Student Handbook
2023-24
SHEPHERDS AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART
"And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15).
The Church needs shepherds after God's own heart—shepherds who have compassion, skill, and knowledge for feeding the sheep. Every particular church is called to repentance and reformation. God calls particular men to lead this work. These men need good training, but good training can be hard to find. Our legacy seminaries are expensive and have loftier, more gender-neutered goals than training men to be shepherds in Christ’s Bride. New Geneva Academy desires to return to the old paths when pastors trained pastors in the local church. NGA’s program, therefore, is a vital partnership with local churches. We provide rigorous and affordable training to men who are mentored in their home church. Shepherds—elders and pastors—after God’s own heart is the goal.
John Calvin’s work in Geneva is our model for godly shepherding. His sermons and the shepherding work of the Company of Pastors in Geneva demonstrated an intense concern for the foundation of all ministry: pastoral care. With his fellow pastors, Calvin trained many men at the Geneva Academy. These men went on to suffer and die for the reformation of the church around the world, and we desire God to bless the men of New Geneva Academy with the same spirit of faith and zeal for the Bride of Christ. This unheralded reformation in pastoral care was the living heart of the Reformation—and our churches need the same reformation today.
Why New Geneva Academy?
We believe the local church is the right context for equipping His officers. Modern residential seminaries focus on academic training in the context of the classroom. These four-year institutions give little emphasis to pastoral skill and godly character—traits that good shepherds cannot do without. The men attending such institutions are not only removed from their local church but they often come to despise the church as they breathe in the rarified air of academia. Only with the oversight of a local church's faithful elders and pastors, the rich, real-life context of the local body, the careful development of the heart and mind by our faculty and administration, and the blessings of the Holy Spirit can we produce shepherds after God's own heart.
For these reasons, NGA is both academically rigorous and thoroughly practical. Students will be tested not only through the work they do for us, but also through the work they will be doing for their churches. No student may enter our program without a committed mentor—generally a pastor—from the leadership of his local church. This mentor will oversee the student work through NGA's practica—semester-long dips into areas such as preaching, teaching, counseling, worship leading, and administration.
The Importance of Mentors
Men who aspire to the pastorate need mentors, disciplers, and spiritual fathers who understand how to guide and shape the next generation. When the Apostle Paul saw in Timothy a man called by God, he took Timothy with him to do ministry. Paul trained, encouraged, exhorted, and loved Timothy with the goal of producing a faithful shepherd for the next generation. If our students are in the position of Timothy, then our mentors are in the position of Paul. A significant part of New Geneva's work is to train and counsel mentors as they train and counsel their students.
In a nutshell, then, here are our distinctives:
Local
Without picking up and moving across the country, working men can enroll in NGA without moving away from their local church. We use a mixture of online resources, live interactive video, and face-to-face teaching.
Affordable
In addition to keeping our price low, NGA asks the student's own church to carry half of his tuition cost.
Rigorous
NGA is a rigorous academic program teaching the Bible, systematic theology, church history, hermeneutics, ethics, apologetics—everything necessary to prepare each man to feed the sheep.
Practical
Students work hand in hand with a mentor to complete practica in their local church, including preaching, teaching, counseling, administrating, and more.
Accountable
Each student enrolled in NGA will have a pastor or elder who vouches for his character and commits to mentoring him during the three-year program. We provide regular support and counsel to these mentors.
CURRICULUM
Master of Divinity, Pastoral Ministry Track
Master of Divinity, Worship & Liturgy Track (In-Residence)
PRACTICA IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Students are required to complete all practica in a responsible manner under the oversight of their local mentor. If a student feels he is over-committed in ministry work, he will work with the Dean to resolve the issue.
WORKLOAD
It would be hard to succeed as a full-time student without 3-4 hours per day to devote to NGA work.
INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY
All students must have access to high-speed internet for online classes and a computer, smartphone, or tablet that allows the student to share quality audio and video with his instructor.
ETIQUETTE IN CLASSROOM
Distracting background noise or commotion during video-conference classes is not permitted. Unless authorized by the instructor, eating is not permitted during classes.
GRADING
Final grades are determined by the following standards:
93-100 = A (4.0)
90-92 = A- (3.7)
87-89 = B+ (3.3)
83-86 = B (3.0)
80-82 = B- (2.7)
77-79 = C+ (2.3)
73-76 = C (2.0)
70-72 = C- (1.7)
67-69 = D+ (1.3)
63-66 = D (1.0)
60-62 = D- (0.7)
0-59 = F (0.0)
Grade points per subject = the letter grade’s points times the number of credit hours for the course. A student’s semester and cumulative GPA are computed by dividing the total grade points earned by the number of attempted hours.
ACADEMIC HONORS
Summa Cum Laude: 3.9 GPA or above
Magna Cum Laude: 3.7 to 3.89
Cum Laude: 3.5 to 3.69
GRADE REPORTS AND APPEALS
Every student has access to an unofficial copy of his transcript through Moodle, NGA’s learning management system. Discrepancies between the transcript and the student’s personal record should be brought to the attention of NGA’s administration. Students have six months from the final date of the semester to appeal any grade recorded on their transcript within that same semester. All grades will be final after the six-month period has expired.
ACADEMIC PROBATION
At the end of each academic term, a student who fails to maintain the minimum GPA for his program (2.3 for all programs) will receive a notification from the administration warning the student of the drop in performance, even if the student’s cumulative GPA meets the minimum requirement. The student shall endeavor to raise his average to acceptable standards during the following term. A student whose GPA falls below the minimum requirements for graduation will be placed on academic probation and will be given two semesters to raise his average to the minimum, or to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the registrar and Dean that significant progress is being made to raise the average to the minimum standard. If sufficient progress is not made, the student will be released from the program.
WITHDRAWAL FROM COURSE(S) POLICY
Students are not permitted to withdraw from courses.
WITHDRAWAL FROM ACADEMY POLICY
A student planning to withdraw from NGA should report this intention to the administration in writing, and is responsible for unpaid bills to NGA. Should such a student desire to return to NGA within one academic year of withdrawing, he shall notify the administration of his desire to be reconsidered for the program.
TRANSFER OF CREDIT POLICY
A student seeking transfer credit on the basis of master’s-level course work pursued at another institution shall, prior to registration, present to the Dean an official transcript of the previous work, syllabi of the applicable courses, and a catalog from the other institution containing course descriptions of the work for which credit is requested. Work that has received a “C” or lower (as well as work completed more than 10 years prior to the request) normally will not be accepted for transfer. After confirming equivalency of course status with the appropriate instructor of the relevant course(s), credit may be granted by the registrar for up to 10 percent of the program being completed. No credit will be given for coursework completed at the bachelor’s level, although language courses may be waived by successfully passing a language placement exam.
RETAKE POLICY
In a course in which a student has received a failing grade, the instructor may grant permission for the student to take a re-examination or resubmit an assignment of sufficient quality to raise the grade to a passing grade. Such work must be completed within one month after notification of the failing grade. If the grade is raised to a passing grade, the student receives credit for the course, but receives a 0.0 GPA for the course.
Students are permitted to repeat a course in which a grade was earned. When a course with an earned grade of an “F” is repeated, both the failing and second grade figure into the cumulative grade-point average. If a student repeats a course that has been passed, both grades will be shown on the transcript, but only the first grade will factor into the student’s GPA.
POLICY FOR ASSIGNMENT EXTENSIONS
The syllabus for every course designates the date assignments are due and the penalty that will be imposed on unexcused late submissions. Extensions may be granted on the following basis:
In all courses in which theses, papers, reports on assigned readings, or other special assignments are required, either in place of or in addition to a final examination, these written materials must be submitted on or before the date set by the instructor.
A student is expected to complete all work within the term. In special circumstances, however, he may request an incomplete (I). Upon such delayed completion of the course work, the incomplete will be removed from the transcript; providing that it is within the time frame as expressed in the “Policy for Incompletes.”
Each instructor may deal with late assignments as he sees fit. The standard procedure, however, is that for every day the work is delayed, the student will be penalized by a drop of 0.7 grade points (thus, two days late would reduce the grade by 1.4 grade points reducing the grade from an A- to a C+).
A student may not submit the same or similar assignments for more than one requirement at the academy unless he has received the instructor’s explicit approval. Neither can a student use work done for another institution (e.g., undergraduate work) to fulfill assignments in courses at the academy. Students with questions about a possible overlap of work are responsible to check with their instructor.
POLICY FOR INCOMPLETES
Students who receive an incomplete (I) are required to make up or complete their work by the mid-term point of the following semester. If the work is not completed by the required deadline, the “I” will be changed to “F.” A student who makes up his work within the required time will receive a grade determined by the instructor. Exceptions to this policy are at the discretion of the Dean and Vice-President.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism is never acceptable.
There is often confusion among students as to what constitutes plagiarism. At its basic level, plagiarism is taking another person’s intellectual property and presenting it as if it were his own. Practically speaking, it usually involves taking basic units of language (words, phrases, sentence, and paragraphs)—or even thoughts and ideas—without properly acknowledging indebtedness for them in footnotes or endnotes.
Instances of plagiarism will be dealt with as follows:
For all language courses (online Greek and Hebrew):
All students will be expected to demonstrate their progress through outsourced Greek and Hebrew courses. At the end of the classes, NGA will administer a pass/fail exam to each student. Students must pass these exams in order to receive credit for the language courses.
For all non-language courses:
Students will be expected to produce two substantial papers during the second and third year. Topics must be approved by the Dean.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Each student is expected, barring lawful reasons, to attend every class for which he is registered. Absences caused by illness or other justifiable causes will be permitted to a limited extent. Students should not accrue more unexcused absences than the number of course credit hours. Should absences endanger the student’s performance in class, the instructor will counsel the student. Further absences will normally result in the reduction of course grades. Unexcused absences may also result in the student being placed on academic probation.
STUDENT LIFE AND CONDUCT
As a community of future leaders of Christ’s Church, NGA will work to maintain high standards of integrity among its students in all areas of life including academic work, ministry, and church and community relationships. Given these objectives, the academy’s faculty and governing committees expect students to live according to high standards of faith and to use wise judgment in matters pertaining to personal conduct. Students are expected to show maturity in Christ, love for one another, pronounced patterns of devotion and service, and the responsible use of Christian liberty. All students of the academy are expected to act in accordance with local, state, and federal laws at all times, whether on or off campus. Behavior that is immoral, illegal, or disruptive will result in dismissal.
Noli Altum Sapere (look it up).
TUITION PAYMENTS
Tuition for the MDiv and BD is $8000/yr. ($240/credit hour), half covered by the student and half covered by the mentoring church.
Tuition for the Groundwork program (and the first year of the BD curriculum) is $2400.
The credit hour cost of tuition for the Certificate in Bible & Theology is $120/hr.
Tuition must be paid in full by the final day of the spring semester. Tuition will normally be paid in two installments of $2000, one due on the first day of classes of the fall semester and one on the first day of classes of the spring semester. A student may not continue in the next year of the course or graduate while he has tuition payments in arrears. In exceptional cases when approved by the Dean and President, payment plans may be set up.
Full-time students and supporting churches are subject to the following refund schedule:
Withdrawal before the start of classes: 50%.
Withdrawal during the first and second week of classes: 30%
Withdrawal after the second week of classes: 0%
"And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15).
The Church needs shepherds after God's own heart—shepherds who have compassion, skill, and knowledge for feeding the sheep. Every particular church is called to repentance and reformation. God calls particular men to lead this work. These men need good training, but good training can be hard to find. Our legacy seminaries are expensive and have loftier, more gender-neutered goals than training men to be shepherds in Christ’s Bride. New Geneva Academy desires to return to the old paths when pastors trained pastors in the local church. NGA’s program, therefore, is a vital partnership with local churches. We provide rigorous and affordable training to men who are mentored in their home church. Shepherds—elders and pastors—after God’s own heart is the goal.
John Calvin’s work in Geneva is our model for godly shepherding. His sermons and the shepherding work of the Company of Pastors in Geneva demonstrated an intense concern for the foundation of all ministry: pastoral care. With his fellow pastors, Calvin trained many men at the Geneva Academy. These men went on to suffer and die for the reformation of the church around the world, and we desire God to bless the men of New Geneva Academy with the same spirit of faith and zeal for the Bride of Christ. This unheralded reformation in pastoral care was the living heart of the Reformation—and our churches need the same reformation today.
Why New Geneva Academy?
We believe the local church is the right context for equipping His officers. Modern residential seminaries focus on academic training in the context of the classroom. These four-year institutions give little emphasis to pastoral skill and godly character—traits that good shepherds cannot do without. The men attending such institutions are not only removed from their local church but they often come to despise the church as they breathe in the rarified air of academia. Only with the oversight of a local church's faithful elders and pastors, the rich, real-life context of the local body, the careful development of the heart and mind by our faculty and administration, and the blessings of the Holy Spirit can we produce shepherds after God's own heart.
For these reasons, NGA is both academically rigorous and thoroughly practical. Students will be tested not only through the work they do for us, but also through the work they will be doing for their churches. No student may enter our program without a committed mentor—generally a pastor—from the leadership of his local church. This mentor will oversee the student work through NGA's practica—semester-long dips into areas such as preaching, teaching, counseling, worship leading, and administration.
The Importance of Mentors
Men who aspire to the pastorate need mentors, disciplers, and spiritual fathers who understand how to guide and shape the next generation. When the Apostle Paul saw in Timothy a man called by God, he took Timothy with him to do ministry. Paul trained, encouraged, exhorted, and loved Timothy with the goal of producing a faithful shepherd for the next generation. If our students are in the position of Timothy, then our mentors are in the position of Paul. A significant part of New Geneva's work is to train and counsel mentors as they train and counsel their students.
In a nutshell, then, here are our distinctives:
Local
Without picking up and moving across the country, working men can enroll in NGA without moving away from their local church. We use a mixture of online resources, live interactive video, and face-to-face teaching.
Affordable
In addition to keeping our price low, NGA asks the student's own church to carry half of his tuition cost.
Rigorous
NGA is a rigorous academic program teaching the Bible, systematic theology, church history, hermeneutics, ethics, apologetics—everything necessary to prepare each man to feed the sheep.
Practical
Students work hand in hand with a mentor to complete practica in their local church, including preaching, teaching, counseling, administrating, and more.
Accountable
Each student enrolled in NGA will have a pastor or elder who vouches for his character and commits to mentoring him during the three-year program. We provide regular support and counsel to these mentors.
CURRICULUM
Master of Divinity, Pastoral Ministry Track
Master of Divinity, Worship & Liturgy Track (In-Residence)
PRACTICA IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Students are required to complete all practica in a responsible manner under the oversight of their local mentor. If a student feels he is over-committed in ministry work, he will work with the Dean to resolve the issue.
WORKLOAD
It would be hard to succeed as a full-time student without 3-4 hours per day to devote to NGA work.
INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY
All students must have access to high-speed internet for online classes and a computer, smartphone, or tablet that allows the student to share quality audio and video with his instructor.
ETIQUETTE IN CLASSROOM
Distracting background noise or commotion during video-conference classes is not permitted. Unless authorized by the instructor, eating is not permitted during classes.
GRADING
Final grades are determined by the following standards:
- A: Excellent; superior achievement of course objectives.
- B: Good; commendable achievement of course objectives.
- C: Acceptable; acceptable achievement of course objectives.
- D: Poor; marginal achievement of course objectives.
- F: Failure to advance in the course to the extent necessary for credit to be given.
- S or P: Satisfactory or pass; adequate achievement of course objectives, but no grade points given.
- U: Unsatisfactory; insufficient achievement of course objectives.
- AU: Audit; no grade points given.
- I: Incomplete; a temporary extension granted as defined in the “Policy for Incompletes.”
93-100 = A (4.0)
90-92 = A- (3.7)
87-89 = B+ (3.3)
83-86 = B (3.0)
80-82 = B- (2.7)
77-79 = C+ (2.3)
73-76 = C (2.0)
70-72 = C- (1.7)
67-69 = D+ (1.3)
63-66 = D (1.0)
60-62 = D- (0.7)
0-59 = F (0.0)
Grade points per subject = the letter grade’s points times the number of credit hours for the course. A student’s semester and cumulative GPA are computed by dividing the total grade points earned by the number of attempted hours.
ACADEMIC HONORS
Summa Cum Laude: 3.9 GPA or above
Magna Cum Laude: 3.7 to 3.89
Cum Laude: 3.5 to 3.69
GRADE REPORTS AND APPEALS
Every student has access to an unofficial copy of his transcript through Moodle, NGA’s learning management system. Discrepancies between the transcript and the student’s personal record should be brought to the attention of NGA’s administration. Students have six months from the final date of the semester to appeal any grade recorded on their transcript within that same semester. All grades will be final after the six-month period has expired.
ACADEMIC PROBATION
At the end of each academic term, a student who fails to maintain the minimum GPA for his program (2.3 for all programs) will receive a notification from the administration warning the student of the drop in performance, even if the student’s cumulative GPA meets the minimum requirement. The student shall endeavor to raise his average to acceptable standards during the following term. A student whose GPA falls below the minimum requirements for graduation will be placed on academic probation and will be given two semesters to raise his average to the minimum, or to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the registrar and Dean that significant progress is being made to raise the average to the minimum standard. If sufficient progress is not made, the student will be released from the program.
WITHDRAWAL FROM COURSE(S) POLICY
Students are not permitted to withdraw from courses.
WITHDRAWAL FROM ACADEMY POLICY
A student planning to withdraw from NGA should report this intention to the administration in writing, and is responsible for unpaid bills to NGA. Should such a student desire to return to NGA within one academic year of withdrawing, he shall notify the administration of his desire to be reconsidered for the program.
TRANSFER OF CREDIT POLICY
A student seeking transfer credit on the basis of master’s-level course work pursued at another institution shall, prior to registration, present to the Dean an official transcript of the previous work, syllabi of the applicable courses, and a catalog from the other institution containing course descriptions of the work for which credit is requested. Work that has received a “C” or lower (as well as work completed more than 10 years prior to the request) normally will not be accepted for transfer. After confirming equivalency of course status with the appropriate instructor of the relevant course(s), credit may be granted by the registrar for up to 10 percent of the program being completed. No credit will be given for coursework completed at the bachelor’s level, although language courses may be waived by successfully passing a language placement exam.
RETAKE POLICY
In a course in which a student has received a failing grade, the instructor may grant permission for the student to take a re-examination or resubmit an assignment of sufficient quality to raise the grade to a passing grade. Such work must be completed within one month after notification of the failing grade. If the grade is raised to a passing grade, the student receives credit for the course, but receives a 0.0 GPA for the course.
Students are permitted to repeat a course in which a grade was earned. When a course with an earned grade of an “F” is repeated, both the failing and second grade figure into the cumulative grade-point average. If a student repeats a course that has been passed, both grades will be shown on the transcript, but only the first grade will factor into the student’s GPA.
POLICY FOR ASSIGNMENT EXTENSIONS
The syllabus for every course designates the date assignments are due and the penalty that will be imposed on unexcused late submissions. Extensions may be granted on the following basis:
- The student requesting an extension must submit in writing the reason for his inability to meet the deadline of the assignment. This must be done before the scheduled due date.
- This request will be submitted to a committee consisting of the Dean and the Vice-President. This committee, in consultation with the instructor of the course, will consider the validity of the request. If the committee determines that the student’s explanation is valid, it will grant an extension.
- The instructor will have the discretion to set a new due date for the project, although the extension would not normally exceed three weeks after the original date.
- Only one extension will be granted. If the request for an extension is not granted, the project will be subject to the penalties set for unexcused late submissions.
In all courses in which theses, papers, reports on assigned readings, or other special assignments are required, either in place of or in addition to a final examination, these written materials must be submitted on or before the date set by the instructor.
A student is expected to complete all work within the term. In special circumstances, however, he may request an incomplete (I). Upon such delayed completion of the course work, the incomplete will be removed from the transcript; providing that it is within the time frame as expressed in the “Policy for Incompletes.”
Each instructor may deal with late assignments as he sees fit. The standard procedure, however, is that for every day the work is delayed, the student will be penalized by a drop of 0.7 grade points (thus, two days late would reduce the grade by 1.4 grade points reducing the grade from an A- to a C+).
A student may not submit the same or similar assignments for more than one requirement at the academy unless he has received the instructor’s explicit approval. Neither can a student use work done for another institution (e.g., undergraduate work) to fulfill assignments in courses at the academy. Students with questions about a possible overlap of work are responsible to check with their instructor.
POLICY FOR INCOMPLETES
Students who receive an incomplete (I) are required to make up or complete their work by the mid-term point of the following semester. If the work is not completed by the required deadline, the “I” will be changed to “F.” A student who makes up his work within the required time will receive a grade determined by the instructor. Exceptions to this policy are at the discretion of the Dean and Vice-President.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism is never acceptable.
There is often confusion among students as to what constitutes plagiarism. At its basic level, plagiarism is taking another person’s intellectual property and presenting it as if it were his own. Practically speaking, it usually involves taking basic units of language (words, phrases, sentence, and paragraphs)—or even thoughts and ideas—without properly acknowledging indebtedness for them in footnotes or endnotes.
Instances of plagiarism will be dealt with as follows:
- First offense: The student is spoken to by the instructor and/or the Dean and the incident is recorded and entered into the student’s record.
- Second offense: The student is spoken to by the Dean and/or the President.
- Third offense: The student is suspended for one year. Re-admittance to NGA requires the approval of the President of the academy in consultation with faculty and the Board of Directors (BOD).
For all language courses (online Greek and Hebrew):
All students will be expected to demonstrate their progress through outsourced Greek and Hebrew courses. At the end of the classes, NGA will administer a pass/fail exam to each student. Students must pass these exams in order to receive credit for the language courses.
For all non-language courses:
Students will be expected to produce two substantial papers during the second and third year. Topics must be approved by the Dean.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Each student is expected, barring lawful reasons, to attend every class for which he is registered. Absences caused by illness or other justifiable causes will be permitted to a limited extent. Students should not accrue more unexcused absences than the number of course credit hours. Should absences endanger the student’s performance in class, the instructor will counsel the student. Further absences will normally result in the reduction of course grades. Unexcused absences may also result in the student being placed on academic probation.
STUDENT LIFE AND CONDUCT
As a community of future leaders of Christ’s Church, NGA will work to maintain high standards of integrity among its students in all areas of life including academic work, ministry, and church and community relationships. Given these objectives, the academy’s faculty and governing committees expect students to live according to high standards of faith and to use wise judgment in matters pertaining to personal conduct. Students are expected to show maturity in Christ, love for one another, pronounced patterns of devotion and service, and the responsible use of Christian liberty. All students of the academy are expected to act in accordance with local, state, and federal laws at all times, whether on or off campus. Behavior that is immoral, illegal, or disruptive will result in dismissal.
Noli Altum Sapere (look it up).
TUITION PAYMENTS
Tuition for the MDiv and BD is $8000/yr. ($240/credit hour), half covered by the student and half covered by the mentoring church.
Tuition for the Groundwork program (and the first year of the BD curriculum) is $2400.
The credit hour cost of tuition for the Certificate in Bible & Theology is $120/hr.
Tuition must be paid in full by the final day of the spring semester. Tuition will normally be paid in two installments of $2000, one due on the first day of classes of the fall semester and one on the first day of classes of the spring semester. A student may not continue in the next year of the course or graduate while he has tuition payments in arrears. In exceptional cases when approved by the Dean and President, payment plans may be set up.
Full-time students and supporting churches are subject to the following refund schedule:
Withdrawal before the start of classes: 50%.
Withdrawal during the first and second week of classes: 30%
Withdrawal after the second week of classes: 0%