Each student is expected to attend every class session. Any absence may lead to loss of credit or dismissal from the school. A student who misses more than twenty (20%) percent of the classroom work shall not receive a grade for that class.
An incomplete may be granted to students who, because of special circumstances, are not able to complete the required work during a given session. To receive an incomplete, the student must submit the appropriate form (available from the COS office) and receive written permission from both the faculty member and the Director of the Emory COS School before the end of the session for which the incomplete is being requested. The completed work must be sent to and received by the instructor no later than 30 days after the last class. The instructor will send the grade and completed work to the Director. If the work is not received within 30 days of the last class session, the incomplete will automatically be changed to an "F".
In the event that you cannot attend the class as planned, you must contact the Course of Study School office at least 48 hours before the class. The registration fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. Students who register for Saturday School and attend only one or two weekend but do not complete the course, their conference will be charged the entire course fee. No credit hours will be earned for cancelled classes. Annual conferences will not be charged for students who register and cancel prior to the first day of each Summer School session.
The Emory Course of Study School retains the right to cancel any course that does not have the minimum number of students (8) registered six weeks before the first class meeting. Students will be notified immediately of cancelled classes, and every effort will be made to enroll the affected students in another class.
The academic records of the Emory Course of Study School are kept by the Director under the guidelines developed by the Division of Elders and Local Pastors and the General Council of Finance and Administration. A report of the progress of each student shall be sent to the Division of Elders and Local Pastors, where grades will be recorded on the student's permanent record. Copies of this permanent record will be sent to the Boards of Ordained Ministry by the Division of Elders and Local Pastors. Grade reports will also be sent to the appropriate Annual Conferences and to the students by the Emory COS School. If you need a transcript of all your academic work, you will need to contact the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry at 615.340.7416.
Grades reflect a professor’s evaluation of the quality and comprehension of a student’s work in a course. Grades give feedback to the student and to the organizations to which the student and professor are accountable.
Faculty members have the freedom to design assignments in a variety of ways in order to better “capture” an understanding of a student’s growing competence. Faculty members also have the freedom to assign numerical scales in line with the type of assignment (such as an exam) and desired outcomes of the course.
Course of Study grades are reported to the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, to the student’s conference local pastor registrar, and to the student. They are used by conferences, in combination with other factors, to determine “appointability” of a local pastor. To our knowledge, no annual conference gives credit for a grade less than a “C” (meaning they do not accept a “C-“) toward the completion of the Course of Study. If a COS student decides to attend Candler School of Theology, up to nine credits worth of courses in which a student has made a B or higher, are transferable as elective credit (although assigned an “S” rather than transferring the grade).
Assignments to be graded are designed to lead students toward the comprehension and accomplishment of specific outcomes. The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry establishes these outcomes for each course in the Course of Study.
Grade |
A |
B |
C |
D |
F |
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Comprehension |
Superior |
High |
Good |
Evidence of exposure |
Gives no evidence of exposure or understanding material |
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Ability to Interpret Material |
Consistently excellent and creative; superior ability to interpret material |
Good, but less evidence of ability to interpret |
Mix of strengths and weaknesses; moderate level of analysis and interpretation |
Inability to interpret material |
Incomprehensible |
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Written and Oral Assignments |
Strong and interesting; able to interpret theses and points of view of others in his or her own words. |
Interesting, exhibiting a high level of analysis and interpretation; theses are predictable or too broad; may not be fully supported |
Theses are too obvious or vague; introductions, conclusions are not very effective; grammar, word choice, and spelling errors present. |
Has not followed directions or has failed to present what has been asked for. Unclear or lacking thesis, arguments, and/or evidence. Extremely "quote dependent" |
Unreadable, unrecognizable or missing. Evidence of Plagiarism |
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Grammar, Spelling |
Clear, without errors in grammar, spelling, and diction |
Clear, without errors in grammar, spelling, and diction |
Contains some errors in grammar, word choice, and spelling |
Contains many errors in grammar, word choice, and spelling |
Indecipherable |
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Class Participation |
Contributes significantly and appropriately to growth and learning of whole class |
Contributes somewhat to the growth and learning of the whole class |
Speaks up in class occasionally, but contributes little to growth and learning of the class |
Student is present but does not participate |
Inappropriate, incomprehensible, or absent |
Violations of academic honor include any action by a student indicating dishonesty or lack of integrity in academic ethics. Violations in this category include, but are not limited to, cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating includes seeking, acquiring, receiving, or passing on information about the content of an examination prior to its authorized release or during its administration.
Cheating also includes seeking, using, giving, or obtaining unauthorized assistance in any academic assignment or examination.
Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s work as one’s own. This rule holds true for unpublished as well as published works, for information taken from the Internet, and for the work of other students. Students should be aware that plagiarism is actually a combination of lying (claiming that one has done certain work when one has not) and stealing (writers regard their work as their own property).
Studying together is allowed, but all written work submitted must be in the student’s own words. It is also permitted to have someone proofread written work before it is submitted to check for spelling and grammatical errors.
If a faculty member believes that a student has cheated or plagiarized, he or she needs to first inform the director or program coordinator of the Course of Study. If the offense occurs in pre-course work or during the Course of Study, a meeting of the Academic Honor Committee will be called. If the offense is discovered during the grading of final work after the class meetings have disbanded, the committee will be convened by conference call.
In the case of a first offense, the committee may recommend any of the following penalties depending on the severity of the offense:
If the student is guilty of a prior offense, the penalty will be much more severe and will result in one or a combination of:
For both first and second offenses, an email or letter will be sent to the student’s District Superintendent and Board of Ministry Representative alerting them to the Academic Honor Code violation.
The maximum number of courses a student may take in the Course of Study program, regardless of the school(s) attended is four courses per year. Under unusual circumstances, students may be granted permission to take additional courses with the combined approval of the Board of Ordained Ministry, the Director of the Course of Study School, and the Division of Elders and Local Pastors.
