Policies


Semester Enrollment Fee Policy

This policy explains how the Semester Enrollment Fee is assessed for active students, including who is considered active, when the fee is billed, payment deadlines, proration for mid-term enrollment, and the consequences of nonpayment.

All active students will be invoiced for a Semester Enrollment Fee at the beginning of each Semester. A student is considered active if they are presently enrolled in a class, regardless of whether they have started that class within the current semester or not. Students who were active in the previous semester will be considered active until they request inactive status, withdraw from the seminary, or communicate with the Registrar that they have completed coursework and are awaiting graduation. 

The semester enrollment fee is assessed at the beginning of each Semester for all active students on January 1 and August 1. Students will have 30 days from the invoice date to submit payment. Students who enroll mid-semester will have 30 days from the date of enrollment to submit payment. An extension of 30 days may be granted, provided it is submitted to the billing department before the due date. The semester fee can be paid through the CBTS payment portal, along with tuition and other applicable fees.

If a student enrolls or re-enrolls mid-term, they may receive a prorated semester fee according to the following schedule: March ($330), April and October ($240), May and November ($180), June and December ($120), and July (waived). 

If payment is not received by the due date and no extension or status change request is submitted, the student will receive a written warning, their classes will be locked, and a $25 late fee will be assessed. They will then have 15 days to communicate or clear the balance on their account. If they fail to do so, they will be immediately placed in “Dropped” status and permanently lose access to all open courses. For re-admission, students are required to submit a new application and all necessary materials before re-enrollment. The student will be responsible for all current bills, charges, tuition fees, and semester fees, among other expenses. The seminary reserves the right to restrict access to students’ transcripts and files pending payment.

Click here to learn how to pay your semester fee.

What is the Student Appeals Process?

Students should follow the academic appeals process to resolve any academic problem or issue that arises.

1. Students should first go to the professor or Dean of Students in a timely manner to express their concern and seek to resolve the issue.

2. If the issue is not resolved, the student then should submit a written appeal to the Academic Dean/President regarding the issue. The Academic Dean/President may or may not request input and speak with the professor and/or Dean of Students depending on the nature of the appeal. The Academic Dean/President will resolve the appeal and convey his decision in a written letter to the student within 10 business days.

3. If the student is not satisfied, the student may submit a final, written appeal to the President requesting an appeal review meeting with the Academic Committee of the Seminary. This final appeal must be submitted and received by the President no later than 20 business days after the student’s initial written appeal. The Academic Committee will review the process, speak with the parties involved, pray and make a recommendation to the Seminary President for a final decision. The President's decision in conjunction with the Academic Committee’s recommendations will be final. No further appeals will be entertained.

What are the policies and procedures for student claims and disputes?

Any claim or dispute arising from or related to the student’s relationship to CBTS shall be settled by mediation and, if necessary, legally binding arbitration in accordance with the Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation of the Institute for Christian Conciliation, a division of Peacemaker® Ministries (complete text of the Rules is available upon request from the Registrar's office).

Judgment upon an arbitration decision may be entered in any court otherwise having jurisdiction. The parties understand that these methods shall be the sole remedy for any controversy or claim arising out of this agreement and expressly waive their right to file a lawsuit in any civil court against one another for such disputes, except to enforce an arbitration decision.

What are the policies regarding student information privacy?

Student Information Privacy Policy and Statement

CBTS maintains the security and confidentiality of student educational records. All student records are kept in a secure location and in locked file cabinets and secure electronic locations. Additionally, all transcripts and pertinent information for current degree-seeking students is digitally “backed-up” at two separate locations.

Since CBTS does not accept Title IV student loan monies, CBTS is not bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). However, CBTS’ confidentiality policies are generally consistent with FERPA.

CBTS policies are as follows:

A student may access/inspect and review his/her academic file and unofficial transcript after a request has been made to the Registrar’s office. The Registrar will arrange for the student to access his student file. The Registrar will be present during this access/inspection or review.

If a student believes his/her academic file and/or unofficial transcript are inaccurate or misleading, the student may request to amend the file and/or transcript. The student should write the Registrar, clearly identifying the portion of the record that the student wishes to change and specifying what is inaccurate or misleading. If CBTS decides not to amend, the student may use the student appeal process to proceed. If CBTS agrees with the student and changes are required, all changes will be reflected in the students records and official transcript.

CBTS will not disclose, without the student’s written consent, personally identifiable information found in the student’s academic file or transcript.

What are the CBTS policies regarding academic integrity?

Academic Integrity

CBTS assumes that all of its students desire to pursue all academic work with honesty and scholarly integrity. Breaches of academic honesty and integrity are infringements of the mutual faith and trust essential to the academic enterprise and are inconsistent with the profession of faith upon which the student was admitted to the seminary.

Activities that have the effect or intention of interfering with education, pursuit of knowledge, or fair evaluation of a student’s performance are prohibited. Examples of activities include, but are not limited to, the following definitions:

Those students whose work definitively can be shown to breach academic honesty or scholarly integrity will face academic investigation. Sanctions will be imposed, ranging from grade reduction to course failure to dismissal from the school. No progressive nature is necessarily implied in these sanctions. A first offense may result in dismissal from the school, depending upon the nature of the offense.

What is the policy for dropping and adding courses?

Drop/Add Policy

Dropping Live Classes

For all live classes, both live-streamed and in-person, a student may drop the course at any time prior to forty-five days from the first scheduled class date without any mark on his transcript or change to his GPA.  However, all dropped classes will be permanently recorded in the student’s file. Choosing to drop a course, whether it is a core class or elective class voids all completed attendance and coursework. No credit will be given for the course. If a student withdraws after or following the forty-fifth day of the course, a “drop fail” (DF) will appear permanently on his transcript and the “DF” will be permanently recorded in the students file. When retaking a course which has received a “drop fail”, the highest possible grade the student can attain is 75% (C). This means that the student must earn a grade of 75% or above to pass the course, but any grade above 75 will be recorded on the student transcript as a 75 (C).

Students dropping following the sixtieth day of the course for reasons categorized as reasonable or extenuating circumstances, may receive an Incomplete (I) on their transcript. The incomplete (I) will not affect the student’s GPA. The student may return to complete all coursework and can attain a possible grade of 100%. Once all course work is completed, the incomplete (I) will be removed from the student transcript and replaced by the earned letter grade. The Incomplete (I) will be removed from the transcript once the course work is completed, however, it will be recorded in the student file. The Academic Dean will determine whether the student’s situation is considered reasonable or extenuating.

Dropping CBTS Pathway Classes

For CBTS Pathway courses, a student may drop the course at any time prior to forty-five days from the day of registration without any mark on his transcript or change to his GPA.  However, all dropped classes will be permanently recorded in the student’s file. Choosing to drop a course, whether it is a core class or elective class voids all completed attendance and coursework. No credit will be given for the course. If a student withdraws after or following the forty-fifth day of the course, a “drop fail” (DF) will appear permanently on his transcript and the “DF” will be permanently recorded in the students file. When retaking a course which has received a “drop fail”, the highest possible grade the student can attain is 75% (C). This means that the student must earn a grade of 75% or above to pass the course, but any grade above 75 will be recorded on the student transcript as a 75 (C).

Adding a Course

Students may enroll in a live course up to 10 days after the first-class period, only with the written approval of the Academic Dean, who will take into consideration the amount of space remaining in that course. Because the student would have already missed several class periods and would be starting late on their reading, this is not encouraged.

Tuition Refund for Dropping Courses

Students dropping a live class prior to the forty-fifth day of the course will receive a 50% tuition refund. Students dropping a CBTS Pathway class prior to forty-five days from the date of registration will receive a 50% tuition refund. This does not include any fees paid to the institution, such as semester or application fees. Any student choosing to drop after the forty-fifth day will not be refunded any amount of tuition.

            50% tuition refund prior to day 45 of any course

            0% tuition refund after day 45 of any course

How does multiple choice scoring work in Pathway?

Multiple choice grades in Pathway can be confusing. This article explains how Pathway calculates those scores.

Multiple Choice questions with multiple correct answers

The way the system grades multiple choice/multiple answer questions is as follows.

+1 for every correct answer

-1 for every incorrect or missing answer

So if a question has 3 possible points and you mark 2 correct answers and 1 incorrect answer, your score will be 1.

What is the withdrawal policy?

Student Withdrawal Policy

A student planning to withdraw from CBTS must report this in writing to the Registrar, including the reason for the need to withdraw. This notification will be placed in the student’s official file. For re-admission, the student is required to submit a new application and all materials before re-enrollment. The student will be responsible for all current bills, charges, tuition fees, semester fees, etc. The seminary reserves the right to restrict access to student’s transcripts and files pending payment.

A student may elect to enter an inactive status for a limited period of time with approval from the Registrar.  A student wishing to become inactive must report this in writing to the Registrar including the reason for the request. An inactive student will not be required to pay the semester enrollment fee during the inactive period.  No coursework or grades will be recorded for any student while in inactive status.  A student may remain inactive for four semesters at most. If the student does not become active after four semesters, he will be moved from inactive to dropped status. A student may resume active status at any time prior to the time limitation by simply notifying the Registrar and paying the semester enrollment fee. It is not necessary to go through the admissions process again. This inactive period may or may not be included in the degree time limits at the discretion of the Registrar & Academic Dean.

Any student who does not either pay the semester enrollment fee or contact the Registrar to discuss options and circumstances before September 15th for fall semester or February 14th for Spring semester will be given a warning via email indicating that he must contact the Registrar within 14 days.  If the student fails to contact the Registrar before the 14 day period has elapsed he will immediately be placed in “Dropped” status and will lose access to all open courses. For re-admission, the student is required to submit a new application and all materials before re-enrollment. The student will be responsible for all current bills, charges, tuition fees, semester fees, etc. The seminary reserves the right to restrict access to student’s transcripts and files pending payment.

How many online discussion forums am I required to attend?

Theological Discussion Forums

We use video webconferencing to facilitate multiple live interactive forums each year.

Distance students will be required to participate in the following number of these forums in order to graduate:

MDiv/BDiv students = 8 forums
MATS/DTS students = 6 forums
MABC/DBC students = 6 forums
MAPS/DPS students = 4 forums

These forums will be led by a faculty member and each will have a specific topic for discussion.  The topic will be announced a month in advance. Students will need to register for the forum and submit a question related to the topic when they do.  A week prior to the forum the questions will be distributed to all registrants to enable them to consider the topic better ahead of time and facilitate more useful interaction.

Keep in mind that attending CovCon in person counts as attending 4 forums.

How many modular courses (modules) am I required to attend?

All students are required to attend the following number of in-person modular courses over the course of their studies:

There will be three forms of exemption

Distance Exception

Students who reside in other countries can apply for an exemption if they are unable to afford the trip.

Hardship Compassion

Students whose financial circumstances prohibit them from being able to attend will also be able to apply for an exemption.

Transfer Modification

Students who transfer in a large percentage of their credits (or current students who have already completed a large percentage of their required credits) may also apply for an exemption or a reduction.

You can apply for an exemption here: CBTS Modular Course Exemption Request.
The form can also be found on the student resource page in Pathway.

What are the CBTS policies regarding plagiarism?

Plagiarism Policy & Academic Integrity

CBTS holds dear the Christian virtues of integrity and honesty. As a student of CBTS you are expected to bear these Christian virtues. Because CBTS desires your greatest good as a student, we take very seriously the offense of plagiarism. Plagiarism, the failure to give proper credit for the words and ideas of another person, whether published or unpublished, is strictly prohibited.  All written material submitted by students must be their own original work; where the words and ideas of others are used they must be acknowledged.  Additionally, if students receive editorial help with their writing they should also acknowledge it appropriately.

Part of the student’s personal Christian growth is allowing his or her character to be reflected in the work which he or she completes as a student. It is the desire of CBTS to see great integrity and honesty reflected in all work which is completed by students.

The following are penalties for plagiarism

First offense: The student is spoken to by the professor and/or the Academic Dean and the incident is recorded and entered into the student’s permanent record. The project or assignment in question receives a failing grade, and it is at the discretion of the professor to allow an additional assignment to be completed.

Second offense: In a second case of plagiarism, the student is suspended for one year. Re-admittance to study at CBTS requires the approval of the president of the seminary in consultation with the faculty, academic committee and the Board of Directors.

Third offense: In a third case of plagiarism, the student is expelled from the seminary and will not be permitted to graduate with a degree. Expulsion will proceed as determined by the faculty and academic committee, and approved by the Seminary President.

Courses

Courses

By when do I need to finish a Pathway class after registration?

Students will have 6 months from the date of registration to complete all assignments and finish a 3-credit course (4 months for a 2-credit course).

Pathway courses are set up to give the student 185 days to complete a 3-hour course and 125 for a 2-hour course.

Courses

What if I cannot complete a Pathway class by the deadline?

If you have not completed the Pathway course (including receiving grades for all assignments) a week before the deadline, complete the CBTS Class Extension Request Form and an extension of up to 90 days will be granted.

The class extension request form can be also found in the shortcuts section toward the bottom of the left sidebar in Pathway. 

Courses

What do I do if if I cannot meet the coursework deadline in a live semester class?

If you are unable to meet the set deadline, you will need to contact the professor directly and ask for an extension. The professor may grant the extension himself or require you to submit an extension request form. 

Courses

What do I do if I've submitted all assignments but they're not yet graded and the deadline is approaching?

If the deadline is approaching and you have assignments submitted but not yet graded, please request a class extension. Your grade will not be impacted.

Courses

Will my grades for the class be impacted if I request an extension because I'm waiting for my papers to be graded?

Don't worry. If you request an extension because you are waiting for assignments to be graded, your grade will not be impacted.

Click here for the CBTS Class Extension Request Form.

The class extension request form can be also found in Important Resources sidebar on the right in Pathway. 

Courses

How long before the class deadline must all written assignments be turned in?

All assignments must be graded prior to the course deadline. Students must submit all written assignments 2-3 weeks prior to the deadline.

If there are any assignments pending to be graded, students must request an extension prior to the course deadline.

Courses

What happens if I do not complete my coursework or ask for an extension within 30 days of the deadline for a modular or live semester class?

You will be given an “F” failing letter grade for the course.

Courses

When might my grade be affected by requesting a class extension?

Requesting a class extension might affect your grade when you require more than one extension for reasons that are not deemed adequate.

Courses

What happens if I do not complete a CBTS Pathway course within the allotted timeframe and I'm not granted an extension?

You will receive a failing grade and will need to register for the course and start over in order to complete the class with a passing grade. In such cases, the highest grade attainable is a C.

Courses

What if I need another course extension after having one already approved?

Students who have already received an extension and are unable to complete the course before the new deadline may request an additional extension. The student will need to provide an explanation for why he was unable to complete the course in time. This extension will be granted, but the student’s final grade may be docked one letter grade if the reason for the extension is not adequate.

Courses

For modular classes, what is the usual timeframe within which I must complete my coursework?

You are typically given 90 days from the last lecture in a modular course to complete your coursework.

Programs

Programs

How long after initial enrollment am I expected to complete the MDiv/BDiv program?

Students enrolled in the MDiv/BDiv program are expected to complete their course of study within 8 years of initial enrollment.

Programs

How long after initial enrollment am I expected to complete the MATS/DTS program?

Students enrolled in the MATS/DTS program are expected to complete their course of study within 6 years of initial enrollment.  

Programs

How long after initial enrollment am I expected to complete the MABS/DBS program?

Students enrolled in the MABS/DBS program are expected to complete their course of study within 6 years of initial enrollment.  

Programs

How long after initial enrollment am I expected to complete the MAPS/DPS or MARBS programs?

Students enrolled in the MAPS/DPS & MARBS programs are expected to complete their course of study within 4 years of initial enrollment.

Programs

What if I cannot complete the CBTS Program I am undertaking by the expected deadline?

Any student unable to meet the above deadlines shall contact the Dean of Students and provide an explanation for the inability to meet the deadline. The Academic Committee has the right to grant extensions to students who can demonstrate that legitimate providential circumstances are the cause of delay.

Mentors & Proctors

Mentors & Proctors

What are the CBTS mentoring guidelines?

The mentoring guidelines can be found at cbtseminary.org/pastoral-mentoring.

Mentors & Proctors

Which students are required to have a mentor?

All MAPS/DPS & MDiv/BDiv students must have a mentor. This is not a requirement for MATS/DTS, MABS/DBS, or MARBS students.

Mentors & Proctors

What is expected of my proctor?

Quite simply, all the proctor is expected to do is ensure that you are taking the quiz or test without any outside help.

They do this by clicking the confirmation button in the email they received with the password.

If the confirmation does not go through, have them send an email to course.info@cbtseminary.org within a day of your completing the quiz/test with a statement to this effect:

“I confirm that [student’s name] has taken [class code & quiz/test number] without the use of a Bible, books, notes, or any other aids. Sincerely, [proctor’s name]”

Mentors & Proctors

Who can serve as a proctor?

It is preferable, but not absolutely necessary for your proctor to be an officer in a church (pastor/elder, deacon). Your proctor should not be an immediate family member (spouse, child…). Your proctor should be someone who is easily accessible to you. You do not want to put off taking quizzes and tests because of the difficulty of getting together with your proctor. It is also extremely beneficial to have multiple proctors registered! If you are in a unique situation with difficult circumstances, contact the CBTS administrator and we will work something out.

Grading

Grading

What is the grading process and policy?

Grading Process & Policy

Because of class sizes, responsibilities, and time demands, it is not guaranteed that the professor will grade all papers, projects, assignments and exams personally. CBTS does utilize Grading Assistants, those students or graduates who have already completed a degree at the level at which they are grading and remain a student in good standing. For instance, those who have obtained a Master of Divinity degree will occasionally complete grading for specific courses within the MDiv Program. They may also grade courses which they have completed that are required for other programs. This means that no student will grade for a course that he is currently enrolled in or has not yet completed.

The Grading Assistant operates under the oversight of the Professor and within the professor’s parameters. The professor gives the fields of assessment and grading key, offering any assistance to the grader which might be needed.

Professors will calculate, manage and finalize all grades. At the end of each course, students will be notified of their official grades via the professor or the Registrars Office.

All course grades are to be turned in no later than 3 weeks from the due date of the last course assignment.

For CBTS Pathway Courses, unless otherwise specified, a grading assistant will perform the grading under the supervision of the Academic Dean and Registrar’s Office. For the Pathway courses, we strive to have grades returned 2-3 weeks after assignments submission, but occasionally it may take longer to receive a grade.

A   96-100      

B+ 88-90

C+ 78-80

A-  91-95

B   85-87

C   75-77

 

B-  81-84

C-  71-74
Grading

What is the minimum GPA policy?

 Minimum GPA Policy

Students must maintain a minimum Grade Point Average of at least a 2.0 (2.0 GPA). Those who have an average which falls below this minimum will be automatically placed on academic probation until the GPA is raised above the probationary level. This means if a student completes a course with a grade below 75 % they will not be given credit for that class and they will automatically be placed on academic probation.

For the student to remove the probationary status, he must retake the course and complete it with a passing grade, which means 75% or higher. This means, the student can either request a directed study, retake the course in CBTS Pathway, or wait until the course is offered again. The maximum time limit which a student may remain on probation is 3 years.

Once the course is completed, credit will be given to the student and they will be in good standing with CBTS. If the student drops below the minimum GPA for 2 consecutive terms or does not complete the course within 3 years, they will be suspended for 1 academic year. The student will be informed of probation and/or suspension in writing.

While a student is on probationary status they are not considered to be in good academic standing with CBTS.

A   4.0

B+ 3.3

C+ 2.3

A-  3.7

B   3.0

C   2.0

 

B-  2.7

C-  1.7