Academic Requirements

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION

This is a brief overview of the standards and minimum requirements of BSSM Online for graduation:

Attend all components of school with:
1. 1. - Part-Time Students - Four (4) or fewer absences over the course of each Semester.
    - Full-Time Students - Ten (10) or fewer absences over the course of the year.
Watch all Live sessions each week.
All homework turned in and satisfactory.
Maintain the standards of Christian character (see “Revivalist Lifestyle”).
Complete tuition payments in full and on time.

Students who do not fulfill the above requirements may not be eligible to continue on to the next semester or year of BSSM Online.

Note: For Part-Time students, absences do not roll over from one semester to the next. You will be allocated four (4) absences for each separate semester. For more information about absences, please read below.

ATTENDANCE

BSSM Online is a school of impartation, instruction, and discipleship combined with practical experience, which requires student participation in order to graduate. Minimally, the expectation is that students will be present! This includes watching all video sessions, as well as attending Revival Group and Small Group. Additionally, weekend service attendance is vital to sustainability and we highly encourage you to attend a local church where possible.

Program-Specific Absence Information

Part-Time Students - There will be four (4) absences allotted for each semester. If a student uses more than four (4) absences in a semester, they will not be able to progress to the next semester of BSSM Online. Absences do not roll over from one semester to the next.

Full-Time Students - There will be ten (10) absences allotted for the full school year. If a student uses more than ten (10) absences in the school year, they will need to repeat their year.

Absences are for times of crisis. You should save them and use them only if needed. These absences do not roll over into the next semester for part-time students. It would be wise to keep available absences for things like a family crisis. Students are also expected to notify their Student Mentors by email if they know they will be absent for any purpose. Student Mentor email addresses can be found in your profile on the student portal. Notifying us about a future absence will not mean that absence will not be counted. We do not excuse absences. We ask that you notify us so we know if you are okay or need extra support.

When an Absence is Taken

An absence is used by a student in any of the following situations:

The student misses Revival Group and / or Small Group.
- This includes not attending at all or arriving more than 20 minutes after Revival Group starts or leaving more than 20 minutes before Small Group ends (at the discretion of your Revival Group Pastor). Attendance is taken each day of Revival Group and Small Group. Please do not leave meetings early unless absolutely necessary. If you have to leave early, please contact your Student Mentor or Revival Group Pastor (RGP) prior to the meeting.
After each Live Sessions (which are Main Session, Table Talk, Encounter Room, and Masterclass for Full-Time students) the student has 17 days to watch the replay. If not watched after 17 days the student will receive an absence.

HOMEWORK

In order to remain in school, students must complete every assignment in a timely manner in accordance with the date that is assigned by the instructor or the paperwork received. RGPs and Student Mentors are empowered to address the character issues that are revealed by late, unsatisfactory, or neglected assignments. The goal is that every student would be self-managed in the area of homework. If a student can’t manage their freedom, their RGP will step in.

BSSM Online requires that ALL assignments be done in a satisfactory manner in order to graduate, which may be unlike other schools you have experienced.
We ask that you are not working on homework during Revival Group or Small Group.
All homework is due according to the dates found on your dashboard or as assigned by the instructor. The school schedule is a bit fluid, so please listen carefully for any changes. Please check your dashboard regularly and the weekly announcement emails for homework announcements and changes. In the case that there should be a conflict in assignment dates for any reason, the dates found on your assignment page of your dashboard will always be considered the correct date.
All reading is to be done by the due date. It is not optional, nor should you “scan” it as it is considered valuable homework. You will need to keep up on your reading to survive, thrive, and stay in school.

Completed Homework Return

Every student should receive feedback from their Student Mentor on some of his or her homework after it has been submitted on the dashboard. Student Mentors won't look all of your assignments, but some of them will be "required marking" and your Student Mentor will look those assignments over and comment. You will not know which assignments are required marking :)

Homework will be assessed as either “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory.” An assignment is rarely marked as "Unsatisfactory" but, when it is, that assignment will need to be redone and submitted again for re-assessment. Note: Unsatisfactory assignments are treated as missing assignments until they are marked otherwise.

TUITION PAYMENTS

We strongly encourage students be on time with all of their tuition payments. Tuition payments may be made online through the student portal.

A student will receive an email if you are overdue on your finances with further instructions. When a student becomes more than two tuition payments overdue, they are at risk of losing access to their courses until the situation is resolved, and may have to repeat the semester. However, once a student is no longer two payments behind, their access will be restored.

Friends and family can support a student in the following ways:

Give directly to a student's tuition by using their third party payment link on the student's portal.
Send a check made out to “BSSM” with a memo stating “BSSM Online” and the student’s name to 20 Lake Blvd, Redding CA 96003. If the memo does not indicate “BSSM Online” and the student’s name, this can result in a missed payment or a delay in payment.
Send a wire transfer. For instructions, please email online@bssm.net.

All tuition payments/donations are not tax deductible. Therefore, we do not issue any 1098T forms.

SEMESTER COMPLETION (Part-Time Students Only)

In order to move onto the next semester of BSSM Online, a student will need to fulfill the requirements stated above, including the completion of all coursework from the previous semester(s) and being up to date on tuition payments. Part-Time students are, if they wish to, welcome to repeat their current semester.

GRADUATION (Part-Time & Full-Time Students)

We love graduation! It’s a total joy to graduate our part-time and full-time students together once all semesters have been completed. To the BSSM Online staff, graduation means “successfully completing the academic, attendance, financial, and spiritual assignments the staff asks of you and doing it with an honoring attitude.” If you don’t complete all these assignments with honor, you won’t graduate and receive a certificate of graduation. We’ll all be disappointed if you don’t graduate, but we’re willing to let you make this decision if you choose to.

The following are our three graduation statuses:

Alumni = Graduate from BSSM Online
- These students have successfully completed all assignments at an academically satisfactory level, have no more than
  1. 1. Part-Time Students - four (4) absences per Semester and are in good standing with the school in regards to tuition and character.
    2. Full-Time Students - ten (10) absences per school year and are in good standing with the school in regards to tuition and character.
- Students with this graduation status are eligible to become BSSM Online alumni, and proceed to Second Year.
Incomplete = No Graduation from BSSM Online (attended school through the end, but did not graduate)
- These students may have done poorly at some point in the year (attendance, homework, finances, character, etc.). They are not eligible for Second Year, and are not BSSM Online alumni.
- These students do not receive a certificate of graduation. They may attend graduation, but will not participate in the ceremony.
- Part-time students with this graduation status may choose to apply to repeat any necessary semesters. Full-time students may choose to repeat their whole year.
Withdrawn or Dismissed = Did Not Complete (student either withdrew or was dismissed during the school year)
- Students with this graduation status are not eligible for BSSM Online alumni status, but may choose to apply to repeat any necessary semesters.

WITHDRAWAL FROM SCHOOL

We believe in our students and in our school. Students who choose to attend BSSM Online sometimes persevere through some difficulty to stay in school—it is part of the way that God works with them. Students attending BSSM Online may find that they have a reason to leave school. This may include any number of reasons, such as finances or other personal reasons. All students are expected to follow the procedure below if they begin to feel the need to withdraw from school.

Students who are considering withdrawal from BSSM Online must first make an appointment with their RGP/Student Mentor to discuss the possible reasons for leaving school and seek God together in that decision.
We are all seeking to allow others into our lives and to connect with leaders. Please go into this meeting looking for help and information. It is difficult to pastor students if/when they come in having already made up their mind. Please consider asking, “I am considering withdrawing, and I want your feedback about it” rather than, “I’m leaving school.” This may be a new concept for some of our students, but your RGP is looking to wisely counsel students, not to just keep them in school. Therefore, students should see their RGP early on if they start thinking along these lines.
No student should leave without giving us his or her honest feedback and without an attempt with your RGP to resolve any possible issues.
The RGP will then make that request within the system and our administrative staff will follow up with the student.
Refund Policy: Students who withdraw from school and have previously paid their tuition in full may receive a refunded amount that is based upon a prorated weekly portion of paid tuition, depending on how long you have attended school. After week three (3) of each semester, tuition is non-refundable for that semester. This policy is in effect because those who leave early have, in effect, displaced another applicant. To request a refund, please email online@bssm.net.

STUDENT DISCIPLINE

The freedom and remote experience of the BSSM Online environment requires a high level of self-management. One definition of freedom we like is “I am able to tell myself what to do and make myself do it.” It’s called self-control. We don’t want a controlling culture, but we expect to partner with you to create a holy and accountable one. We want to pastor you in such a way that the Holy Spirit “fruit” of self-control blossoms in your life. If it is normal for you to be externally motivated and controlled, that’s going to have to change as that style (alone) likely won’t work for you the rest of your life and ministry. You are on a path to being internally governed by the Spirit and the core values you’ve committed to. You’re on track to perform for an audience of One and to do all unto the glory of God, though our leaders and our teaching will likely highlight areas where you can improve.

Wherever we employ the “honor system” like going on an activation or outreach, we have designed it to do just that—to build your HONOR. This only works if you are absolutely truthful, so build your integrity one “yes,” one report, one checkbox at a time. Oswald Chambers said, “My worth to God in public is what I am in private.”

If you are struggling to make wise and loving choices, your small group and/or RGP/Student Mentor will confront you about any situation or person that needs to be addressed as quickly, directly and lovingly as possible. This confrontation is designed to help draw out the greatness within you. If these confrontations don’t bring the needed change and help flip on the internal “control switch” in your heart, you might find yourself in a situation that will lead to your departure from BSSM. (Note: sinful choices are more destructive than merely poor choices about homework etc., so we handle them a little more proactively.)

If, after your small group and/or RGP/Student Mentor confront you, there is still no change or growth, we have a problem. Pretty soon you are going to run into absences or financial deadline and that will bring its own consequences. Or, your behavior might sufficiently scare or hurt someone, that we will no longer empower you or, for the time being, have you attend school. In other words, you might decide to behave your way out of the school; that would be a bummer, but you are powerful and free to make that choice. We believe that eventually in life you’ll get more vision, insight, or pain to allow the fruit of self-control to ripen!

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