Registration Policies & Procedures

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6

Advanced Standing with Credit

1. Graduates of Undergraduate Studies at Canadian Chinese School of Theology Calgary and other accredited institutions may qualify for advanced standing (with credit), provided the following criteria are met:

  • Students must hold an accredited undergraduate degree.
  • Students must have earned a grade of “B” (3.0) in the course(s) for which advanced standing (with credit) is desired.

2. Students entering the Master of Divinity program, Master of Theological Studies program and Graduate Diploma program may be eligible for advanced standing (with credit).

  • Students entering the Master of Divinity program may receive up to four courses (12 credit hours) in advanced standing. Graduates of an accredited theological or religious studies undergraduate degree program with a strong background in Bible or theology may be eligible to receive an additional three courses (9 credit hours) for a total of seven courses (21 credit hours) in advanced standing (with credit).
  • Students entering the Master of Theological Studies program may receive up to three courses (9 credit hours) in advanced standing. Graduates of an accredited theological or religious studies undergraduate degree program with a strong background in Bible or theology may be eligible to receive an additional two courses (6 credit hours) for a total of five courses (15 credit hours) in advanced standing (with credit).
  • Students entering the Graduate Diploma program may receive up to two courses (6 credit hours) in advanced standing (with credit).

3. The decision to award advanced standing (with credit), and the eligible courses, are at the discretion of the Registrar.

Auditing Courses

1. Students must register to audit a course.
2. Prior to auditing any course, a student must have been admitted to CCST Calgary.
3. Students desiring to change a course from audit to credit or from credit to audit must do so within the add/drop period.
4. No credit hours shall be awarded for courses audited.
5. Only classroom-based courses may be audited.
6. Attendance is required.
7. The taking of examinations is not permitted, except by arrangement with the instructor.
8. The instructor is not obligated to evaluate any submitted assignments.
9. At the end of the semester, a grade of “AU” (Audit) will be recorded on the transcript.
10. CCST Calgary students may audit one course free of charge after graduation in a degree program.
11. Priority will be given to credit-seeking students enrolling in a course. Audit students may be placed on a course waitlist.
12. Permission from the Registrar or instructor may be required.

Course Changes and Withdrawals

1. Up until the end of the add/drop period of the course, registration changes may be made online or in person.
2. After the end of the add/drop period, courses may be dropped until the final date for dropping courses.
3. After the end of the add/drop period, tuition is refunded according to the published refund schedule. There is no refund for the administrative fee. See the Fees and Expenses section for more information.

Course Registration

1. Students must register for all courses through the Office of the Registrar or via the online system.
2. A $50 late fee will be charged to returning students who register after the respective August and December dates published in the Academic Calendar and on the website.
3. Students will not be allowed to enrol in a course after the add/drop period of the course.
4. International students must use the paper registration form and have the form signed prior to submission to the Office of the Registrar.

Course Substitution

Students with prior theological studies may be eligible to substitute a required course for an advanced level course, with permission from the Registrar.

Directed Reading and Research (DRR) Courses

Directed Reading and Research (DRR) courses allow students to study in a specific area of interest not addressed by the scheduled course offerings.
Students wishing to apply for a DRR should begin the process early. The deadline for DRR requests is two weeks prior to the registration deadline of each semester.

All DRR courses adhere to the policies of the Academic Calendar and must be completed within one semester. Policies for all DRR Courses:
1. Students may apply to take a DRR course in a particular area of study not addressed by regular course offerings.
2. DRR courses normally may not be taken as a substitute for an on-site classroom course offered in the same academic year.
3. Students will normally be eligible for a DRR course after they have completed at least 15 semester hours of regular course work and demonstrated ability to do independent research and writing.
4. Normal prerequisites apply to all DRR courses. The student will have completed the prerequisites in the given curricular area with at least a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) in those courses.
5. DRR courses are not normally open to occasional students.
6. Students in the MDiv program may take up to 2 DRR courses; students in the MTS program may take up to 1 DRR course.

Program Change

Students are accepted into the program indicated on their acceptance letter. Students deciding to change program, major or concentration must apply through the Office of the Registrar, using the form designated for this purpose. Upon receipt of the application for a program change, the Registrar will review it and come to a decision.

The Academic Planning Committee or the Registrar reserves the rights to request or require a student to change to the diploma program, another degree program or another major. An appeal may be made following the Appeals Policy or the Academic Appeals Policy.

Repeating Courses

1. Only the higher earned grade in any repeated courses will count in the computation of the grade point average.
2. Earned credit hours in repeated courses will only count once.
3. The repeated course must be completed in its entirety.

Shared Credit Between Two Degrees/Programs

1. A student may not be in two academic programs at the same time.
2. A student who completes the Graduate Diploma may count all 9 courses toward a subsequent Master of Divinity or Master of Theological Studies.
3. A student who completes the Master of Divinity or the Master of Theological Studies may use 4 of the 9 courses toward a subsequent Graduate Diploma.
4. A student who completes the Master of Theological Studies may use 9 of the 18 courses toward a subsequent Master of Divinity.
5. A student who completes the Master of Divinity may use 9 of the 27 courses toward a subsequent Master of Theological Studies.
6. Earning both the Master of Theological Studies and the Master of Divinity require a minimum of 36 courses.
7. Once the Master of Theological Studies is awarded, a student may not “surrender” that degree.

Transcripts

Students requiring transcripts should submit a Transcript Request form, available on website, to the Office of Registrar and pay posted fees.

Transfer Credits on Admission

Students who have completed graduate course work at another accredited institution and wish to transfer to CCST Calgary may be eligible to receive credit to a maximum of one half of the program requirements, provided the following criteria are met:

1. Minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 (C).
2. Courses are completed with a Grade Point Average of 2.0 (C) or higher.
3. Subjects parallel program requirements at the Seminary.

Transfer Credit on a Letter of Permission (LOP)

Students who wish to take a course at another accredited institution for transfer credit toward their program must obtain a Letter of Permission (LOP) from the Registrar prior to registering with the other institution. Courses completed elsewhere without a LOP may be ineligible for transfer credit.

  • To request a LOP, an application for a Letter of Permission must be submitted to the Registrar, along with the syllabus from the other institution.
  • Courses selected to replace CCST Calgary program requirements must be equivalent in content and academic requirements.
  • Fees for courses taken at other institutions are payable directly to the institution involved.
  • At the end of the course, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that an official transcript of the course grade be sent to the Registrar at CCST Calgary.
  • The maximum number of courses that may be taken on a LOP are as follows:
    1.  five courses in Master of Divinity;
    2.  four courses in Master of Theological Studies;
    3.  two courses in Master of Theology and Graduate Diplomas. Students granted transfer credit upon admission may be ineligible for additional transfer credits through a LOP.
  • LOPs are not issued in cases where the course in question is currently offered at CCST Calgary.

Waitlist Policy

1. Course enrollment may be limited due to the instructional design of the course or the size of the classroom.
2. Students attempting to register for a course that is full will be placed on the waitlist through online registration or by the Office of the Registrar.
3. All waitlists are compiled and implemented on a first-come, first-served basis. Students seeking to audit a course may be added to the waitlist but will have second priority after credit students.
4. No student will be offered a vacant place unless he or she is on the waitlist.
5. By decision of the Registrar, a student may be placed in a course without regard to the order of the waitlist or the limit. Such matters as degree requirements and immediacy of graduation are factors in these cases.
6. Instructors may not grant permission to students to register for their courses outside of the waitlist process.
7. Instructors may not allow students on the waitlist to attend classes in the hope that openings will occur.
8. The Registrar reserves the right to withdraw a student who is auditing a course up until the end of the add/drop period of the course in order to give the place to a student wishing to take it for credit. In this case, the student withdrawn by the Registrar would receive a 100% refund.
9. Instructors may not allow students to attend a course without being registered either for credit or audit.
10. Enrollment of paying students will take priority over that of free audit students (i.e., graduates).

Withdrawal Policy

  • A student who chooses to withdraw from Canadian Chinese School of Theology must fill out the Withdrawal Notification Form. Tuition refund is based on the date the completed withdrawal form is submitted to the Registrar.
  • For students withdrawing after the last day to drop a course without a transcript record, but before the last day to drop a course, the grade of “W” (withdrawal) will be recorded on the transcript.
  • Students who withdraw after the last day to drop a course will normally receive the grade reflective of the evaluated work up to the time of withdrawal. Any student who withdraws without completing the official withdrawal procedure will have a grade of “F” (fail) recorded for all courses in which he or she was enrolled.
  • Appeals will be reviewed as appropriate and must be submitted in writing to the Registrar.
  • Up until the end of the add/drop period, registration changes may be made online or in person.
  • After the end of the add/drop period, courses may be dropped until the final date for dropping courses (published in the Academic Calendar).
  • After the end of the add/drop period, tuition is refunded according to the published refund schedule. There is no refund for the administrative fee. See the Fees and Expenses section for more information.

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