Memphis-Tennessee-Holston Extension Course of Study Schools An Extension of the Emory Course of Study I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God s grace given me through the working of his power. Ephesians 3:7 2014 Registration Information The Course of Study School is sponsored by The United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Southeastern Jurisdictional Administrative Council, the Candler School of Theology and Co-sponsoring UMC Conferences including the Memphis, Tennessee, and Holston Conferences. In Tennessee, courses are currently offered at Hiawassee College and Martin Methodist College. The Course of Study program is prescribed by The Division of Ordained Ministry of the United Methodist Church to ensure the education of Local Pastors. A person choosing to enter ministry as a Local Pastor must complete the Course of Study curriculum. The Course of Study an alternative to seminary education. To be admitted to the Extension Course of Study program, you must: 1) Be a certified candidate 2) Complete all requirements for license as a local pastor and 3) Be endorsed by your Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry These extension courses are offered for part-time local pastors only. A part-time local pastor must complete the twenty courses required by the current Course of Study curriculum within twelve years of the time she or he is licensed. Admissions-Registration Process Please use current registration form only. You will not be enrolled unless all of the following items are complete and sent to the Course of Study Registrar by the following deadline. Registration approval form and fees are due one month before the first class session (see deadlines on form). Please mail registration form and fees to: Ms. Pam Whitmore, Registrar 271 East Ninth Street Cookeville, TN 38501 After completing the registration form, obtain signatures of your District Superintendent and Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry Local Pastor Registrar. Appropriate signatures are required for financial scholarship assistance. Make sure you obtain the signatures in time to submit the registration form prior to the deadline. Please keep a copy of your completed registration form. Costs-MTH Extension Course of Study Current tuition at the MTH Extension Course of Study is $270 per course. In addition, a $60 non-refundable registration fee is charged if you enroll one month or more before the School begins. A non-refundable registration fee of $80 is charged if you enroll later than one full month in advance of the course. Submit your registration fee with the registration form made payable to the Memphis-Tennessee-Holston (MTH) Course of Study. Before registering for a course, check with your Conference Board of Ordained Ministry concerning possible scholarship assistance with tuition. If a Conference scholarship does not cover the entire tuition ($270), please plan to arrive to the School prepared to pay the difference between the Conference scholarship and the tuition cost. Your Annual Conference will be billed for your scholarship after you have successfully completed the course. Please note, after the first class meeting, if you drop out of the course, your Annual Conference or you will still be billed for tuition, depending on your Conference requirements. The 2014 Schedule and Registration Form are online: http://www.martinmethodist.edu/church-leadership/course-of-study/
Cancellation Policies In the event a student cannot attend as planned, the student must notify the Registrar as soon as possible prior to the first class session to cancel attendance. Unless notified before class begins, the student will be responsible for paying the entire cost of the course for which he or she is registered. In addition, students who attend class and then drop a course will be responsible for paying for the entire cost of the course. The MTH Course of Study School retains the right to cancel any course for insufficient registration or other necessary reasons. Students affected will be notified and assisted if possible to enroll in another class. Meals and Housing You must make your own lodging arrangements. Please consult the Course of Study website for lodging information. Any lodging expenses listed are based on fall 2011 and are not guaranteed. Tuition for one course is $270 and does not include housing, meals, books or class materials. Preparing for Courses You will need to begin preparing for courses as soon as possible to allow enough time to read and prayerfully complete the pre-work assignments. Some of this advance preparation can be done in conjunction with the Annual Conference Mentor. Assignments will include material related to the classroom studies as well as experience in pastoral ministry. It is required that pre-work assignments for the current year be used. Faculty do change assignments from year to year. Pre-work assignments completed from the previous years will not be accepted. The Academic Honor Code cover sheet must be attached to each assignment. The cover sheet is in your registration packet or on the COS website as a part of the Academic Honor Code. Please prayerfully review the Academic Honor Code as a part of your pre-work and assignments for each class. Deadline for Pre-work Assignments In your ministry, you will have many deadlines. It is crucial that you complete the pre-work assignment by the first class, which will require that you allow time for both the course reading, and for reflection, prayer, and writing. Late work will be penalized. If you have any question about the pre-work, contact the faculty member directly by e-mail. E-mail is listed on the course syllabus. For your records, keep a copy of your pre-work and all course assignments that you complete. The Course of Study is not responsible for lost assignments. Books Consult cokesbury.com when ordering books, please provide Cokesbury with the course title, the title of the book, the author(s), and book s ISBN number. Order your books at least 6-8 weeks in advance or sooner to ensure delivery. Books may also be obtained from Amazon or local book stores. Occasionally, faculty may use a book that is in addition to the Course of Study book list. Please check the syllabus carefully for required texts. Notify the faculty member by e-mail if there is any delay or problem with receiving your textbooks. See the COS website for the COS Book Loan program information. Course Enrollment Expectations The maximum number of courses a student can take in the Course of Study is four courses per year. This course load is the same for every state s Course of Study School. In unusual circumstances, students may be given permission to take an additional course with approval of the District Superintendent, your Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, Annual Conference Local Pastor Registrar, and the Director of the Course of Study. Online Information This brochure, class schedules, registration form, 2014 course syllabi with pre-work, text requirements, the Academic Honor Code with cover sheets, etc. may all be found on the Course of Study website: http://www.martinmethodist.edu/church-leadership/course-of-study/.
Class Attendance Each course requires two weekends (twenty hours) to complete. Attendance is required at every class. A student who misses a portion of any class period must obtain prior permission in writing of both the instructor and the director to continue and must satisfactorily complete make-up work assigned by the instructor within two weeks of the close of the School. No credit will be granted to a student who misses more than four hours of a class or who fails to get all required work to the instructor within two weeks of the close of the School. There is no refund if the student begins but does not complete a course. Class Hours The number of in classroom hours for each of the basic courses is a minimum of twenty. The class start time is 5:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Friday and from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. This includes starting worship time. The course schedule is listed on this brochure, on the website, and on the registration form. Hiwassee College is in EST and Martin Methodist is in CST. Records The academic records for the MTH Course of Study are maintained by the MTH COS Director as well as The Division of Ordained Ministry in Nashville, TN. Your grade for each course will be sent to you, GBHEM-the Division of Ordained Ministry, the Directors/Registrars of the Emory and MTH Course of Study Schools, your District Superintendent, and your Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. Also, you should retain a copy of your course grades. Grading System The quality of the work completed by students in courses is important. Grades are assigned by the faculty. The grading system is: A-outstanding, B-high quality, C- satisfactory, D-below average, F-no credit for less than acceptable work. Below C work may or may not be accepted for credit and financial payment of your tuition by your Annual Conference resulting in you paying full tuition. Incomplete Policy An incomplete is granted only to students with special circumstances who were not able to complete a small portion of the required work for a course session. The student must request an incomplete in writing and receive prior written permission from the faculty member and Director of the MTH-COS before the end of the course session. The faculty member will send the incomplete grade to the Director. If the work is not received within 2 weeks of the last class session, the incomplete will automatically be changed to an F. Transcripts You may obtain a copy of your current transcript by contacting Pamela Fulton at the Division of Ordained Ministry in Nashville. Her e-mail address is cosregistrar@gbhem.org. Her phone number is 615-340-7416. Course of Study Completion You are responsible to request a transcript review 4 courses (or at least 6 months) prior to completing the Course of Study by contacting Lynn Daye. You must also notify the Course of Study Director, at least 4 courses or at least 6 months prior to completing the Course of Study. During the service of Holy Communion, you will be recognized on the second weekend of your last course when you complete the Course of Study. Family members are welcome to attend. Your Annual Conference may have additional recognition arrangements. Worship and Holy Communion Opening worship and the Service of Holy Communion are very important aspects of the COS. At each course, we worship at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Classes begin immediately following worship. A closing Service of Holy Communion is held the second Saturday of the Course (usually 2:15 pm). Attendance at worship and Holy Communion is required. Final exams for courses begin after the Service of Holy Communion.
Student - Faculty Relations Local Pastors are the reason for the Course of Study. The courses and interaction are designed to be supportive to the development of the individual pastor, who is pursuing ways to strengthen their personal faith and their ministry through developing new knowledge, skills, and capacities directed toward gaining wisdom to discern God s will in their life. The administration of the Course of Study is dedicated to supporting local pastors, faculty, and all aspects of the Course of Study. Faculty Evaluation & Development The Course of Study Faculty is well qualified and is very dedicated to quality instruction. They are evaluated on the last day of every course. The site coordinator collects the evaluations and mails these to the Director of the Course of Study. The director compiles the results and provides feedback to the faculty. The evaluations are taken seriously. Faculty revise pre-work, syllabi, text selections, other course materials, and their teaching based upon the feedback from students. Faculty participate in individual and Course of Study development. Curriculum The Course of Study is a year-round learning process including experience with a mentor and classroom learning. The MTH Course of Study School is mindful of meeting the needs of part-time Local Pastors only. Student Academic Honor Code The Memphis-Tennessee-Holston Extension School requires that all material submitted by a student, to fulfill his/her academic requirements, must be the work of the student with proper documentation of works cited. The Academic Honor Code is posted on the Course of Study website: http://www.martinmethodist.edu/church-leadership/course-of-study/. The Academic Honor Code posted on the website are required with each assignment including the pre-work. PAYMENT POLICIES-COS is self-supporting Financial integrity see UM Book of Discipline: 1. Before registering for a course, check with your Conference Board of Ordained Ministry concerning possible scholarship assistance with tuition. 2. If a Conference scholarship does not cover the entire tuition ($270), you must arrive to the first course prepared to pay the difference between the Conference scholarship and the tuition cost. Your Annual Conference is billed for your scholarship after you have successfully completed the course. 3. After the first class meeting, if you drop out of the course, your annual conference or you will still be billed for tuition, depending on your Conference requirements. You are responsible to personally pay for the course if the Conference does not pay. 4. You cannot register for future courses if you have outstanding tuition or registration. 5. Past due payment sent to DS, dbom, dcom Chair, LP Registrar, and COS Treasurer. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8
2014 Course of Study Schedule Memphis/Tennessee/Holston Course of Study HIWASSEE COLLEGE February 7-8 and March 7-8, 2014 COS 112 Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit COS 213 Formation for Discipleship COS 311 New Testament I April 4-5 and May 16-17, 2014 COS 513 Our Mission: Transforming Agent COS 212 Our Theological Heritage: The Early and Medieval Church September 5-6 and October 3-4, 2014 COS 111 The Pastor as Interpreter of the Bible COS 313 Our Mission: Evangelism COS 113 Pastoral Care for Spiritual Formation COS 511 New Testament II October 24-25 and November 14-15, 2014 COS 412 The Wesleyan Movement COS 414 Personal and Social Ethics COS 514 Theology and the Practice of Ministry MARTIN METHODIST COLLEGE February 7-8 and March 7-8, 2014 COS 413 Worship and the Sacraments COS 512 Contemporary Theology April 4-5 and May 16-17, 2014 COS 214 The Practice of Preaching COS 211 Hebrew Bible I September 5-6 and October 3-4, 2014 COS 312 Our Theological Heritage: The Reformation COS 314 Pastoral Care and Counseling October 24-25 and November 14-15, 2014 COS 114 Pastoral Leadership and Administration COS 411 Hebrew Bible II *Insufficient enrollment may result in a course cancelation.