Students are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their registration.

A deposit amount totaling 10% of tuition plus fees for any given semester or session is required at the time of registration. A student is not registered for a course until this payment is received.

Registration for a course does not guarantee participation in the course. Certain courses have prerequisites or assume a prior educational experience in the subject matter. Also, NTC reserves the right to not offer a course with insufficient enrollment. The Registrar will notify students of any irregularities in their registration status.

Particular care should be exercised with regard to choosing core (required) courses for programs. Faculty Advisors are available to all students to help in this regard. Students must consult with their Faculty Advisor on a regular basis while they are involved in a program and should have their proposed registrations approved by their Faculty Advisor before submitting their Registration Form. All students are permitted to audit on campus courses.

Credit is assigned to courses in terms of the semester hour, the basic unit of instruction. One semester hour of credit corresponds to one class of 50 minutes a week for one semester, or its equivalent in guided research. Most courses are weighted each at 3 semester hours of credit. Only for exceptional reasons will students be allowed to take more than 15 credits per semester.

If a student file is inactive for six years, inactive students may be asked to submit a new set of documents with their application.

Note: Transcripts and other documents become the property of NTC and will not be returned nor photocopied for the student or forwarded to other institutions.

Students who wish to add or drop a course must do so before the Add/Drop or Withdraw deadlines given in the Academic Schedule. Dropped courses do not appear on a student’s academic transcript. Withdrawn courses do appear on a student’s academic transcript with a notation of ‘W’.

Students withdrawing from or dropping a course, transferring from one course to another, or changing from credit to audit and vice versa must complete the Add/Drop/Withdraw Notice which can be printed from the Forms and Documents page or picked up in the Student Services foyer on campus and submit this to the Registrar by the Academic Schedule deadlines. Changes from credit to audit may be permitted after the deadline but will not be allowed past mid-term without permission of the Academic Dean.

Students must request assessment of courses for transfer credit into any program by contacting the Registrar in writing. Courses for transfer credit will be assessed by the Admissions and Evaluations Committee once all official and complete transcripts are received. Note that the committee will not assess courses in advance or via email.

Students may be asked to provide detailed course outlines before an evaluation can be made. Course outlines are reviewed by the Admissions and Evaluations Committee for credit transfer and then considered with respect to the program in which the student is currently enrolled.

See Transfer Programs and Transfer Credit for more information.

No credit will be given for a course if the student has been absent, for any reason whatever, from one-third or more of the lectures and/or seminars scheduled for the term. Likewise, no credit will be given if term assignments or other assignments are or remain incomplete.

Undergraduate Courses

In order to obtain credit for an undergraduate course, a student must have completed all prescribed course requirements by the end of the given semester or session period. Generally this entails the following:

All undergraduate courses, including intersession and summer session courses, shall require the following:

• One 10-12 page research paper or the equivalent in the form of student presentations, book reports, and/or short reflection papers. The total amount of written work including exams cannot exceed 25 pages.
• One final examination or two term examinations. Exams may be oral, written in class or “take home”. Oral exams should be 10 minutes in length.

Occasionally a course, by nature, may be exempt from some or all of the requirements. Academic departments shall decide on such exemptions and so notify students registered in these courses at the beginning of classes.

Requirements for undergraduate degrees, diplomas, and certificates may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar or the Academic Dean.

Graduate Courses

In order to obtain credit for a graduate course, a student must have completed all prescribed course requirements by the end of the given semester or session period. Generally this entails the following:

All graduate level courses, including intersession and summer session courses shall require the following:

• One 15-20 page research paper or the equivalent in the form of student presentations, book reports, and/or short reflection papers. The total amount of written work including exams cannot exceed 35 pages.
• One final examination or two term examinations. Exams may be oral, written in class or “take home”. Oral exams should be 15-20 minutes in length.

Occasionally a course, by nature, may be exempt from some or all of the requirements. Academic departments shall decide on such exemptions and so notify students registered in these courses at the beginning of classes.

Requirements for graduate degrees, diplomas, and certificates may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar or the Academic Dean.

Students are encouraged to combine term assignments in two different courses or disciplines whenever feasible. Such an interdisciplinary approach to term work is to be decided in consultation with their faculty advisor and requires the approval of professors concerned.

Inclusive language is expected and required in every aspect of the life at NTC. This is especially true of all academic work done at NTC. In the spirit of its mission statement, Newman Theological College strongly supports the use of inclusive language in all aspects of the college’s life, including liturgical celebrations. The following should be noted:

• All liturgical ministers, including presiders, are asked to be sensitive in using inclusive language, particularly when speaking in their own words.
• Instructors are asked to use inclusive language and encourage students to do the same in their oral and written
• work.
• Two documents which provide good overall guidelines for the use of inclusive language in the Christian Community are:
  • the 1980 Statement of the International Committee on English in the Liturgy, “The Problem of Exclusive Language with Regard to Women,” and
  • the 1989 Pastoral Message of the CCCB Pastoral Team on Inclusive Language, “To Speak as a Christian community.”

Copies are on file in the Library.

The examination schedule for daytime courses in the Fall and Winter semesters is posted 6 weeks after the beginning of the semester. Examination dates and times for evening courses and courses offered at Intersession and Summer School are scheduled by the Registrar.

Where there is good and sufficient reason, a student may be granted an ‘incomplete grade’ with respect to the completion of course requirements. Good and sufficient reason shall include the following:

• Serious illness of the student.
• Serious illness or death within the immediate family of the student.
• Other extenuating family or work-related circumstances.

An incomplete course is defined as an extension of the deadline for course assignments beyond the time when it is possible for the faculty member to submit grades within the guidelines established by the Registrar for that semester. An incomplete course request may be required because of incomplete term assignments or missed exams.

Established procedures shall be followed to grant an incomplete course request. Where this is done and the incomplete assignments are completed within the extended deadline, no academic penalty shall be assessed.

Students are usually permitted to carry only one incomplete course beyond the end of a given semester.

Incompletes must normally be completed within 30 days of the last day of the course.

The student presents the request for an incomplete grade with the reason for the request to the relevant faculty member. The faculty member decides if the reason is within NTC policy guidelines and if the request should be granted.

If the faculty member grants the student’s request, the student completes an Incomplete Grade Request Form which the faculty member signs. (Forms are available in the Registrar’s Office.) The student advises his/her Faculty Advisor, who also signs the Incomplete Grade Request Form. The student then submits the form to the Registrar. The student is responsible for submitting this completed form to the Registrar’s Office. It must be received by the Registrar before the end of final exam week. The form is placed in the student’s file until the course requirements have been completed. It is the responsibility of the student to be familiar with the policies and procedures pertaining to term extensions and incomplete grades and to ensure that all procedures are followed. Neglecting to do so may result in a failing grade.

If the faculty member denies the student’s request, the student can appeal the decision with the Academic Dean.

If an incomplete grade request has been granted, but the course requirements are not completed within thirty (30) days, the mark assigned shall be a failure.

Extensions to an incomplete grade may be granted in extenuating circumstances, but may not exceed 16 weeks following the end of the course. Students who fail to complete course work by the agreed deadline will have a grade assigned which is based on work completed.

Students wishing to withdraw from a program must complete and return the Program Withdrawal Form. This form must have the student’s signature or indication from the Program Director as to how the information was confirmed with the student, such as by telephone, or verbal agreement.

Please note that the date the form is received in the Office of the Registrar will be the official date used when processing.

Students must meet the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) stipulated for their program to remain in satisfactory standing. Those whose GPA falls below the minimum standard , or who fail a course in any given semester will be placed on academic probation and may be required to take a reduced course load (i.e. no more than nine credits) during this time. Failure to raise the semester GPA to an acceptable standard by the following semester normally results in the student being dismissed from NTC.

A student’s academic standing at NTC is calculated using a specific formula. This only pertains to students registered in approved credit programs. Academic standing is reviewed officially at end of intersession. There is deferred decision making for students who are assigned grades of Incomplete.

To remain in satisfactory academic standing the following Grade Point Averages must be maintained:

Unclassified and Visiting students must maintain a 1.70 cumulative and semester GPA. If, after nine (9) credits, an Unclassified or Visiting student has not maintained a GPA of 1.70 or better, permission to continue enrollment at Newman Theological College will be denied.

Students completing a program with a GPA of 3.70 or higher will be awarded a “with Distinction” notation.

The generally accepted class average for the C.Th., Dip.Th., B.Th., M.T.S., M.Div., G.C.C.S.A., and the M.R.E., all of which are basic degrees, diplomas, and certificates, is a ‘B’ (3.00).

The generally accepted class average for the M.Th., which is an advanced degree, is an ‘A-’ (3.70).

Averages may vary somewhat depending on the size of the class, academic background of the students etc., but if the class average of the final marks submitted by the professor to the Registrar is aberrant, the Academic Dean may adjust individual grades to bring the class average within acceptable means.

• Certificate of Theology (C.Th.)    No Limit
• Diploma of Theology (Dip.Th.)    5 Years
• Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.)    6 Years
• Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies (B.A.(CATH) 6 years
• Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.)    5 Years
• Master of Divinity (M.Div.)    6 Years
• Master of Theology (M.Th.)    5 Years
• Graduate Certificate in Catholic School Administration (G.C.C.S.A.)    No Limit
• Master of Religious Education (M.R.E.)    10 Years