Academic Policies
Academic Advising
Students are offered counsel regarding their programs, courses, academic skills and academic challenges. The Academics Co-Ordinator or the Registrar are consulted about programs. Instructors are consulted about specific courses. Students who are new to the college will meet with Admissions personnel for an entrance appointment and course selection.
Academic Freedom
As an institution of higher education, Emmanuel Bible College is committed to the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge—governed by the commitment to the Christian Scriptures and by explicitly stated tenets of faith.
Under these authorities, faculty and students are free to engage in the pursuit, advocacy, and dissemination of truth. It is recognized that various propositions may be deemed true or false in the process of this academic activity, especially as assumptions are examined and alternative positions are considered. It is also recognized that faculty and students will at times advocate for a particular view or position that differs from the majority while teaching or studying at Emmanuel. However, such advocacy must remain respectful and be aligned with the college’s commitment to Scripture and statement of faith, ensuring that theological vision of the college is upheld.
Academic Load
A full academic load is 15 semester hours. The semester-hour is the basis upon which credit is reckoned at Emmanuel. A typical course at Emmanuel is weighted at 3 one-credit hours, though Ministry Formation practicums and Seminars are two one-credit hours and 1 one-credit hours respectively. For every class hour, a student should expect to spend two hours in out-of-class study—though this expectation will vary depending upon the student’s ability.
Students enrolled in full-time studies should expect 12-13 hours of in-class instruction, one hour of chapel attendance, and eight hours of Ministry Formation (inclusive of practicum hours and reporting).
At present, students accepted into the Certificate program must enroll full-time unless explicit permission is granted by the Academic Council.
Academic Offences
As a higher-education institution that calls students and staff to integrity in all areas of life, Emmanuel Bible College upholds a high standard of academic honesty. Therefore, all forms of academic offence are not tolerated, including plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized removal of material from the library, classroom misconduct, and tampering with computer programming.
Plagiarism is the written or formally spoken use of another person’s writing or ideas without the appropriate acknowledgement. Plagiarism also includes the student’s submission of the same academic paper in two different courses without permission. Cheating also includes the enabling of others to cheat.
When proven, plagiarism and cheating will receive penalties levied in relation to the seriousness of the infraction, and may include re-doing an assignment, failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the college for a term or longer, or expulsion. Disciplinary action will be determined by the faculty and Academics Co-Ordinator and, when necessary, the Executive Director of the college.
Appealing a Grade
Students are permitted to appeal a grade assigned to an examination or assignment up to six months after a semester of study is completed. Before that deadline, a student may submit a re-evaluation request by contacting the instructor. If necessary, the Academics Co-Ordinator and Executive Director of the College may also be consulted. No appeal can be made beyond this six-month period.
Class Attendance
Students must attend all classes they are registered in. Excused absences are normally permitted only for illness and unavoidable emergencies. An academic penalty of 6% per class missed may be applied to the attendance grade for all unexcused absences. Students missing more than 3 classes (or 25% of the class time) in a course (regardless of reason) will automatically fail the course. Students wishing an exception from this policy due to extenuating circumstances must meet with the Academic Dean to document and verify those circumstances in writing. All decisions regarding exemption must be communicated in writing to all relevant parties.
All students are expected to attend classes in person, unless the class is offered online and the student has enrolled to attend online. For those enrolled to attend in person, joining the class online is reserved for those with accommodations or extenuating circumstances, such as illness or extreme weather. If you are requesting to join your class online, please fill out the Request to Attend a Class Online form [Request to Attend a Class Online – Fill out form] by 6 pm the day before your class. If you make a request after this time, and it is approved, your instructor will do their best to arrange for you to join your class online, but we cannot guarantee it will be possible.
Course Assignments
As a general policy, all assignments submitted more than 5 days late—Saturday and Sunday excluded—will be graded at 0% (after a total of 7 days). Students with an educational accommodation may request additional time to complete their assignments, depending on the information recorded in their Student Profile. However, the additional time granted to complete their assignments typically does not exceed 10 weekdays. In extraordinary circumstances, or in the case of an emergency, a student may request an extension for an assignment. This must first be discussed with the instructor, who may grant an extension at their discretion.
All assignments automatically receive a 5% penalty for each day they are late. For students with educational accommodations, all assignments automatically receive a 5% penalty for each day they are late after the accommodation period. The late submission of any assignment by any student must be approved by the instructor or Academic Dean, and non-submitted assignments will result in a 0%. All major assignments must be completed and submitted to pass the course, and at least 50% of all weekly assignments.
Grading System
The following grading system is used:
Meaning of Letter Equivalency
A – Exceptional performance with strong evidence of original thinking, good organizational, analytical and critical capacities, and a superior grasp of the subject matter.
B – Good performance with evidence of grasp of the subject matter, analytical ability, and a reasonable understanding of relevant issues.
C – Intellectually adequate performance reflecting profit from the college experience and general understanding of the subject matter.
D – Minimally acceptable performance with some evidence of familiarity with the subject matter.
F – Inadequate performance with only some knowledge of the subject matter.
AUD – Audited course; no academic credit
Repeating a Course
When a student successfully repeats a course, the lower grade is not factored into the Accumulated Grade Point Average (AGPA).
Incomplete Courses
A grade of “Incomplete” may be assigned at the instructor’s discretion when any major or significant assignment in a course has not been done due to physical illness, death in the family, or emergency. Such assignments must be completed within six weeks after that semester's last examination to avoid academic penalties.
Student Accommodations
Students experiencing short-term personal crises should contact Student Services personnel who will contact the Executive Director & Academics Co-Ordinator regarding special accommodation.
Students requesting long-term academic accommodations must forward a recent IEP (completed within the last 2-3 years), or a completed Psycho- Educational Assessment to the Academic Co-Ordinator. Complete information on this process is detailed in the College document ‘Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities,’ available from the Registrar’s Office.
Use of Electronic Devices and Artificial Intelligence
Emmanuel Bible College has a policy of grace and respect when it comes to general behavior and the use of technology in the classroom. Students are expected to act in a manner that contributes to, rather than detracts from, the learning environment. Therefore, during classes, technology use will be limited to course material and other activities determined by the instructor. Distracting classroom behavior including misuse of technology (e.g. social media, emailing, texting, web browsing, work for other classes, etc.) may, at the very least, affect a student’s participation grade. Serious or continued use may lead to further disciplinary action at the instructor's discretion.
Regarding the use of AI programs such as ChatGPT, students may use these as part of the research process. However, direct copying from AI programs is strictly prohibited, and students may not use AI without proper citation. Moreover, when using information generated by AI, students must verify it against other sources and cite those sources in accordance with Chicago/Turabian formatting. The use of AI is not permitted for weekly reflections on readings and theological reflection in general. The misuse of AI constitutes a form of plagiarism and academic misconduct and will be treated accordingly.