Registrar

Click here for all Policies and Registrar’s Forms 

Students register through the online student portal (link at the top right corner on the Seminary’s website), where they log in using the passcode provided when they were admitted. Students on academic probation or who have unpaid bills may find their access blocked and may need to fill out a paper registration form.

Students cannot register for directed study, independent study, or cross-registration courses through the portal, but must submit the appropriate paper form to the Registrar’s office (available as PDF files through the “Resources” link on the Seminary website).

Click here for the current Academic Catalog containing all current Policies. Below is an abbreviated list of important school policies.

For requesting official transcripts, please click link below:

Official Transcripts

Academic Advising

The following program directors serve as academic advisors:

• MDiv                                Dr. Mark Ross
• MDiv – Chaplaincy          Dr. Michael Stewart
• MAPM                              Dr. R. J. Gore
• MATS                                Dr. R. J. Gore
• ThM                                  Dr. Richard Winston
• DMin                                Dr. T. Chris Crain (until the dissertation supervisor is selected)

Students in their last year of study must meet with their advisors to review their progress and finalize a plan for completing their degree. This senior audit must be completed before students can apply for graduation (see the Academic Calendar for specific dates).

Academic Load

                                        MDiv                     MATS, MAPM             ThM, DMin
Fall                                  15 hours                12 hours                     6 hours
Spring                             15 hours                12 hours                     6 hours
Summer                          12 hours                9 hours                       6 hours

Registration Changes – Drop/Add Policy

Students who wish to add or make changes in their registration can do so in the student portal or submit a completed Drop-Add form (available on the Seminary website) to the Registrar’s office by the drop/add day (published in the Academic Calendar). Students may not make any changes after the drop/add day or after the first meeting of an all-day class. Courses dropped prior to the drop/add day will not appear on the student’s transcript.

Erskine offers CPE academic credit (PM 774 and PM 775) through a partnership with the Institute of Clinical Pastoral Training (ICPT), in association with the Association of Certified Christian Chaplains (ACCC) and the Spiritual Care Association (SCA). CPE at Erskine means you can train without suspending your conscience and faith. Erskine students also enjoy fully accredited CPE training with multimodal teaching and learning (a hybrid of online and on-site), allowing students to complete training in their place of ministry or other approved location, without having to move.

At Erskine, the IRB serves a regulatory function that is essential to ensuring both ethical and legal standards regarding data and research at the institution as a whole. As a vital part of this Christian community, it is essential that the process of maintaining the highest standards be clear to all individuals. This includes all research involving talking to people, surveys, biomedical assays, interventions, analyses of personal information, etc. All faculty, staff, and students at Erskine are required by federal law to submit such forms BEFORE collection of any data. The information for submitting an IRB proposal and the required forms are all available on Erskine’s IRB page.

Instructional Time (Credit Hour Calculation)

Erskine Theological Seminary has adopted the Carnegie unit as the standard for all course offerings, i.e., a standard-length semester (approximately 15 weeks) with one hour of class contact and two hours of external student work for each contact hour. For three credit-hour courses that meet once a week, the standard is three hours of direct faculty instruction per week with six hours of external student work per week. All other modalities, including one-week intensives, 8 or 13/16-week online classes, hybrid (a combination of in-person and online) classes, directed studies, seminars, and reading courses all require students to engage in the equivalent of 135-140 hours of programmed study per three-hour semester credit course.

Class Attendance Policy

Class participation is considered an important part of the total educational experience at Erskine Seminary. Students are expected to attend classes on a regular basis and are responsible for the mastery of all materials required in the course. Each professor will indicate in writing the specific class attendance policy at the beginning of each course. In general, for in-person courses, students are allowed up to three hours of unexcused absence without penalty. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange for making up any missed class time and subject matter.

Incomplete Grades

An incomplete grade is normally given when the student has substantially completed the requirements for a course but has been prevented by extraordinary circumstances from completing the remainder of the course requirements. Students who wish to request an incomplete should do so prior to the end of the semester or term by making their request to the instructor. If the instructor grants the request, he/she will submit an incomplete grade. The instructor must remove the incomplete in any course by February 1 for the fall semester, July 1 for the spring semester, and October 1 for the summer term, otherwise grades will be automatically changed to F.

Transcripts

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires that all transcript requests be made by the person to whom the record belongs. A transcript must be requested in writing, using the Official Transcript Request link. Erskine will not process a transcript request without the student’s signature, date, and payment. Fees for transcript requests may not be charged to a student’s Erskine account. No transcript will be sent if the student has an outstanding financial obligation to the Seminary or is not in good standing. Transcripts are normally processed within (7) working days.

Continuous Enrollment

Master’s students who fail to register for at least one class in two consecutive semesters (not counting summer terms) will be suspended and will have to reapply through the admissions office if they wish to return. Readmission is not automatic.

Advanced students (ThM and DMin) must remain enrolled each semester: DMin students must register each term (fall, spring, and summer); ThM students must register each fall and spring. Students who are not registered for a course, thesis (ThM), or dissertation (DMin) must register for continuation (TH 081 or DR 091) or they will be automatically suspended, unless they have been granted a temporary withdrawal. Suspended students who wish to complete their degrees must request to be readmitted by the Postgraduate Committee. Readmission is not automatic.

Applying for Graduation

In order to receive their degree, students must submit a completed and signed Graduation Application to the Registrar’s office and pay the appropriate fees. (The form is available on the Seminary website.) Applications are due by September 15 for January conferrals, by December 10 for May conferrals, and March 1 for September conferrals. Students must have completed their senior audit with their advisors before submitting their application for graduation. Students must clear all business office, Seminary, and library accounts two weeks prior to the conferral date. Students who fail to meet requirements by the conferral date must reapply for graduation and pay an additional fee.

Commencement Service

Erskine College and Theological Seminary holds a single commencement service in May of each year to honor students whose degrees are being conferred at that time or have been conferred the previous September or January. All students are encouraged to participate in the service.

Master’s level students (MDiv, MAPM, MATS) who expect to receive their degrees in September and wish to participate in the preceding May commencement service must have no more than six credit hours remaining at the end of the spring semester and are able to complete the remaining work by August 31.

ThM and DMin students may participate in May’s commencement service only if final, corrected copies of their theses or dissertations have been submitted by April 15. ThM and DMin students whose degrees are conferred in September or January will be invited to participate in the following May’s commencement service.