Enrollment

Enrollment Classification/Retention 

The following defines the status of each student during a semester to comply with various official internal and external requirements:

• Students registered for nine (9) or more credit hours are classified as full-time.  Students registered for eight (8) or less credit hours are classified as part-time.  (Note:  for Federal loan purposes, six (6) credit hours are required for eligibility.)  
• Students enrolled in a degree or certificate program, but not registered for a course, will automatically remain in active status until the seven-year program limit is reached or a formal written withdrawal is made or determined.  

 

Enrollment Withdrawal or Change of Status

Students in degree or certificate programs desiring to withdraw from the Union should notify (email accepted) the Registrar so that all official records can be changed and relevant internal and external authorities notified.  Students in religious communities, who wish to continue studies after withdrawing from their sponsoring religious community, must provide the Registrar with two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from the student’s religious formator or superior.

Academic

Program Compliance

Students must comply with and fulfill the course and other requirements of the degree or certificate program as defined in the official website catalog and in effect for the semester of enrollment specified in the student’s Letter of Admission.

Program Change

Students desiring to change their degree or certificate program must submit a formal request to the Admissions Office for evaluation and admission to the desired program, and inclusion in their academic file. Students must comply with the program requirements in effect at the time of official enrollment in the new program.

Program Time Limit

Students who are enrolled in a particular degree or certificate program must complete all curriculum and related requirements from the time of program admission to the year time-frame defined, as follows:
Master of Divinity: seven (7) years
Master of Divinity/Master of Arts in Theology: seven (7) years
Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies: five (5) years
Master of Arts in Theology: four (4) years
Master of Theological Studies: four (4) years
All Graduate Certificates: three (3) years
Requests for extensions must be submitted to and approved in writing by the Academic Dean.

Curriculum Requirement

Students enrolled in a degree or certificate must successfully complete at least two-thirds of their course credit requirements from courses given through the Union.  Courses defined as core requirements for the chosen program must be taken at the Union, unless the student has received the written permission of the Academic Dean.

Field of Study Declaration

Students enrolled in the MA degree program must submit the required form to the Registrar declaring the particular field of study selected for their degree program, as approved by the respective Department Chair (MA degree only)..  This should normally be submitted after completion of 9 credits.  Similarly students in a graduate certificate program should submit the required form to the Registrar declaring their desired certificate of study as soon as possible to ensure correct selection of courses. Any change in field of study for either MA degree or graduate certificate should also be submitted to the Registrar.

Advisement

Students enrolled in a degree or certificate program are assigned an Academic Advisor by the Academic Dean’s Office.  Students must meet with their assigned advisor at least once each semester to review their academic progress, to plan for semester registration and to obtain their advisor’s signature on each semester’s registration.  Students desiring to change their assigned advisor must request this from the Academic Dean’s Office. 

Transfer of Credits

Students may request transfer of credits from another accredited institution of higher education, subject to the following conditions:

• Courses were taught at the graduate level receiving a grade of “B” or above whose content and critical method is comparable to theology and ministry courses at the Union 
• Courses were completed ordinarily within ten (10) years of the request 
• Credits may not exceed one-third (1/3) of the total credits required for the degree or certificate awarded by the Union (see Academic Residency Requirement above) and
• Credits may not exceed one-half (1/2) of those total credits used to satisfy requirements for a degree awarded by another institution.
  

Requests should be submitted to the Registrar for approval coordination with the respective department(s) and then for posting to the student's academic record.

Sharing of Union Credits

Students may use Union credits in different programs (degree and/or certificate).  The credit allocation will depend upon an academic audit of the programs involved and their completion status at the time a formal program request is made. [Note: Students may NOT use Union credits as substitutes for admission credit requirements.

Probation and Suspension

To be awarded a degree or certificate, students must maintain a   Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0.  Students who receive in one semester one or more “C+” (or below) grade or whose GPA falls below 2.9 may be placed on academic probation.  Students already on probation who receive more than one “C+” (or below) grade in the following semester may be suspended from their program.  Students who have been suspended may not register for further courses without the written permission of the Academic Dean.  Students may be re-instated from suspension after a formal review by the Academic Dean.  Student candidates for ordination who have been suspended from a program may continue their theological studies on a non-matriculated basis, if permitted by the Academic Dean.

Integrity of Course Work

Students are required to comply with standards of academic integrity in completing course and program requirements.  Actions not consistent with these standards are normally adjudicated according to the Student Code of Discipline.  

Registration

Initial Registration

• Returning students must submit their registration form during the published two-week period scheduled in:

• November for the Spring terms
• April for the Fall and Summer terms

• Other students may register until the first day of class.
• Returning students submitting registrations after the announced deadline may be subject to a Late Registration fee of $25.
• Students from the member schools of the Washington Theological Consortium should register for Union courses through their home school.

Changing Registration

• Changes include adding or dropping a course, changing course status or changing a class section.  “Drop” classifies a change action submitted within the first four weeks of the semester.  Withdraw” classifies an action submitted after the four-week period ends (see also section on Grading).
• Students already registered may add courses until the end of the second (2nd) week of class.
• Students may change from “audit” to “credit” status after the second (2nd) class session only with the written approval of the instructor and completion of the course syllabus requirements.
• Students may not withdraw or change to audit after the third (3rd) last class session of the course.
• Changes are subject to financial and other existing academic policies and procedures.

Course Enrollment Limits/Priority

• Courses may have registration limits because of instructor requirements or space constraints. 
• When the number of registrations for a course section exceeds the assigned limit, the registrations will be prioritized for a given section, as follows:  1) degree students in the final year or semester of study needing the course to graduate; 2) degree students needing to comply with a degree course sequence; 3) degree students needing the course for mandated program requirements; 4) other degree and certificate students; 5) audit students;  6) Consortium students.

Course Registration Limit-Semester

Students may not register for more than 4 courses per semester.  One routine exception is the MDIV 2nd-year Spring semester. Otherwise, students must obtain the signed approval of the Academic Dean on the registration form.

Class Attendance

Class attendance requirements are provided by each instructor during the first class session; these are subject to school holidays and cancellations. 

Pre-requisites

Certain courses cite one or more other courses as pre-requisites.  A pre-requisite is mandatory and must be satisfied before registering for the desired course.  A pre-requisite may be waived only with the signature approval of the course instructor, either on the registration form or by email to the Registrar.  Registration forms without the approved waiver will automatically be returned to the student.

Study Options

Other than regular class attendance, two other study options may be used to complete a course:  by reading course literature or by completing an independent study project.  These options are available primarily for courses used as electives and only with approval of the instructor, Department Chair and Academic Dean. [See governing instruction for each option] 

Auditing a Course

Students who register to audit a course are expected to demonstrate course proficiency although not to the same level of work required when taking a course for credit.  An audited course does not affect the total credits or quality points and ordinarily is not listed on a student’s transcript.

Course in Another Faith Tradition

MDIV degree students are required to complete a “course in another religious tradition” as part of their program, normally accomplished by registering for a course at one of the Consortium schools in a faith tradition other than Catholicism.  Selected courses taught at the Union and other Catholic member schools may qualify.

Consortium

Eligibility

Only those students formally enrolled in a degree or certificate program are eligible to participate in registering for courses in member Consortium schools. 

Authorized Courses

Only those courses listed by the host school on the Consortium website are authorized for cross-registration.  Students wishing to register for non-listed courses at any Consortium school must register and pay tuition directly through the host school.

Multiple Course Load

• Registering for two courses at the same Consortium school requires the approval signature of the Union’s Academic Dean on the registration form.  
• Registering for three or more courses at a combination of Consortium schools requires the approval signature of the Union’s Academic Dean on the registration form.  

Core Course Substitution

A Consortium course may NOT be used to fulfill a Union core course requirement unless approved in writing by the Union’s Department Chair and Academic Dean before submitting a registration form.

Credit Hours/Grade Acceptance

The grade and number of credits assigned to the course by the host school will be accepted and recorded on the student’s transcript; no transfer of credits is required.  If, however, the course is graded on Pass/Fail basis, then the Union’s Academic Dean must approve the course in advance of registration.  

Academic Calendar of Member Schools

In registering for Consortium courses, students should pay close attention the host school’s academic calendar for the beginning and ending dates of the semesters as they may vary significantly from the Union’s calendar.

Registration

Registration (initial and changes) for Consortium courses should be submitted using the regular Union form and process.  No separate Consortium forms are required, since the registration is processed between school Registrars. 

Incomplete Courses

Consortium courses that are not completed by a Union student are governed by the host school’s policy and/or process for requesting and resolving the unfinished course.  Whatever is the host school policy for incomplete courses, the period for a Union student may not exceed two semesters after the course ended. 

Grades

Grading/Quality Point Scale

Letters are used for assigning grades to courses taken for credit (not for audit).  The letter grade and the  “+ or –“ modifiers are categorized and assigned quality point values as follows:

• Excellent work

  A     4.0
  A-   3.7

• Good work
  B+   3.3
  B     3.0
  
  
• Marginal Work
  B-   2.7
  
  
• Poor work
  C+  2.5
  C     2.0
  
  
• Failing Work
  F     0.0

Other grades or notations are as follows:

• P (Pass) indicates the successful completion of certain courses (i.e. supervised ministries, pastoral internship experiences, seminars) and other degree requirements.
• F (Fail) indicates failure of a course.  Students who fail a required course must repeat and pass the course.  Students who fail a pre-requisite course must pass the course before registering for the desired course.   When a failed course has been successfully repeated, the failed grade remains on the student’s record, but is not computed in the grade point average.  In exceptional cases, students may be permitted to repeat the course by taking an equivalent course at another accredited institution, if approved by the Department Chair and the Academic Dean. 
• W (Withdrawal) indicates a withdrawal from a course submitted between the 5th week of class and the mid-term date, as stated in the academic calendar.  WP or WF (Withdrawal Passing or Failing) may be assigned after the mid-term date, if the Academic Dean approves in writing a student’s withdrawal.
• I (Incomplete) indicates unfinished coursework and is assigned at the option of the instructor to accommodate emergency circumstances encountered by the student.  The final grade must be submitted by the instructor no later than eight (8) weeks after the semester course ends; the specific date is listed in the academic calendar.  Students must ensure that work is provided to the instructor in sufficient time for the instructor to review and assign the grade.  Three (3) weeks before the due date, the Registrar will send a reminder notice by email to the affected students and instructors.  If the grade is not reported by the specified due date, the Registrar will automatically post an "F" grade to the student's record.

Grade Adjustment

Official grades cannot be changed unless the instructor consults the student and provides written justification to the Academic Dean for decision.  If grade is approved for change and officially recorded, no further appeal is allowed.