Course Quorum Requirements

ICBM courses require a minimum enrollment of 3 students in order to achieve sufficient course interactivity for group discussions and peer learning. An audit of course enrollment will be assessed by the end of the 2nd week of each course. Courses that fail to maintain the enrollment quorum may be canceled. In the case of such an event full tuition refunds will be given.

Courses availability and offerings are dependent on sufficient student enrollment and are subject to change. Inaugural offerings of core courses will be phased in over a 3 year period from 2015-2018.

Policy on Revisions and Changes

ICBM may periodically make revisions or changes to the Course Catalog or other ICBM policies.

Generally, students should follow their admitting term catalog and handbook as a reference and guide. Currently enrolled students will be expected to adhere to all new policy revisions and changes.

All students will be expected to complete all current and future Core Courses, barring changes to courses that students have already completed.

Final Course Grades

The criteria, method, and calculation of assessing academic work is the prerogative of the Course Facilitator and the rules for determining final course grades should be established by the Course Facilitator and given to the students in a course syllabus at the beginning of the semester. All final course grades assigned by Course Facilitators are considered final, except Incomplete (I) and Course in Progress (IP) grades.

A student who believes grounds exist for an appeal of a final course grade must submit their appeal in writing within 10 days after final grades are posted. Once the appeal process is initiated, the burden of proof is on the student.

Student Responsibility

Students who have questions about final grades for the semester are required to contact the Course Facilitator who issued the final course grade by email or in writing to request a review of the grade. An informal conference with the Course Facilitator must be initiated no later than 10 days after final grades are posted to determine if an error has been made.

If the Course Facilitator is on leave, on sabbatical, or is not currently on the faculty during the time range stipulated above, the student should contact the ICBM Provost or President.

Course Facilitator Responsibility

The Course Facilitator must respond to the student within 10 days of being contacted by the student and explain to the student how the grade was determined. If an error was made in calculating the grade, the Course Facilitator will submit a Grade Change Request to modify the final grade.

If a resolution with the Course Facilitator is not reached, the student can initiate a Formal Grade Appeal Review. The grade appeal procedure is not to be used to review the judgment of a Course Facilitator in assessing the quality of the student’s work. The burden of proof, however, rests with the student to demonstrate that the grade decision was made on the basis of any of the following conditions:

• The student believes that the grade received conflicts with the grading policy on the syllabus;
• The student believes that there is an error in calculation with the grade;
• The student believes that the grade was given arbitrarily, or with capriciousness or prejudice.

Adjusting Courses (Withdrawal and Refund Policy)

Courses may be dropped with full refund by the end of the first week of a semester. Courses may be dropped without academic penalty through the end of the second week of a semester.

A “W” grade denoting withdrawal is recorded for courses dropped before the third week in a semester. Failure to drop a course on or before the appropriate drop deadline will result in the recording of a 0.0 (U) grade on the student’s transcript.

Course refunds are possible only during the first week of courses. Refunds will not be issued after the first week of a course.

Students wishing to drop a course must complete the official course drop form at:

https://buddhistministry.org/withdrawal/

Withdrawals will not be accepted after the beginning of the 3rd week.

Please consult with course facilitators before requesting a course withdrawal, as withdrawal requests will not be reversed.

Please note that course access will be immediately revoked once the withdrawal request has been submitted. This includes access to course syllabi, course content/links, attachments, and course forum access.

Students wishing to re-register for courses that had previously been dropped will be required to pay the current tuition rate. 

Auditing Courses

A formal audit option is available for students who wish to participate in a course on a non-graded basis. With written permission of the instructor, students may register to audit a course only during the first week of each semester.

Audit registrations are governed by the following rules:

• Regular tuition applies to all courses.
• ICBM will assign the final mark of Z to all formal audits.
• Changes of registration from credit to audit or from audit to credit will not be permitted once the course adjustment period has ended for a given semester (two weeks into the term).
• Students who wish to audit courses must have been admitted to ICBM.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Collaborative peer-based learning is the core element and catalyst to engaged and shared learning, which is the heart of the ICBM program. Therefore, it is imperative that students maintain and demonstrate satisfactory contributions within all courses. Students who do not demonstrate consistent and satisfactory efforts can negatively affect the experience and learning of other students.

To stay in good academic standing, students must not allow their cumulative grade point averages (GPA) to drop below 2.50, or receive unsatisfactory grades in 50% or more of enrolled courses in a given semester.

The first semester a student is enrolled in ICBM is considered an acclimation semester and grades from the first completed semester shall not be factored into evaluations for satisfactory academic progress.

Students who fail to make satisfactory academic progress will be placed on probation in accordance with ICBM policy that stipulates that students must complete for credit most of the courses for which they register and must do so with a reasonable degree of academic proficiency. Students on probation who fail to meet the minimal standard of progress may be suspended or dismissed from the program.

Students  who wish to be readmitted to ICBM after the compulsory separation period prescribed by the Student Performance Review Board must apply for readmission (If, in the dismissal notice, a student has been informed that readmission will not be considered, the student may not utilize this procedure).

Student Code of Conduct

Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to;

• Copying work from another student, with or without the student’s knowledge,
• Using material from any source (slides, books, articles, internet sites, video) for submission in written assignments, homework, projects, presentations without proper citation.
• Cases of academic misconduct will result in failure of the course and possible dismissal from the program.

Civility Policy

Proper civility is crucial to a beneficial learning environment and is treated seriously. The conduct of both students and facilitators should contribute to a respectful, engaged, and productive learning culture. All course members are responsible for maintaining and protecting an ethic of civility. Accordingly, the following (non-exhaustive) guidelines for appropriate conduct have been established;

• Gender inclusive language is expected in both discussions and assignments. In every instance you should work to identify as clearly as possible the people, artifacts, events, or figures you are describing or interpreting.

• Vigorous and uninhibited debate of ideas is encouraged throughout discussions, but personal attack on other course members is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. This course is first and foremost a place of learning within an atmosphere of respect and caring for each other and ourselves.

• Every student is entitled to full participation and to full expression of their individuality and diversity within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity and respect. Interruptions and disruptions of the course atmosphere inhibit and prevent learning, as well as convey disrespect to others in the course.

Technology Requirements

Students are required and responsible for securing sufficient computer hardware, software, and internet access. ICBM courses may make use of large streaming or downloadable content, therefore a high-speed broadband internet connection is recommended. The suggested internet browsers are current versions of Firefox or Chrome. Some courses may also require students to have webcam and microphone capabilities. In some instances, third-party software may be required (ex. Skype). Please consult with individual Course Facilitators on specific course technology requirements.