Academic Policies and Procedures
Policies and Procedures
Credit Hour Definitions
HJI uses two definitions, “regular face-to-face instruction” and “time on task,” for a credit hour following NYS Education Department guideline. HJI uses various forms of course delivery. The coverage of course contents and assignments are the same regardless of the form of delivery for each credit.
Regular Face-to-Face On-Site Courses
Each course at HIJ is assigned a specific number of credits. A credit hour is defined based on New York State Department of Education guidelines. One credit “requires at least 15 hours (of 50 minutes each) of instruction and at least 30 hours of supplementary assignments” (Glossary of Program Registration Terms | New York State Education Department (nysed.gov))
Online Courses (synchronous or asynchronous)
HIJ uses “time on task” for online courses following the New York State Department of Education guidelines, which reads “Time on task is the total learning time spent by a student in a college course, including instructional time as well as time spent studying and completing course assignments (e.g., reading, research, writing, individual and group projects.)” (Distance Education Program Policies | New York State Education Department (nysed.gov))
One credit requires 45 hours of “time on task” as defined above.
Hybrid Courses
Hybrid is a format that combines multiple modes of delivery among face-to-face on-site, face-to-face on zoom (synchronous online), and asynchronous online.
For example, a Flipped Class is a typical hybrid course. All lectures are pre-recorded on an online platform (asynchronous). Face-to-face on-site or face-to-face online are dedicated to discussion only. Students are required to do all assignments both online and face-to-face.
HJI uses the “time on task” definition described in the online course section above and one credit requires 45 hours of “time on task.”
Intensive Courses
Regular courses are taught in a 15-week format. Any course less than 15-weeks is an intensive. HJI uses the “time on task” definition and one credit requires 45 hours of “time on task.”
For example, the Doctor of Ministry program uses an on-site intensive format. Each course requires pre-intensive and post-intensive assignments which require considerable work in each student’s ministry context. HJI uses the “time on task” definition and one credit requires 45 hours of “time on task.”
Independent Study & Directed Study
One credit requires 45 hours of “time on task.”
Field Education
Students are required to do 200 hours of supervised work for 3 credits and 400 hours for 6 credits.
(See Field Education Handbook 2022-23 for details.)
Clinical Pastoral Education
4 credits are assigned to one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, which requires 400 hours of supervised work normally in a hospital setting.
A student may request transfer of a limited number of credits for courses taken in graduate programs at other institutions accredited by an agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education, or in the case of international institutions, by an agency that is recognized by its national government or equivalent. The maximum number of transfer credits that can be accepted are:
- For the M.Div. Program: 24
- For the M.A. in Religious Studies Program: 9
- For the M.A. in Peace Studies Program: 9
- For the D.Min. Program: 9
Credit from academic courses will be accepted for the Master programs if:
- The course covered the same material as a course offered at the School; and
- The student has earned a minimum grade of C with full credit.
- The maximum number of credits for a course transferred is the number of credits HJI awards for the corresponding course.
Credits will be accepted for the Doctoral program if:
- The course was given on the doctoral-level;
- The student has earned a minimum grade of B with full credit; and
- The credits must have been earned within the last ten years of admittance to the D.Min. program at HJI.
Transfer credits normally apply to credit earned prior to attending HJI. Students enrolled at HJI who interrupt their studies to attend another school may not transfer those credits without prior approval from the Provost. Transfer credits should be considered upon entry into a degree program. Transfer credit request forms and additional information are available from the Registrar.
Students may interrupt their program of study for a leave of absence by filing a request with the Registrar. Normally a leave of absence is granted for one term only. Unreported leaves of absence may be taken as evidence of a withdrawal from the institution. The D. Min. Handbook describes the policy for a leave of absence for doctoral students.
F1 students must speak with the Primary Designated SEVIS Officer (PDSO) if they are considering a leave of absence as special conditions apply.
A. Withdrawal from courses
Withdrawal from a course after the add drop period requires the approval of the instructor and the Academic Advisor. Course withdrawals are permitted up to but not including the last week of the term. Failure to withdraw from a course results in a grade of F for the course.
Students will be considered to have withdrawn from a course if they miss 4 weeks of classes during the first 7 weeks without giving written notification.
Students officially withdrawing from courses up until the end of the first week of classes are entitled to a complete refund of tuition. Those withdrawing from the second week through the end of the seventh week of the term may receive a 50 percent refund of tuition. No refund will be given to students who withdraw after the end of the seventh week of the term. A student is responsible to pay whatever balance remains after withdrawing.
All fees are non refundable.
B. Withdrawal from the Institution
A student withdrawing from HJI is asked to notify in writing the Director of Student Life and the Registrar. Students may be asked to consult with the Provost in person. If a student extends his/her leave of absence for more than 2 terms, it is considered to be a withdrawal from the School.
A. Grading
Grading is a professor’s attempt to evaluate objectively a student’s achievement in relation to the stated aim of a course. Evaluation is based on papers, examinations, class participation, and completion of other stated assignments or course objectives. Grades are recorded by letter, and are understood as follows:
A = Excellent
B = Good
C = Acceptable
D = Acceptable, but below expectations
F = Failure
In computing the cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) the following quality point scale is used:
A = 4.00 A 3.67 B+ 3.33
B = 3.00 B 2.67 C+ 2.33
C = 2.00 C 1.67 D+ 1.33
D = 1.00 D 0.67 F 0.00
F’s assigned to pass/fail courses do not compute into the G.P.A.
Other symbols used on the transcript are:
W = Withdrawal
I = Incomplete. Not computed into the G.P.A.
IP = In Progress
P = Pass. Assigned only in selected courses (e.g. Field Education). A “P” denotes a grade of “C” or better. Instructors may, at their discretion, grade Independent Study on a pass/fail basis. Not computed into the G.P.A.
R = Repeat
Prog = Progressing, only for Continuing Dissertation Enrollment
Non-Prog = Non-Progressing, only for Continuing Dissertation Enrollment
The Master of Arts Thesis is graded Pass/Fail. An exceptional thesis may receive Honors.
The Doctor of Ministry Dissertation is graded Pass/Fail based on the Dissertation Defense.
B. Incompletes
Faculty will assign grades at the end of the semester according to the work completed. Incompletes are given only when there are compelling medical or personal reasons. Students who fail to turn in assignments will be awarded an appropriate grade.
Students who receive an Incomplete have one term to make up the course work regardless of whether they take a leave of absence. At the end of the following term, if the Incomplete has not been resolved, the student is assigned a grade, either a contingency grade or an “F,” which is irrevocable. If the course is a core requirement, the student will then be required to retake the course. Students with more than 12 credits of incompletes cannot register for another term.
Incompletes are also assigned if a course or project is expected to last longer than a semester. Students have a reasonable time to complete the work, however, the Incomplete grade will be changed administratively to an F either two years after registering for the course or after the student has been inactive for two semesters due to withdrawal, leave of absence or attending commencement.
C. In Progress Grades
In Progress grades are given for courses in which a student is enrolled, but the term has not yet ended and/or final grades have not yet been submitted.
A full course load in the Master programs in a given semester consists of 9 or more credits, an internship of at least 4 credits, CPE registration, thesis registration, or Continuing Thesis/ Project Enrollment (for one term only). Registration for more than 16 credits requires approval of the Provost.
A full course load in the Doctoral program in a given semester consists of 7 credits, dissertation registration or Dissertation Continuing Enrollment.
Independent study is intended for students who wish to explore aspects of a program area that are not part of the current curriculum. Students who have completed 24 credits may register for Independent Study by submitting to the Registrar a written proposal approved by the instructor and the Provost. Students are expected to meet with the instructor at least four times during the Independent Study. Students may undertake one Independent Study per term and not more than two per year unless approved by the Academic Affairs Committee.
A course may be offered as Directed Study when there is insufficient enrollment for a class. Normally Directed Study is offered only for courses required to complete degree requirements or for ordination. Students are expected to follow the course syllabus and meet with the faculty member at least once a week. Due to reduced contact hours, a course taught as Directed Study may require more work outside the classroom than a normal course.
A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50 is required for satisfactory academic standing in the graduate degree programs. If a student’s cumulative G.P.A. falls below the minimum after completing 6 credits, the Provost will place the student on academic warning. If the student fails to achieve a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.50 during the following term, he/she will be placed on academic probation.
For D.Min students, if a student’s cumulative G.P.A falls below the minimum after completing 7 credits, the student will be placed on academic warning. If the student is not able to achieve a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.50 during the following semester, he/she will be placed on academic probation.
In addition, if a student has a term G.P.A. below the minimum, he/she will be placed on academic warning. If a student has two terms with a G.P.A. below the minimum, he/she will be placed on academic probation.
Students who are on academic probation are not allowed to register unless they provide the Provost or the Director of the D.Min. program an acceptable plan to address their academic shortcoming. If students do not submit an acceptable plan to the Provost or the Director of the D.Min. program, they will be dismissed.
Student Responsibilities
Email is an efficient and effective method of communication. Therefore, HJI provides an email address to each registered student. This HJI email address is the only address that the Institution (i.e. faculty and staff) will use to communicate electronically with students. Students are held responsible for all information communicated from the Institution by email.In turn, only communications by students with their HJI issued email addressed are officially confirmed as bona fide representations of a student.
Students are required to attend all class sessions for the courses they are registered. Students are considered to be present at an on-campus class in one of the following ways: (1) by being physically present in class, (2) by being present in class synchronously via Zoom, or (3) by presenting evidence of course engagement through a written document as defined by the instructor within one week of the class session as evidence of having viewed the class session asynchronously. For students registered in a Canvas online course, a student will be counted as present in class after presenting the required assignment to the instructor within one week of the class session. Whenever unusual circumstances make regular attendance impossible, special arrangements should be made with the instructor.
Students missing three or more weeks of class in a given semester may be subject to withdrawal at the discretion of the course instructor.
Students missing four out of the first seven weeks without giving a formal written notification of an emergency are given an automatic administrative withdrawal.
Each student’s work is expected to be a product of his or her own effort. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that occurs when a student passes off someone else’s work as their own. Plagiarism in its most severe form occurs when a student purchases a paper from a third party or submits an entire body of work written by a third party, as the student’s own. These most serious cases can be reported to the Office of the Provost for disciplinary action. Possible actions include probation, suspension, or dismissal/separation from HJI.
Cutting and pasting material from various websites without citing the source of said material also constitutes plagiarism, as is a failure to cite sources in a paper, conveying the impression, intentionally or not, that another writer’s work is the student’s own. In these cases of plagiarism, the instructor may give the student an “F” for the offending assignment, require that the student repeat the assignment, or if the plagiarism continues, give the student an “F” for the course. A pattern of such behavior may be reported to the Office of the Provost. It can lead to serious consequences as listed above.
Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT in assignments is permitted only with prior permission of the instructor. If the instructor permits students to use AI for research, students should know that it may give false results and its facts need to be checked and verified. Any passages generated by AI must be given proper citation, just as for citing other authors’ works. In addition, students must append a paragraph at the end of their work explaining how and why they used ChatGPT, which includes what prompts were used and what measures were taken to verify its accuracy. Students may not use AI to produce the content for an assignment. If an AI tool is used without obtaining prior permission and/or without providing the required citation or explanation, it will be treated as plagiarism.
Faculty reserve the right to use plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin, to find instances of AI-generated writing, as well as plagiarism from other sources, in student assignments.
A. Continuing Thesis/Project Enrollment
Students who are working on completing their Religious Education Project or Master of Arts Thesis/Project and are not otherwise registered for courses are required to register for the “Continuing Thesis/Project Enrollment”. This course enables them to continue to use the Institutional resources and will be counted as full-time enrollment. “Continuing Project Enrollment” is limited to one semester.
B. Dissertation Continuing Enrollment
Students who are working on completing their dissertation project are required to register for the “Dissertation Continuing Enrollment” which will count as full-time enrollment.
The Academic Advisor will assist the student in proper course selection to meet degree requirements. Each student should keep in mind, however, that he or she alone is ultimately responsible for understanding and fulfilling all graduation requirements. Students are responsible for their own degree plans and for the completion of all requirements for the degrees that they seek. Any questions about graduation requirements should be brought to the Registrar.