acceptable in that it reflects some deficiency. Therefore, consistent work at at C level level is inadequate for graduation. A grade point average of 2.50 is the minimum requirement for graduation from a degree program. This means that the average student will perform at the level of 2.50 GPA or 50 GPA or above.
A- Superior performance; represents excellence in mastery of course objectives. Four quality points per semester hour.
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A student who believes that a grade received for a course does not accurately reflect his/her their achievement of course requirements and expectations should:
Confer with the teacher who assigned the grade, stating the reason(s)
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the student believes a grade change is warranted.
If the teacher does not agree to change the grade, the student may appeal to the seminary dean. This appeal must state in writing the evidence the student believes indicates that a grade change is warranted. The dean’s decision will be final.
All grade changes must be authorized by the person who agreed to the change and use the formal grade change process of the seminary registrar’s office.
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Residence requirements are specified in each program description. Students expecting to graduate must file applications on official forms complete an application for graduation provided by the University Registraruniversity registrar's Office office of the year in which the degree is to be conferred. Anyone choosing to walk in the commencement ceremony must plan to fulfill all degree requirements by the end of the summer term. Students Students may have degrees conferred at three times, the end of fall, spring or summer.
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A student whose last 9 credit hours or cumulative GPA falls cumulative GPA falls below 2.5 will be placed on warning for the next term. If sufficient progress is not made to remove the warning, continuation at seminary will be reviewed in Academic Committee where members of the Admissions Committee and an SCC student an SCC student representative are also present. Three or more F’s in an academic year will place a student on academic warning.
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The seminary faculty will work with students in a number of ways to evaluate their competency for ministry. The students will have the opportunity to do self-evaluation as well as to receive formative evaluation from faculty advisors. There are a variety of questionnaires and interviews faculty use to gather information which can be helpful to the student and the seminary for assessing both the students’ competency in ministry formation and the seminary’s role in that process.
Degree Candidacy
Normally when nearing the completion of 20 semester hours of work, the formative process leads to a decision on degree candidacy. For transfer students, degree candidacy isn’t granted based on transfer credit. Degree candidacy represents a significant point of accountability in which the faculty together decide whether or not the student appears qualified to successfully complete a given degree program. The decision will be in the form of approval, approval with qualifications, or denial of degree candidacy. The decision is made in a regular faculty meeting.
Summative Evaluation
In the students’ final year, the faculty also do a summative ministry competency evaluation or competency in their chosen field of study for students preparing to graduate and make a recommendation indicating readiness for ministry in a faculty meeting where SCC student where SCC student representatives are also present. The recommendation is placed in a student's ministry file.
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A student who chooses to pursue the traditional General General Theological Certificate (Certificate ProgramPrograms) with the desire to pursue a graduate seminary degree should plan on the following sequence:
Admission as a certificate student with the intent of pursuing a degree
successful completion of the certificate (24sh)
presentation by adviser to the faculty as a degree candidate
Normally degree candidacy is discerned when seminary students have successfully completed 20 sh 20sh of course work. The general theological certificate student, in consultation with their adviser, may pursue degree candidacy at 20 sh 20sh through a letter of request to the seminary associate dean. Assuming faculty approval of degree candidacy, the certificate will be awarded when the requisite number of courses are successfully completed.
A student admitted into the AAIS-MACL pathway may continue upon completion of the AAIS degree toward the GTC, and in consultation with the adviser, may purse degree candidacy as noted abovean EMU AA degree program may ultimately pursue a pathway to the MACL. This is done by enrolling in the GTC upon completion of the AA, and in consultation with the adviser, pursuing degree candidacy as noted above. Up to 9 credits of seminary coursework (Formation in Spiritual Practices, Formation in Narrative Identity, and a seminary intercultural course) may be part of the AA for students intending to pursue the MACL.
The General Theological Certificate is not an endorsed educational path for United Methodist ministry credentialing.
A student admitted into the G raduate Graduate Certificate in Christian Studies (Certificate ProgramPrograms) may transfer all successfully completed courses toward a master's degree if requested within two years of the completion of the certificate. The student will proceed through degree candidacy at 20 sh 20sh (Degree Candidacy).
Participation Audit
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A student considering withdrawal from EMS is from EMS is asked to counsel with the associate dean or the dean of the seminary. They may be in a position to make suggestions which enable a student to remain in school.
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Eastern Mennonite Seminary is committed to working out reasonable and acceptable arrangements for satisfactory completion of course requirements for students with learning difficulties. When the student or instructor becomes aware of such difficulties, the instructor may refer the student to the the Academic Success Center. In consultation with the student and the Academic Success Center, the instructor will develop reasonable and appropriate alternatives for course requirements which are directly affected by the disabilities. The student’s advisor and the associate dean should be informed of these arrangements. In case of failure to reach agreement, the student may appeal to the Seminary Academic Committee.
Inclusive Language
Statement of Commitment
We recognize that all human beings are persons of infinite worth created equally in the image of God. Accordingly, we recognize that the language which we use to speak about each other is no negligible matter but one of crucial importance. The words by which we name and address each other are no less than the means by which we can recognize each other mutually as persons created in God’s image, and the means by which we can empower each other mutually to live out the potential God has given each of us.
Eastern Mennonite Seminary is an institution dedicated to the task of “equipping persons for ministries in the service of the kingdom of God.” As teaching faculty, we recognize the centrality of language to our task. We are equipping persons to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to the churched and unchurched alike in our communities and around the world. And because our task is that of equipping communicators, we recognize the crucial importance of language, the words which we use, to proclaim the Good News which we wish to communicate.
We therefore commit ourselves:
To work together and encourage our students toward greater inclusiveness in
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our language within the classroom setting:
• in our syllabi
• in our lectures
• in our class discussions and student presentations
• in the papers which we write and the sermons which we prepareTo work together and encourage our students toward greater inclusiveness in
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our language within the worship setting:
• in our public address to each other and in our prayers
• in our creation of litanies, worship responses, etc.
• in our reading of Scripture
• in our choice and in our use of hymns and other worship materialsTo work together and encourage our students toward greater inclusiveness in
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our language within the administrative setting:
• in our literature introducing and publicizing the seminary
• in our in-house communications to each other
• in our personal contacts with potential studentsTo work together and encourage our students toward greater inclusiveness in
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our language within the community setting:
• in our personal contacts with each other in
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the EMS community
• in the public context of our social gatherings
Class Privileges of Spouses
The spouses of full-time EMS students time EMS students may attend classes in the seminary as visitors, with the permission of the teacher. Such attendance is on a non-credit, non-audit basis and is without registration, cost or credit. Registration and payment of tuition are required to receive credit. Spouses are invited and encouraged to participate in other seminary activities such as chapel and colloquiums.
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