ACADEMIC
INFORMATION AND
Procedures for the Ministries Certificate Programs
2008-2009
By offering the Black Ministries Certificate Program and the Hispanic Ministries Program (Programa de Ministerios Hispanos), Hartford Seminary seeks to serve the community by providing introductory theological education on a schedule convenient to both clergy and lay leaders. The programs are designed to help participants strengthen their faith, develop their spirituality, and learn to engage more effectively in the ministries of their churches and communities. Students in these two programs form valuable relationships with other students in their courses and are encouraged to participate in other educational events and programs offered by Hartford Seminary. Both programs are designed to be completed in two years.
For further information, please call 860-509-9512 or email: bmp@hartsem.edu or pmh@hartsem.edu.
Admission
Each prospective student must complete an application that includes general student information, a personal statement, two letters of reference, and a registration form. A baccalaureate degree is not required for admission. A non-refundable application fee of $40 must be submitted with the program application. Applications are reviewed for admission by the Program Director and an official letter of admission is sent to applicants who are accepted into the program. Although the program year extends from September to June, students are accepted on a rolling admissions basis.
Ministries
Certificate Program Requirements
The Certificate is awarded for the successful completion of eight courses. Each ministry certificate program has its own distribution requirements. While most classes are either Saturday morning or afternoon, a few sessions are held on weekday evenings. Normally courses meet for six to nine sessions of three hours each.
Cost
of the Program
Tuition is kept low to encourage persons of all income levels to participate. Courses are $150 each. Each student is responsible for purchasing the required books for each course. MasterCard, VISA or the Discover Card may be used for tuition fees. A limited amount of tuition scholarship aid is available and a payment plan may be arranged with the Business Office. Students are urged to seek financial aid from their churches and church connections.
Adding
or Dropping Courses
Students may not begin a course after the second class session. Notification of the desire to drop a course must be made in writing to the Program Office within the first two weeks of the course. After the first two weeks no changes can be made and no refunds will be given.
Students wishing
to withdraw from a course must fill out the the Course
Withdrawal/Change in Status form. You may download this form in
these two formats:
*To open a .pdf
document, you must have the free Adobe .pdf reader installed on your
computer. This program can be downloaded at: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Attendance
Attendance is required at all sessions. A student with excessive absences (missing more than 1/3 of the course) is only allowed to complete the course at the discretion of the instructor and/or program director.
Grading
Options
The grading options are as follows:
a. Students who
may wish to receive undergraduate college credit from another
institution should elect to receive letter grades (A, A-, B+, B, B-,
C+, C, F).
b. Students who
will not be seeking undergraduate college credit from another institution may elect to receive Satisfactory
(S) or Unsatisfactory (U).
The grading option
must be chosen at the time of registration. Any request for a change must be submitted in writing to the Registrar.
Graduation
Certificates for
successful completion of the program are awarded at Hartford
Seminary's annual graduation ceremony.
Graduation Fee
The graduation fee for the BMP and PMH program is $65 per student. This fee includes the cost of graduation gown rental, the ceremonial stole provided to each student to wear during the ceremony and keep, and all other costs associated with the awarding of the certificate and the graduation ceremony.
Incomplete
Policy
Coursework is due by the end of the course. An Incomplete (I) for unfinished coursework is given only at the discretion of the instructor and must be completed within six months. After six months an Incomplete (I) becomes an F. Special exemptions are made only by petition to the Program Director.
Continuing
Education Units (CEUs)
Students who choose not to receive formal grades for purposes of pursuing college credit for their certificate work, may opt to receive Continuing Education Units (CEUs). For information about receiving CEUs, contact the Program Director. One CEU is awarded for each ten hours of class participation.
Undergraduate
Credit
Although
Hartford Seminary is not authorized to offer undergraduate credit to students in
the Ministry Certificate programs, the Board of State Academic Awards of the
State of Connecticut has approved BMP and PMH courses for undergraduate credit
through Charter Oak State College. Due to a special arrangement between Charter
Oak and Hartford Seminary, BMP and PMH graduates are also eligible to
participate in Charter Oak’s advising program, The Pathways Program, upon
completion of the certificate program.
Other
undergraduate institutions may award credit for ministry certificate program
courses at their discretion. Students who think they may want to seek
undergraduate credit for their courses must opt for letter grades. More
information about receiving undergraduate credit from Charter Oak and other
undergraduate schools may be obtained from the Program Director.
Audit
Option for Ministries Certificate Program Graduates
Students who have graduated from one of the two ministry certificate programs may audit future ministry certificate program courses for a special fee of $75. Graduate auditors must be approved by the Program Director and are required to complete all registration forms.
All course
offerings, tuition costs and policies are subject to change.
