Academic Policy

ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance is crucial to your success in the Pendleton Institute of Biblical Studies. When you miss class, you miss out on hearing and discussing critical information first-hand. We encourage you not to miss any classes, but if you must, we allow a maximum of 3 class absences in each semester. If you miss more than 3 classes you will receive a grade of incomplete, resulting in no credit for the course and you will be required to take the class again, at cost, to receive credit.

GRADING SYSTEM

A student’s work for any semester in a given subject is evaluated by the faculty member according to the following letter grades:

A - Excellent, outstanding accomplishment in mastering the subject.

B - Very Good, better-than-average accomplishment in mastering the subject.

C - Satisfactory, fulfills the requirements and has made acceptable progress towards mastering the

subject.

F - Failed, falls below the minimum standards of accomplishment and must be repeated to obtain

credit

GRADE POINTS

To provide a basis for averaging letter grades, the following grade point system is used (per credit):

A 4.00 C+ 2.30

A- 3.70 C 2.00

B+ 3.30 C- 1.70

B 3.00 F 0.00

B- 2.70

SCHOLASTIC HONORS

Honors at graduation are based on a student’s cumulative GPA and evidence of Christian character. Honors are not automatically granted to graduates. Honors are granted by the faculty and may be withheld or modified, based on the processing of final grades. The following guidelines are used to determine scholastic honors:

Summa Cum Laude 3.90 - 4.00

Magna Cum Laude 3.80 - 3.89

Cum Laude 3.70 - 3.79

Dean's List is GPA 3.7 or better

TRANSCRIPTS

The first transcript request for all students is free of charge. A $5.00 fee is required for each request thereafter. Students will not receive a copy of their requested transcript if they hold a balance on their account.

CHEATING

Cheating is any act (whether successful or attempted) in which a student is dishonest or seeks to gain an unfair advantage on an assignment, quiz, paper, examination, class, etc. Some common forms of cheating include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Using unauthorized material during an examination or other assignments.
Submitting an assignment in one or more classes completed by another student current or former.
Lying to an instructor in order to obtain an excused absence, extension on an assignment, makeup examination, admission to a class or program, etc.
Assisting others in academic misconduct.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is taking the ideas or words of another person and presenting them as one’s own whether intentional or unintentional. Intentional plagiarism is unethical and constitutes a serious infraction of academic policy. When the words or ideas of others are used, proper credit must be given either in a footnote or in the text.

Academic integrity requires students to be responsible and honest in the fulfillment of all of their academic work. Assignments, examinations, and other educational requirements are intended to foster student learning. Students are expected to submit original work and to use appropriate citation giving credit to the ideas or words of another person as well as refrain from cheating of any kind.

PENALTIES FOR ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

First Offense: Automatic failure of any and all assignments, quizzes, examinations, or class requirements in which academic misconduct occurred. The instructor of the course will notify the Academic Dean with explanation of the situation. Discretion is given to the Executive Committee to impose more strenuous penalties. The violation will remain on record and information concerning the incident will be communicated to all instructors.

Second Offense: Automatic failure of any and all assignments, quizzes, examinations, or class requirements in which academic misconduct occurred. The instructor of the course will notify the Academic Dean with explanation of the situation. Discretion is given to the Executive Committee to impose a more appropriate penalty with a minimum penalty of failure of a course and a maximum penalty of suspension or dismissal. A record of the violation goes into the student’s file. The Academic Dean will notify faculty of the results of this process.

STUDENT GRIEVANCE POLICY

It is the policy of the Pendleton Institute of Biblical Studies to provide an equitable system for the speedy and amicable resolution of problems between students and Institute faculty, staff, and administrators. If, during the course of study at the Pendleton Institute of Biblical Studies, a student encounters problems that require mediation for resolution, the following procedures have been instituted.

* Offenses against one another should be corrected with the individuals involved, as prescribed in Matt. 18:15-17

and Gal. 6:1-5.

For course-related issues, the individual should speak to the course instructor. If the problem is still unresolved, the student may petition the Assistant Dean of the Institute in writing. If an issue still exists after the Assistant Dean of the Institute addresses the matter, the student may submit a written petition to the President and Vice President of the Institute.

*For issues which are not course related, the student should first speak to the individual(s) involved. If resolution is

not achieved at that level, appeals must be made, in writing, through the following channels:

First, to the Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Affairs
Second, to the President and Vice President of the Institute

At each level, evidence will be required of sincere attempts to seek resolution, following the steps outlined above. Decisions of the President and Vice President will be considered final.