STUDENT HANDBOOK, 2007-2008
“For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young.” Proverbs 1:2-4
STUDENT HANDBOOK, 2007-2008
Dear Student
Introducing ETS
Academic Regulations
Examinations and other course requirements
Master of Theology Program
Doctor of Philosophy Program
Christian Counseling Department
Library
Disciplinary Procedures
Spiritual Life
Seminary Policies
School Personnel
Dear Student
It is a privilege to welcome you back for the 2007-2008 academic year at ETF. As you read the student handbook you will see a few changes. Please take some time to read through it. Perhaps the largest change you will see is that both the oversight of chapel and practical ministry are no longer a part of the Student Dean’s office. Practical ministry and chapel are both being coordinated by Prof. Thellman this year.
What then does the student dean do? I think that the office is defined by a way of being rather than a multitude of tasks (although there are those too!). I will walk beside you as we are together on a pilgrimage through this world. As we walk we talk, not only of mundane things, but also of divine matters. We will need to remind each other of why we are gathered together at this place and time. We need to reassure each other that we have heard whispers of grace that promise life and love. We need to extend to each other mutual love and respect. In truth we need only one rule at ETF and Jesus said it well: “These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:17). If we cannot offer love within our own community we will certainly not be able to offer it to the world.
We are gathered here because we have a common mission albeit with different roles: to equip the Church with qualified, educated lay and pastoral leaders of integrity and character so that the Church may fulfill with beauty, integrity, and power its commission to the world. I for my part will do whatever I can to help you succeed in your time of preparation. Do your best this year. You are not ultimately here to please professors or staff. You are here performing, as theologian Os Guinness puts it, for an audience of One. That audience is God. Because the task is high and your calling serious I am honored to walk beside you in the capacity of student dean.
Eric Titus
Student Dean
Introducing the Student Handbook
Wherever three or four are gathered together it is likely that two things are present: food and politics. In order to ensure harmonious living and to reduce political conflict as much as possible, this small tract has been thoughtfully produced for you. It tells you about your programs of study, your living arrangements, the arcane and mysterious secrets of make-up exams, library policies, the grading system, and the procedures involved if you find yourself inexorably linked to a violation of codified behavior or policy. We trust that the guidelines presented herein will be of assistance in helping everyone to work and learn together well. Read it. It’s not Harry Potter, but you may find the information useful.
Introducing ETS
At ETS we are not merely an academic institution, but we are also a community.Through the generous gifts of others, both single and married students have the privilege of living on campus in newly refurbished dormitory rooms at minimal cost.We share meals together three times a day in the cafeteria and we all share in the responsibility of maintaining the campus through work assignments. To keep costs as low as possible for students, each student and boarder must contribute twelve hours a week to various tasks. Your work is vital to keep the seminary functioning smoothly. At ETF, we not only work together, but worship together, as well. Students and staff come together and participate in chapel services as a way of growing together in the Lord. We also worship together in various local churches along with Christians from this area. All students are also involved in practical ministry training, which takes them to churches, orphanages, university campuses, Roma villages, and other places throughout the region. At ETS we learn to live together, study, work, worship and gain practical ministry experience in a variety of settings.
- ETS is a Christ-centered interdenominational and international community of students and scholars committed to an evangelical expression of Christian faith as described in the Lausanne Covenant
- ETS has a rich history and has prepared more than 30 generations of students, most of whom are currently working in significant and pioneering ministries.
- ETS is committed to:
- Academic Excellence
- Christian Spiritual Formation
- Relevance to Modern Society
- Multicultural Education
- Transdenominational Awareness.
Bologna Process
The Bologna process is an attempt to unify and to make consistent requirements, language, formatting, and programs in the EuropeanUniversity system that have heretofore been inconsistent across Europe, and therefore problematical. Bologna seeks consistency in primarily two ways: 1) a common understanding and practice of transferring credits (know as the European Credit Transfer System or ECTS), and 2) uniformity in the number of years required for degree completion. Many European schools, including ETF, have previously worked on a 4+2 system. This meant that it took on average four years for a student to complete a Bachelor’s degree, and then another two for a Master’s degree in the student’s area of study. Bologna converts this into a 3+2 system. The 3+2 system means that students complete a Master’s program in five years instead of six, and that a certification is issued after three instead of a Bachelors degree. ETF is a part of the Bologna process. Currently ETF has students under both the old system and the Bologna process.
Academic Regulations
Attendance
Students are required to attend class meetings of all courses. In extenuating circumstances, absence from any class may be excused by the professorin charge, provided the student presents, in writing, an acceptable reasonfor being absent and makes up the work missed to the satisfaction of the lecturer. Unexcused absences may affect the final course grade and unexcused absences exceeding 10% of the total number of lectures will result in failure of the course. Students with a legitimate reason for missing one lecture must speak with the lecturer. Students who have a legitimate reason for missing one or two complete days of lectures must present a request in writing (in advance unless it was a legitimate emergency) to the Academic Office. If more leave is necessary, students must present a petitionfor official permission to the academic office and ETS administration.
For 2 hour modular courses, there are 30 lectures (usually 3 per day). Attendance is based on attendance at each lecture, not on each day. So a student who misses the first lecture of the day four days in a row will fail the course. Unexcused late entries to or early exits from a lecture period will also be considered an unexcused absence for that lecture.
Resident students who fail a class for not attending lectures or fail to attend an exam must come before the disciplinary committee on the 2nd infraction and will be dismissed from the dorm on the third infraction.
Language Requirements
English
Passage of the ETF English Proficiency is an admissions requirement for all incoming students who are not native English speakers. Students who do not pass the Proficiency given in October are noted as having an English deficiency and are required to attend daily remedial English classes until they are able to pass the Proficiency. The English Proficiency is given at least three times a year: in October, January/February, and May/June.
Returning students are also required to pass the English Proficiency. Students who do not have a passing score recorded by the English Department or Registrar are required to take the Proficiency at least once every semester until a passing score is obtained. Those without a passing score are required to attend daily remedial English classes until they are able to pass the Proficiency. The English Proficiency is given at least three times a year: in October, January/February, and May/June.
The English Proficiency Exam for 2007-2008 will continue to be the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with some possible modifications. Students must achieve 550 points to pass. The test takes about two and half hours and includes four parts: listening, structure, reading comprehension and the Test of Written English. It is designed to provide an independent measurement of the ability of non-native English speakers to understand and use English in a college setting. The first English Proficiency will be administered on 2 October at 14:30 in the Red Classroom. Dates and times for future exams will be posted.
Remedial English classes will be held every day, Monday through Friday, in the afternoon. Placement will be determined by the scores on the English Proficiency exam given in October. New students will get no credit for these classes. Returning students may receive credit up to the maximum eight (8) credits allowed under their Bachelor of Theology degree programs.
English Composition classes are a required component for all new students; however, passage of the English Proficiency is a prerequisite. Returning students who have passed the English Proficiency may be allowed to take this new course at the discretion of the English Department.
Biblical languages
All first year students must take Beginning Greek and all second year students who have completed Greek must take Beginning Hebrew. Permission may be granted to take a Biblical language class in the third year for exceptional circumstances (for example, if a first year student first enrolled at ETS at the beginning of the 2nd semester) or if the student had failed the class and is given permission by the instructor and academic office to retake it. However, students in the 1st and 2nd year may not simply postpone Greek or Hebrew in order to take it in the third year.
Academic semesters
The academic year at the Evangelical Theological Seminary is divided into two semesters. The last week of each semester is reserved for exams, which were not taken during the semester. There are three breaks during the academic year: Christmas – twoweeks; Easter – one week and the summer holiday. On National Holidays there are no classes.
Examinations and other course requirements
Examinations
Final examinations must be taken at the time announced by the lecturer. For the morning modular lectures this will normally be in the first exam week following the lecture.For linear courses, exams will be given at the end of the course, at the discretion of the professor.
Rescheduling will be granted only for substantial reasons and only with the concurrence of the course professor and/or academic office. Computers or any other written materials are not allowed in the classroomswhile students are taking course examinations. Seats in the exam room for the modular lectures will be assigned by the academic office to each student. Once a student arrives in the exam room, there should be no speaking or other form of communication with other students. Exam monitors will be present if a student has any question or problem. These decisions were adopted for reasons of fairness to all students and to ensure securityof the examination process. Declining to take an exam after having looked at the exam questions counts as a failing grade.
Research papers
Research papers are written projects requiring substantial research and hence, for the modular lectures, are given more time beyond the two week lecture schedule to complete. Generally, the due date for Research papers (if assigned by the professor) will be the same as the exam. A student cannot enter the exam if he/she has not submitted their paper.The Academic Office reserves the right to change this date when necessary.
Other course requirements
Beyond the exam and/or research paper, each professor may make other requirements necessary to the successful passing of the course. These requirements should be clearly spelled out in the course syllabus. Work other than a research paper, or another special project determined by the professor, must be turned in by the completion of the class. Work not turned in by the due date will be considered a failing grade and will be applied to the final course grade according the grading criteria set by the professor. Students may turn in this other coursework late, if acceptable to the professor, but not later than the day of the exam. This late course work will, like a late paper, be subject to a substantial lowering of the grade which will then affect the final grade.
Implication of unfinished exams
A student will not be admitted to the next year with unfulfilled requirements in three or more classes save in exceptional circumstances and with a written explanation and request. The deadline for meeting this requirement is the exam week before the beginning of the new academic year (normally the final week of September). Exams during exam week must be taken at the times assigned in advance by the Academic Office (see below for this procedure) Other outstanding requirements, such as late research papers or other course work, must be turned in no later than 16:00 on the Friday of the exam week in June in order that there is sufficient time for evaluation. If students enter the new year with up to two outstanding exams, these courses must be satisfactorily completed by the exam week after the first semester. Otherwise, students will not be enrolled in the new semester. No courses will be permitted to be carried over into the year followingthe next. The missed year will have to be taken non-residentially, i.e. staying at home and traveling to ETS only for the purpose of takingexams and fulfilling other course requirements.
Lecturer’s signature procedure
The lecturer gives the first signature in the index upon the completion of the classes. He may decline to give it, if the student has not fulfilled the requirements of the professor (class assignmentsnot turned in, cominglate to class, unexcused absences). At his discretion, the lecturer may also penalizethe student by lowering the grade. The lecturer gives the second signature in the index upon the completion of all course requirements (papers,exam, and other assignments).If the visiting lecturer is unable to sign the index, the Academic Dean can sign it instead. A course entered in the index, but lacking one or two signaturesconstitutes an outstandingcourse and will be included in total number of outstanding courses at the end of the academic year.
Retakingexams, make-up exams, missed exams and late papers and coursework
If students are not satisfied with the grade of their exam or research paper or with the final grade of the course, they must inform the lecturer and the Academic
Dean about their intention to retake the exam or rewrite the paper within 48 hours after the final course grade has been announced. Final grades for the modular lectures will be posted on the Academic bulletin board across from the library and will be sent via email to the appropriate students on the fourth Monday after the due date of the final course requirement.
The second exam will be substantially different from the previous one and will cover the whole course. Bear in mind the following regulations regarding upgrading: If the original exam or paper grade is:- 1 or 2, the final grade may not be higher than 3; if the original grade is 3, the final grade may not be higher than 4; if the original grade is 4, the final grade may be 5.The student must inform the lecturer and the Academic Office about their intention to retake the exam or rewrite the paper when announced.In order to retake an exam they will fill in the form “Prijava za ispit” and give it to the Academic Dean’s assistant within 48 hours of the announcement of the final grade. The forms may be obtainedfrom the Registrar. Students who have not submitted the form properly will not be allowed to take the exam.These exams will be normally taken only during an appointed exam week before the start of the next semester. (Normally this is the first week of February; the week before graduation or the last week of September). Exceptions are colloquiums and short examinations, which need to be passed in order to make progress with the course. For these, the student must make a request to the lecturer. Visiting faculty will be asked to prepare a second exam to be administeredin one of the periods. Unexcused absences from the exam constitutea failure in the exam. A student may take each exam three times. The third exam is an oral exam taken before anETS faculty commission.