Academic Accountability
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A student who registers for at least 9 credit hours a semester in the fall and spring semesters shall be considered a full-time student and is classified according to the number of hours completed and recorded in the registrar’s office at the beginning of the semester. Anyone taking less than 9 credit hours is a part-time student. Summer enrollment does not affect full- or part-time status.
Credit Outside of EMS
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 be earned at EMS.
Residency Requirement
The seminary encourages affirms residential studies but and recognizes the value and convenience of distance learning. EMS offers courses in a variety of formats, including on-campus, synchronously and synchronously asynchronously online. Students seeking ordination are encouraged to contact their ecclesial bodies for guidance regarding completing coursework at EMS through distance education. 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 meet that goal, we will do the following:
All online courses are required to have one synchronous video session at the beginning of the courseOnline asynchronous courses engage work in a variety of formats, including synchronous video meeting options, written forums, audio file uploads and/or video recording uploads.
Hybrid students are required to get a picture ID while on campus.
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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 goal is to both make it easier for students to take courses and also make the instructor’s experience work as smoothly as possible.
Most seminary courses are organized into subsections, A and O. The A section indicates on campus course attendance, and the O section indicates online attendance.
If any student enrolled in the A section 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 on campus attendance.
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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Normally degree candidacy is discerned when seminary students have successfully completed 20sh of course work. The general theological certificate student, in consultation with their adviser, may pursue degree candidacy at 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 an 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.
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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:
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