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New freshmen and transfer students are required to attend the orientation session scheduled just before the start of their first semester at Calvary. This time is used to inform them of College policies and regulations, to introduce them to the faculty, to register them for their first semester of classes, and to provide opportunity to socialize with fellow students. The Orientation Fee charged for this at registration covers the cost of the sessions and social activities.

Students are classified as being either degree students, those seeking a degree or certificate, or as non-degree students, those taking classes to satisfy requirements at another college or for other personal reasons.

Degree students are classified according to the number of credit hours they have earned:

It is assumed that all students enrolled at Calvary have done so for the primary purpose of learning. As such, students are expected to refrain from those actions that contradict this purpose and which would jeopardize their Christian character and testimony.

A normal academic load is 16 credit hours per semester. A minimum of 32 credit hours per year for four years is required for a student to earn a degree in a professional major requiring 128 credit hours. Some majors require more than the minimum 128 credit hours. Students desiring to enroll for more than 18 credit hours in a semester are required to obtain the written approval of the Registrar and should have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above.

Academic recognition is given to students who have earned 12 or more credit hours from Calvary in any given semester. The Dean's List for each semester is composed of those students who achieve a 4.000 semester grade point average. The Honor Roll is made up of those students who achieve a semester grade point average of at least 3.500 but less than 4.000.

Students are responsible for on-time fulfillment of all assignments made by professors. Grades may be reduced for late work. Assignments are to be completed according to accepted standards for research, investigation, reporting, spelling, organization, style, grammar, neatness, and originality.

All students, regardless of classification, are expected to attend all scheduled meetings of classes for which they are registered. For traditional college classes, a student missing more than the equivalent of two weeks of a scheduled course may be penalized up to one full letter grade; a student missing more than the equivalent of three weeks of a course automatically receive an EA (excessive absences) or failing grade for the course. One absence will be assessed for every three times the student is absent from a class for a total of 10 minutes or less (i.e., for being tardy, for leaving early, or for leaving for a time in the middle of a class). Students who are absent from a class for more than 10 minutes will be assessed an absence for that class. Classes missed the day before and/or after vacations and holidays are counted as double absences.

Some classes meet for less than 16 weeks. The above policy will be prorated based upon the actual meetings schedule of the class. For example: If a one hour class was scheduled to meet for 2 class hours each week, it would end in 8 weeks. A student would be able to miss only one week of class or two class hours without being penalized for excessive absences. Three absences (one and a half weeks) would be all that is necessary to receive an EA or failing grade for the class.

One week of compassionate absence will be granted for the death of an immediate family member (i.e., spouse, child, parent, sister, brother, grandparent). The completing of missed assignments is left to the discretion of each professor in each class. Classes missed as part of the compassionate absence are not considered part of the general absence policy of the College.

In no case is the cessation of class attendance taken as intent to withdraw from a course. Students, however, who have missed or been absent for more than three weeks of a course may be administratively withdrawn from that course by the professor. If the date of the administrative withdrawal is prior to the last day to drop a class, the student will receive a W (withdrawal) grade. After that date, the student will receive a WF (withdraw failing) or failing grade. If allowed to stay on record until the end of the semester, the student missing more than three weeks of a course will receive an EA (excessive absences) or failing grade.

Student appeals for exceptions to these policies are to be submitted in writing to the Academic Dean or Registrar for consideration by the Academic/Curriculum Committee.

Auditing a class is open to any degree student currently enrolled in a class for credit. Auditors attend class under the regular class attendance policies. They are not required to take examinations, quizzes, or do other projects that may be assigned. At the discretion of the professor, auditors do not participate in class discussions or have assignments graded. Academic credit is not received and hours are not computed in the grade point average. A class being audited may not be changed to being taken for credit after the last day to add a class. Only regularly scheduled classroom courses may be audited and then only for the hours for which the course is scheduled. Not all courses are available for audit. Private lessons may not be taken for audit or personal enrichment. Students are to register for classes online, then go to the Registrar’s Office to request the class to be changed to audit status.

Taking a class for personal enrichment follows the same guidelines as auditing a class with two exceptions. First, the person does not have to be a degree student. Second, attending the class does not generate an academic record. Therefore, there are no transcripts for classes taken for personal enrichment. A certificate of attendance may be issued at the end of the course for those persons successfully completing the course for personal enrichment. Please note that a non-degree student cannot pay the degree student rate for personal enrichment, but rather must pay the rate for someone who is not a student.

The College Life Seminar course is designed to help students adjust to college life, to gain an understanding of the philosophy and goals of the College, to learn how to obtain the most out of their courses, and to learn to organize their time to accomplish their objectives in each course. The second part of this course is designed to teach students how to live according to a biblical worldview. All students new to Calvary are required to take this course. Students on academic probation may be required to retake this course. There are only three ways that a student may not be required to take the first half of this course at Calvary when it is offered:

1. By having earned credits at another college in an equivalent class which will transfer to Calvary.
2. By having earned a minimum of thirty credit hours at another college with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 (on a 4.0 system).
3. By having the Dean of Students’ permission to waive or to postpone the class.

Students who have transferred in and have previously taken a course similar to College Life, will take GE101 which centers on teaching a biblical worldview. The Truth Project, classroom assignments, and discussion will help lead the student to develop a view of the world that is biblical.

All course offerings are subject to enrollment minimums. The College reserves the right to cancel classes for which there is insufficient enrollment.

Students are to complete all lower-level course requirements before taking higher-level ones. Thus, a student's 100-level course requirements are to be completed before the student takes 200-level courses, 200-level courses are to be taken before 300-level courses, and so on. When circumstances warrant, students may take courses in the next higher level while completing course requirements in a lower level. To take a course two or more levels higher than the student's class year, approval is to be obtained from the course professor, the student's academic advisor, and the Academic Dean.

One hour of credit is granted for each hour (50-minute period) a class meets per week for a semester, except for some physical education activity courses (offered over the entire course of the semester) which meet two hours (two 50-minute periods) per week for each hour of credit granted. A semester lasts for 16 weeks (15 weeks for classes and the last week for final examinations).

All degree students are required to declare a professional major by the end of the second semester of their sophomore year (or upon entrance for junior and senior transfer students). A student is required to be accepted into a major in order to graduate.

Students who have not declared a professional major do not qualify for and will not be able to receive federally funded financial aid.

Faculty give final examinations in accordance with the schedule issued by the Registrar. Changes or exceptions to this schedule may only be made with the approval of the Academic Dean and notification of the Registrar.

Students are to take their final exams during final exam week according to the schedule issued by the Registrar except for a compassionate absence occurring during final exams. Students with three or more final exams scheduled on one day may, at the discretion of the professor, arrange with the Registrar to take all but two of the exams during a scheduled exam period on another day. Appeals for exceptions to this policy are to be submitted in writing to the Academic Dean or Registrar at least one week prior to the final exam(s) for consideration by the Academic/Curriculum Committee. Approvals will be granted only for serious reasons and are charged the $15 fee for each exam changed. The maximum charges for a semester will be $45.

Grades shall become final six weeks after the end of the semester in which they were earned. Appeals regarding a grade given in a particular class should first be made to the professor, and then, if satisfactory terms are not reached, further appeal may be made to the Academic Dean (within the six weeks following the end of the semester). Appeals to the Academic Dean must be in writing.

Unavoidable circumstances occasionally make it necessary for a student to request additional time to complete course work for a class after the end of the semester. If it is necessary, the following takes place:

1. The student completes the Request for an Extension to Complete Course Work form and obtains the required approval signatures.
2. All course work is to be completed and submitted to the professor no later than six weeks after the end of the semester.
3. By faculty action, the course grade awarded is lowered one letter grade; exceptions may only be made by the Academic/Curriculum Committee.
4. A grade of “I” (incomplete) is assigned as the course grade until a grade change is processed after completion of the course work. An “I” is not figured in the grade point average.

The Calvary grade point average (GPA) is calculated using the following formula: GPA equals total grade points from courses taken at Calvary divided by total credit hours. Total grade points is the sum of the products of the credit hours of each course taken at Calvary times the grade point value of the grade earned in each course (see Grading System above for grade point values). Total credit hours are the sum of the credit hours taken at Calvary. Pass/Fail courses do not affect total credit hours for the purpose of calculating the GPA. The Calvary GPA is calculated using only courses taken for credit at Calvary. Transfer credit does not affect the Calvary GPA.

When a course is repeated for credit, normally both grades are posted and calculated in the semester and cumulative grade point averages. However, under specific circumstances, a student may elect to repeat a course and use only the second grade for calculating the cumulative GPA. The first grade will continue to be printed on the transcript, but in a section for repeated courses, and will not affect the section used to record the degree/certificate program. The student may repeat up to a maximum of 24 credit hours. Only D’s and F’s may be repeated under this option. In no case will credit toward a degree be given twice for the same class. The student must choose to elect this option by filling out the appropriate form in the Registrar’s Office. The repeated class must be taken in the same format as the original format (repeat an intensive course with an intensive course, etc.) or with an equivalent course in the traditional format.

Individualized courses are exceptional arrangements permitting course credit to be earned for a non-classroom study or for a regularly scheduled classroom course to be taken for additional credit or less credit. For a non-classroom study, the student is to be at least a junior with a cumulative Calvary GPA of 3.000 or above. For a regularly scheduled classroom course for extra credit, the student is to be at least a sophomore with a cumulative Calvary GPA of 2.750 or above. Any student may take a regularly scheduled course for less credit. No more than eight semester hours of non-classroom study or extra credit taken in conjunction with a regularly scheduled course may be used to meet graduation requirements. Written approval for each study is required from the Registrar, the student’s academic advisor, and the professor overseeing and grading the study as well as the Academic Dean.

A proficiency examination is a course examination covering the content of a subject or course in which the student is knowledgeable. Approval from the Registrar is required in order to take the exam. Upon successfully passing the exam and upon the recommendation of the professor administering the exam, the requirement for that course is waived. No credit is granted for the waived course, but an elective course may be taken to make up the required credit hours.

During the first days in the class EN111 Grammatical Analysis (3 credit hours), students are given a proficiency examination. Approval from the Registrar is not required to take this exam. If the exam is passed with a high enough score, the course is waived for that student. The three hours that are waived will be added to the elective requirements of the general education area.

Enrollment in a class is not official until the proper registration forms have been processed through the Registrar's Office and all financial obligations have been paid, or approved arrangements for payment have been made in the Financial Aid Office and Cashier’s Office. A student will be recorded as absent from class until he/she is officially registered. After the first two weeks of the semester, if the student is still not officially registered, the student will be administratively withdrawn from school and asked to leave.

No course may be added after the end of the first week of classes. Courses may be dropped through the ninth week of classes without any academic penalty. Courses may also be changed from being taken for credit to audit through the ninth week of classes. Students withdrawing or being dismissed from a class or school after the ninth week of classes are assigned “WP” (withdrawn passing) or “WF” (withdrawn failing) grades.

Students who maintain a cumulative grade point average equal to or greater than 2.000 will be considered to be making satisfactory progress. The academic status of these students is “Good Standing.” All students receiving an academic warning or who are on academic probation because of low grades are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the Learning Center. Calvary has provided the Learning Center to help students be successful in their academic pursuits.

Academic Warning

Students who earn a semester GPA that is lower than 2.000 while maintaining a cumulative GPA above 2.000 will receive an academic warning. Continued performance of this quality may result in academic probation, but their academic status is “Warning.”

Academic Probation

Students whose cumulative grade point average falls below a 2.000 at any time will have earned the academic status of “Probation.”

Probationary students are subject to academic limitations and restrictions on extracurricular activities such as athletics, drama, and musical groups. No student on academic probation may suit up for athletic games or travel with the team. However, they may practice with the team. Students on probation are not eligible for Calvary scholarships and may not be eligible for federally funded financial aid. They also may not be a Resident Assistant.

The academic load of probation students will be limited to:

12 hours for students entering on probation

12 hours for students with a cumulative GPA from 1.500 to 1.999

9 hours for students with a cumulative GPA from 1.000 to 1.499

6 hours for students with a cumulative GPA below 1.000

Students placed on academic probation may be required to enroll in the course GE100 College Life Seminar. They may have to enroll in this course each semester until their term GPA rises above 2.000.

Academic Suspension

Students who earn academic probation for two consecutive semesters at Calvary will have earned the academic status of “Suspension.” Also, new students who are accepted on academic probation and fail to earn at least a 1.000 cumulative GPA will be placed on academic suspension. Any student on academic suspension will not be allowed to enroll at Calvary for one semester. When a student re-enrolls, the student will be on probation.

Academic Dismissal

Any student reenrolling at Calvary after academic suspension, who fails to earn at least a 2.000 semester GPA for the semester in which the student returns, will have earned the academic status of “Dismissal.” A student academically dismissed from Calvary will not be allowed to continue at Calvary. Only if the student earns a minimum of 12 transferable credits at another accredited college or university, will he/she be considered for reenrollment at Calvary.

Students are responsible to see that all courses are taken according to the program requirements specified for the student’s professional major and that all degree requirements are met. An academic advisor is available to provide guidance concerning academic programs and to verify the accuracy of course selections, but the ultimate responsibility for knowing program requirements and proceeding to satisfy those requirements in an orderly and timely manner is the student's.

Course Work from Other Colleges

Students who have studied previously at another college(s) are required to have an official transcript sent to the Admissions Office from each college attended. Transcripts are official only if they are mailed directly to Calvary from the college. The Admissions Office will have the Registrar’s Office evaluate the transcripts to determine how many credits will transfer to Calvary. For an accurate evaluation, a major at Calvary must be declared.

Transfer credit may be granted for courses where: (1) a grade of C- or above was earned, (2) the courses are equivalent to and meet degree requirements for the major chosen at Calvary, and (3) the college is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education or one of the other institutional accrediting agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and listed by the American Council on Education in its publication Directory of Recognized Accrediting Agencies and Supporter of Accreditation.

Transfer credit does not affect the GPA calculated for courses taken at Calvary, which is calculated using only course work taken for credit at Calvary.

The transfer of course work from a college that is not accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized by CHEA is subject to: (1) the academic calendar, grading system, and the credentials of its faculty being evaluated and approved by Calvary's Registrar and/or the Academic/Curriculum Committee; (2) the courses being transferred meeting all other Transfer of Credit Policy requirements; and (3) the credits not being immediately transferred upon the student's entrance to Calvary but held in "escrow" until the student: (a) successfully completes 24 credit hours at Calvary; (b) has a minimum cumulative Calvary GPA of 2.500; (c) passes a minimum of three upper-level courses (courses numbered in the three- and four-hundreds); and, if applicable, (d) passes at least one course from the Biblical Education, General Education, and Professional Education divisions.

Distance Learning Courses

College-level correspondence, external studies, or online courses are to meet the same transfer credit requirements as other transfer courses. A maximum of nine semester hours of college-level distance learning courses may be used to meet graduation requirements, with the exception of the Non-Traditional Department degrees. External Study courses taken through Calvary are not included in this category. All official transcripts are to be received in the Registrar’s Office no later than December 31 for fall graduation and by February 1 for spring graduation, in order to participate in the May commencement ceremonies.

College-Level Examination Program

Full college credit may be earned through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). A maximum of 12 credit hours to meet degree requirements will be given for CLEP exams. The student’s account will be charged $50 per credit hour (the same as for auditing a course) for hours earned by CLEP exams. The minimum scores (or higher) as established by the American Council on Education (ACE) are required to earn credit. An official transcript from the CLEP program is required in order to be granted credit. For further information regarding these exams, contact the Registrar's Office at Calvary or write CLEP for:

Information:

The College-Level Examination Program

P.O. Box 6601

Princeton, NJ 08541-6601

609-771-7865

Transcripts:

CLEP Transcript Service

P.O. Box 6600

Princeton, NJ 08541-6600

609-771-7865

The Calvary Bible College CLEP school identification code is 6331.

Advanced Placement Program

Calvary awards credit for satisfactory scores on Advanced Placement (AP) program examinations. A maximum of 12 credit hours to meet degree requirements will be given for AP exams. The student’s account will be charged $50 per credit hour (the same as for auditing a course) for hours earned by AP exams. A minimum score of 3 (or higher) is required. An official transcript from the AP program is required in order to be granted credit. AP credit will be accepted only in the first two semesters of enrolling at Calvary. For further information regarding the AP exams, contact a high school counseling office or the Registrar's Office at Calvary.

Educational Experiences in the US Armed Services

Calvary accepts for credit recommended hours assessed for military training as the hours fit with the applicant's degree program at Calvary. The Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experience in the Armed Services, published by the American Council on Education, is used to determine course and credit-hour equivalence.

While Enrolled at Calvary Bible College

Students desiring to transfer course work to Calvary by completing course work elsewhere while they are enrolled at Calvary are to obtain approval through the Registrar's Office before beginning that course work. This applies to students who are pursuing a degree in a non-traditional format as well as those taking courses traditionally.

Procedure for Withdrawal

Withdrawal during the semester is generally inadvisable. However, unavoidable circumstances occasionally make it necessary. If it is necessary for a student to withdraw, the following procedure is to be followed:

1. The matter should be discussed with the student's Academic Advisor and the Dean of Students.
2. A withdrawal form should be picked up in the Registrar's Office.
3. Clearance from the Student Deans, the student's Academic Advisor, the Library, the Business Office, and the Financial Aid Office are to be obtained, and the completed form returned to the Registrar's Office.

Students are on record until they complete all withdrawal procedures or are notified that by default they have withdrawn themselves. All pertinent school regulations are binding until withdrawal procedures have been completed or notification of withdrawal by default has been received from the College. In no case is the cessation of class attendance taken as intent to withdraw from school.

Procedure for Readmission

Students who do not maintain continuous enrollment in the College are required to apply for readmission through the Admissions Office. Students not enrolled for more than one semester are required to meet graduation requirements from the catalog in effect at the time they reenroll.

Students enrolling to complete the certificate program are required to complete all of the course requirements for the certificate at Calvary. Students enrolling to complete an associate's or bachelor's degree must complete 32 of their last 41 hours of credit toward the degree at Calvary, no matter how many credits may have been transferred from other colleges earlier in their program. Courses taken to meet program requirements that are not offered at Calvary, and therefore are taken at other schools, are exempt from this residency requirement (e.g., secondary education subject field courses and professional directed studies major courses). The student must still complete 32 hours at Calvary in order to receive a degree.

Appeals for exceptions to academic policies and regulations are to be submitted in writing to the Academic Dean, Registrar, or the Director of Non-Traditional Studies for consideration by the Academic/Curriculum Committee. The Academic Office or the Registrar's Office should be contacted regarding procedures and/or forms.