Understanding that theological education requires a significant investment of time, energy, money, and other resources, the School of Divinity strives to empower students to complete the DMin program in a timely fashion. When students struggle to make satisfactory academic progress, the School implements strategies to help students achieve academic success. When those strategies fail, or it becomes clear that a student is not well positioned to complete the DMin degree, the School may elect to dismiss a student from the DMin program. Dismissal is unfortunate, but it always reflects a concern for the student’s financial, personal, spiritual, and vocational well-being.
To be in good academic standing, Doctor of Ministry students must earn a grade of “B” or better in all Doctor of Ministry required and elective courses. Therefore, a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above must be maintained to graduate. Students who fail to reach these benchmarks will be placed on academic review or academic probation in following semesters until these benchmarks are reached or until failure to reach these benchmarks results in dismissal from the DMin program.
Grading scales for courses are identified in course syllabi. The DMin Project is graded Pass/Fail. In exceptional cases, the project can be evaluated “with distinction” – with such recognition being noted on the student’s transcript.
Academic Review
Academic review is ordinarily enforced when students fail to make satisfactory progress towards the DMin degree in a given semester. Indicators of unsatisfactory progress may include, but are not limited to, any of the following: failure to reach a minimum term GPA of 3.0; failure to complete attempted courses with satisfactory grades (e.g., one or more courses with a failing, withdraw-failing, or incomplete grade); failure to earn enough credit hours in a given semester. A student can be placed on academic review even if their cumulative GPA is 3.0 or higher.
Academic review status indicates that while a student may not be at risk for being dismissed from the DMin program, problems with academic progress in any semester merit the attention of the associate dean of academic affairs and a student’s faculty adviser.
In consultation with the associate dean of academic affairs, a student on academic review will work with his or her faculty adviser to develop an academic plan, the goal of which will be to remedy problems that created the need for academic review status. Faculty advisers will monitor progress on the academic plan over the course of the semester.
Academic Probation
Academic probation is enforced when students fail to earn a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA or fail to make satisfactory progress in earning credit toward the DMin degree. Academic probation status supersedes academic review status.
Students who fail to earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher at the end of any semester will be placed on academic probation. Academic probation status indicates that students are at risk of being dismissed from the DMin program.
Process for Initiating and Concluding Academic Review and Probation Status
At the end of each semester, the associate dean of academic affairs will meet with the director of the Doctor of Ministry program to review and make decisions about satisfactory academic progress cases.
Following that meeting, the associate dean of academic affairs will notify students and their academic advisers, via email and letter, of the student’s academic review or probation status and the academic plan they will follow in the following semester.
Working with the student’s academic adviser, the associate dean of academic affairs will arrange check-ins with the student at regular intervals in the following semester or semesters to ensure that the student is working toward academic success.
Students will ordinarily be released from academic review status after completing all applicable requirements as prescribed by their academic plan in the following semester. Students will ordinarily be released from probation status when they have completed all applicable requirements as prescribed in their academic plan in the following semesters and have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
The following are the continuation requirements for students enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry degree program:
- Students are required to earn a 3.00 overall GPA to graduate from the Doctor of Ministry program.
- A student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on academic probation.
- A student whose term GPA is 3.0 or lower will be placed on academic review and may be placed on academic probation after consideration of their overall record.
- To come off academic probation, a student must earn a GPA in the immediately succeeding semester, bringing their overall GPA to 3.00.
- Students on academic probation who fail to earn a B (3.00) term average in the immediately succeeding semester may be advised to withdraw or be dismissed from the program.
- After two semesters of full-time enrollment, a student whose overall GPA falls below 3.0 may be advised to withdraw or be dismissed from the program.
Students on academic probation cannot receive an “incomplete” grade for any course;
Students dismissed from the program for academic reasons may reapply but must wait a minimum of one year from the withdrawal date to re-enroll in the program. The reapplication process will require at minimum an academic letter of reference and a statement from the student indicating how they intend to make progress toward successful completion of the degree. All requests for reapplication should be directed to the Office of Admissions and Student Services. Students on academic probation should review the policy on satisfactory academic progress found at http://www.wfu.edu/finaid/grad_policies.html. Those who do not demonstrate satisfactory academic progress may be ineligible for financial aid.