Academic Policies

Honor Roll

Full-time students that earn a grade point average of 3.50 attain superior academic standing.

Summa Cum Laude: GPA 3.90-4.00

Magna Cum Laude:, GPA 3.75-3.89

Cum Laude: GPA 3.5-3.74

Grade Point Average

Freshmen- Those having completed less than 28 semester credits

Sophomores- Those with a minimum of 28 semester credits completed and having at least 56 grade points.

Juniors- Those with a minimum of 60 semester credits completed and having at least 120 grade points.

Seniors- Those with a minimum of 92 semester credits completed and having at least 184 grade points.

Advanced Students- Those with a minimum of 128 semester credits including transferable credits, if any.

Full-Time Students- Those carrying an academic load of at least 12 semester credits or more. The minimal course load to maintain a two or four year track is 16 credit hours per semester.

Part-Time Students- Those carrying 11.5  semester credits or less.

Dates and Deadlines: Registration dates are included in the academic calendar published in the school catalog.

Eligibility: For new students, your application must have been accepted. For returning students, you must be in good standing with the school including all financial obligations from the previous semester being met.

You may attend and receive credit only for courses for which you have been registered. Your registration will be complete upon signing and submitting your contract. The official course roster, from the Registrar’s Office, is the only basis an instructor has for enrolling a student in their course. The only exception to this is a student may attend a class without registering if they have already successfully completed that course for credit.

Auditing: Auditing is limited by the faculty. Special permission may be requested from the Dean’s office.

Course and Employment Load: The college’s class schedule and fee schedule have been arranged for the benefit of students needing to work their way through school. In fact, most students graduate with no school debt.

Every student faces the challenge of balancing time demands created by classes, employment and ministry. For this reason students must obtain permission to enroll in more than 18 credit hours or to work more than 30 hours per week.

Course Cancellation Policy: The college makes every effort to offer any course required for a program, but may cancel a course if there is not sufficient enrollment. This is extremely rare in the case of required courses but happens occasionally with electives.

Adding or Dropping a Course: Within the first two weeks of a semester a student may add or drop a course by filling out a form in the Registrar’s Office. The deadline for this is noted in the catalog. If a course is dropped before the deadline there is no record of it on the student’s transcript.

Withdrawing From a Course: After the first 2 weeks a student may withdraw from a course by completing the required form in the Registrar’s Office. Notice will be sent to the teacher from the Registrar’s Office. Based on the teacher’s calculation the resulting grade will be noted on the student’s transcript. The record will show that the student withdrew while passing the course (WP), or that the student withdrew while failing the course (WF). If no forms are filled out with the Registrar’s Office, and approved (should the student merely cease to attend a course), the student’s grade for that course will be recorded as a failure on their permanent record and will be computed into their G.P.A. The last day on which a student may withdraw from a course and receive a withdrawal pass designation is noted in the college catalogue. Veterans are limited by VA regulation to a 4-week withdrawal period.  Fees associated with courses will not be refunded, but a schedule of refunds for tuition is available on the PBC website and from the Finance Officer. Unofficial withdrawals (withdrawal without notification) will result in failing grades and full tuition costs.

Withdrawal From School: This is permissible only after you have consulted with the Dean, completed the withdrawal forms in the Registrar’s Office, and checked out with the Finance Officer. A schedule of refunds is available from the Finance Officer. Unofficial withdrawals result in failing grades.

Academic Honesty: The Bible is quite clear concerning the need for honesty and integrity in all things. This certainly applies to students preparing for ministry. Honesty and integrity are essential for learning and accomplishing your educational goals. Since dishonesty moves you out of the realm of reality it becomes impossible to know if you’re really learning.

Academic dishonesty involves things such as:

1. Plagiarism, which is claiming the work of others as your own without specific acknowledgment. Making minor changes in wording does not make the work your own. No written assignment should quote another source without appropriately documenting that source.
2. Submission of a paper that is primarily a compilation of the works of others. Over half the words in any paper must be the words of the student writing the paper.
3. Collaboration (e.g. writing a paper with someone else so that the resulting paper is not the product of the person turning it in) unless specifically allowed by the instructor. Unless noted on the course syllabus a student should assume that the required work is meant to represent their own efforts written in their words alone.
4. Submission of the same, or essentially the same, work in more than one course without prior consent of the instructors involved.
5. Submission of work completed earlier as new work.
6. Submission of work as your own which has been significantly edited by another person.
7. Allowing another student to use your work for his/her assignment or helping another student in any way to be dishonest.
8. Giving or receiving unauthorized test information prior to the exam.
9. Using unauthorized sources for answers during an exam.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter as it violates the student’s commitment to real learning and destroys academic trust. The consequences may range from a failing grade for the assignment or exam, a lowered course grade, a loss of course credit, to dismissal from school. A student’s coming forward to clear their conscience may lighten the level of consequence. When a faculty member becomes aware of possible academic dishonesty they are asked to consult with the Dean to consider appropriate action.

Central to the mission of PBC is the desire to help students grow in character and Christ-likeness. We are not only an academic institution, but also a Christian community that focuses on discipleship. It is our goal to provide an environment conducive to accelerated growth. Life transformation happens best when both internal and external forces for change are in sync. There must be the “inside-out” working of the Holy Spirit to bring focus and empowerment for change. When this is active in a person’s life then the “outside-in” working of coaching and accountability can be especially effective. In our view, when a student enrolls in PBC registering for academic processes, they are also enlisting the aid of a spiritual “personal training” program to facilitate their development.

The standards reflected here are derived from Biblical absolutes, Biblical principles and/or community standards. We believe it is our duty to uphold the standards of Scripture as well as pastor students into reflecting them in their lifestyle. We have also found it helpful to develop community standards that enhance quality living in community, reduce distractions from spiritual growth and academic disciplines, assist those wrestling with carnality and encourage reflection regarding lifestyle choices.

Following are some expectations and accountabilities in which we ask cooperation from all students throughout the year including all breaks; winter, spring, and summer.

We believe that regular class attendance is essential to your education. PBC credits reflect a strong attendance component.

The faculty has adopted the following policies:

1. Students are expected to be at all classes for which they have registered.
2. However, it is understood that at times, students are overly tired, have minor colds, or must make appointments during class times. For this reason, a student is allowed to have, without penalty, one unexcused absence for each hour per week that the class from which they are absent meets (i.e. a 3-hour course would permit the student 3 unexcused absences per semester).
3. Each unexcused absence taken beyond this allowable limit will deduct 4 percentage points from the student’s final grade, and therefore, could result in the failure of that course.
4. Missed classes due to late enrollment will be counted as unexcused unless excused by the Dean prior to enrolling.
5. If a student misses 15 minutes or more of a class, it will constitute an absence.

6. Students are not permitted to leave a class before it is dismissed.
7. A student is considered tardy if not in the appropriate classroom at the time the bell rings or the official time has arrived to start the class. Three unexcused tardies will be counted as one unexcused absence.
8. After a tardy or absence from a class, an “Absence Excuse Form” should be filled out the day the student returns to class. The link to the e-form is located  in the PBC website under current students.

NOTE: One e-form must be submitted for each class missed. Students and instructors are then notified whether the absence or tardy will be considered excused or unexcused.

9. Items normally considered excusable are illnesses, a family wedding, or a critical illness/death in the immediate family.
10. Items normally considered unexcused are minor illnesses (such as minor colds, indigestion, headache, exhaustion, mental fatigue, etc.), routine doctor appointments, routine dental appointments, and counseling appointments. These should be arranged in the student’s own time, not during class periods.
11. Excuse forms turned in more than one week after the student’s return to school will not be accepted.
12. Students are responsible for class content when absent, whether excused or not.
13. Any student who misses more than one-third of the total classes for any course is automatically withdrawn regardless of the reason for their absences. Please be aware that our student information system does not automatically calculate absences into your grade. We encourage you to communicate with your instructor regarding your grade standing. It is your responsibility to calculate absences into your grade throughout the semester as the professors will not calculate it until the end of the semester.

Late Work Policy: This chart represents how turning in an assignment late will affect the final grade given to the work. It is based on what will happen to an assignment that would have received an “A” grade had it been turned in on the original due date. Assignments turned in on time that would have received a “B” grade or lower must be adjusted accordingly. Late work due to an excused absence must also be calculated from the time the student returns to class.

Students failing to maintain a GPA of 2.00 at PBC or their previous educational institution are placed on academic probation at the beginning of the following semester. The student will remain under academic probation for no longer than one semester or until such time as the Dean deems that the quality of work meets the minimum GPA of 2.00.

At the end of the semester the Dean will determine if the student should continue or be dismissed for unsatisfactory progress. If the student is allowed to continue, they will be expected to participate in an academic accountability program designated by the Dean.

A $150 fee will be charged for participation on this program. It will be necessary for that student to earn a semester GPA and an accumulative GPA of 2.00 to be taken off probation. Those receiving VA benefits must meet these requirements by the end of their probationary semester or the VA will be notified. After dismissal, a student may request readmission by writing a letter to the Dean who will determine if the request should be granted.

PBC Online Curriculum is designed around the live classroom lectures. Students are responsible to watch ALL lectures in a course.  The Learning Management System tracks your completion of the Lecture files.   The student’s grade will be lowered by 1% per each lecture not completed in its entirety.  This is tallied at the end of the term. Students that skip more than 1/3 of course lectures will be automatically withdrawn from the course even with a passing grade.

Please follow these instructions to make sure the system is accurately tracking your progress as well as protect yourself against questions of academic integrity:

1. Open just one lecture at a time
2. Do not use the navigation buttons (Back, Next, etc.) while the lecture is playing. The lecture will open as an inline frame in the same tab as the lesson you are working on
3. Take personal notes for all courses even if not required (teachers reserve the right to request a copy of your notes for verification)
4. Watch the entire lecture (you will NOT be able to continue on with other weekly lesson items without completing the lecture.)
5. Click the ‘Back to Populi’ link in the top right corner to continue on with the next lesson item

All assignments must be submitted online in the electronic drop box. Only one file will be accepted for each dropbox item.  All papers are required in MLA Format and expect appropriate usage of grammar and spelling. All papers submitted in the dropbox must be in Microsoft Word or PDF file-formats. If you use Apple Pages or Open Office, you must convert your documents into a .doc or .pdf file type. For instructions on how to do this, please navigate to the Resources Icon > select Additional Resources folder > choose the file “Converting Files to Word Format”

The following programs are very important to have the lectures display correctly and the lessons items function correctly on your computer:

1. Use either a PC or desktop Mac
   (We are unable to guarantee that our curriculum will function correctly on an iPad or tablet. DO NOT use mobile devices for course work.)
2. Use either Chrome or Firefox internet browser (and enable JavaScript)
   (Safari’s latest update has proven to be problematic with curriculum package files, and Internet Explorer may work, but can be inconsistent in function and quality; therefore we do not guarantee support on these browsers.)
3. Download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player and JavaScript
   (Abode and Java have regular updates so even if you were a student last semester, you should check to see if you have the latest version downloaded on your computer.)
4. Submit assignments in Microsoft Word or PDF.
   (Student using iPages or Open Office must have the ability to convert documents to a .docx or .pdf file type.)

If the lectures or discussions are not working for you, please download these programs by clicking the hyperlinks.

Assignments and Tests must be turned in by 11:59pm on the day they are due (Pacific Standard Time). For each week that an assignment or test is late, it will receive a reduced letter grade (from an A to a B, etc). An assignment will be considered late unless the student has prior permission for a later due date.  No assignments will be accepted after the end of the semester. Students will be locked out of Tests that are not taken on-time and must contact the teacher directly in order to notify them they missed the deadline and request it be unlocked.

Students failing to maintain a GPA of 2.00 at PBC or their previous educational institution are placed on academic probation at the beginning of the following semester. The student will remain under academic probation for no longer than one semester or until such time as the Dean deems that the quality of work meets the minimum GPA of 2.00.

At the end of the semester the Dean will determine if the student should continue or be dismissed for unsatisfactory progress. If the student is allowed to continue, they will be expected to participate in an academic accountability program designated by the Dean.