ADMISSIONS POLICIES
Regulations Concerning General Admission
Each prospective student should consider carefully the following regulations concerning admission before submitting any application materials:
The College at Mid-America is a Christian institution whose primary purpose is to provide training for effective service in church-related and missions vocations. Other levels of training are also offered. Examples include: business administration, organizational leadership, Christian studies, and biblical counseling. Applicants must have professed Christ as Savior for at least one year before registration. Maturity of character, personal integrity, and commitment are necessary for acceptable study.
It is required that students conduct themselves in a manner deemed by the College as consistent with biblical standards of moral purity. In particular, married students are expected to maintain marital fidelity, and single students are expected to maintain sexual abstinence. Departure from biblical standards of moral purity disqualifies individuals for admission or continued enrollment.
The Seminary holds the position that marriage is intended to be a lifelong covenant between one woman and one man. The primary biblical passages that support this understanding are: Matthew 5:32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:9; Luke 16:18 and Malachi 2:16. Therefore, the Seminary seeks to honor God’s original intention of marriage and views divorce as a serious matter.
While the College understands that marital situations are unique and divorce is a reality, the College will allow anyone who is divorced to apply for the bachelor of arts in Christian studies pastoral track or associate programs. Certain courses within the BACS pastoral track and associate degree will, however, be relegated to those who are called and meet the qualifications of a pastor or overseer in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 (men only, not divorced, spouse not divorced).
This regulation applies without exception both to those who are innocent parties of divorce and to others. Such a policy does not judge the manner of life of any divorced person.
The College admits women as students to study for any program except for degree programs designed to prepare students to serve as ordained pastors (associate of divinity, bachelor of arts in Christian studies/pastoral track). Female students are welcome to audit or to take for credit any individual course offered in the curriculum for which they are otherwise qualified. This policy accords with the College’s conviction that the ordained pastor of a church must be male. The following is the trustee resolution mandating this: “We believe that God has signally blessed women and has given them a position of honor and opportunities for service.” However, we believe that Scripture prohibits a woman from serving as pastor of a church. The following Scriptures specifically refer to this regulation:
1 Corinthians 11:3 ff. This passage teaches that women are under the leadership of men. (This headship relates to functional relationships, not spiritual standing.) For a woman to serve as pastor/teacher reverses this creation ordinance.
1 Timothy 2:9–15. This passage is part of a larger context which outlines the qualifications of bishops (pastors) and deacons and forbids women to exercise positions of authority and teaching over men. Therefore, a woman should not be pastor of a church.
Genesis 2–3. In the record of Creation and the subsequent fall of man, Adam stood in a primary relationship over Eve. The ramification of this position was intensified by the Fall (i.e., the negative aspects of subordination of woman to man) but was in existence prior to the Fall. Thus, from Creation and in the Fall, the woman is subordinate to the man, which is the basis of Paul’s argument in 1 Timothy 2:13–14 in which women are forbidden to teach or exercise authority over men in the church.
Admission Classifications
A regular student is one who applies for admission to one of the programs offered by the College. A special student is one who applies to take courses but does not intend to complete requirements for a specific degree. Both regular students and special students must fulfill all admission requirements for the academic level at which they intend to register for courses.
Admission to the Associate Program
In addition to the regulations concerning general admission, applicants for admission to the associate program must meet the following requirements:
All applicants to the associate program must have graduated from high school or received a General Equivalence Diploma (GED). Students who have graduated from college with a baccalaureate degree will not be admitted to the associate program.
Exceptions to these published requirements must be approved by the faculty upon recommendation of the college committee. In such cases, students will be granted conditional admission. During this period, students are subject to the same limitations as students under academic probation described under Disciplinary Regulations in this catalog. Conditional admission will be removed after a student completes 15 semester hours at the College and keeps a grade point average of at least a C (2.0 on a 4.0 scale). Students granted conditional admission must attend the Student Writing Center under the supervision of their advisor and/or writing coach and complete course requirements.
All applicants are required to submit scores from either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT). The SAT code for Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is 7039 and the ACT code is 3934. Applicants who are 24 or older, or have passed 15 hours from (a) a regionally accredited college or (b) a college with AABC accreditation, and have maintained at least a C average are not required to submit these standardized test scores.
SAT and ACT scores are used as a basis of admission and are also used to help evaluate a student’s ability to do college level work. Normally, an ACT score of 18 and/or an SAT score of 900 is required for admission. Conditional admission is granted in certain cases for scores below the norm.
Address:
College Board
Attn: SAT Customer Processing Center
P.O. Box 620
Princeton, NJ 08540
800-728-7267
ACT
2255 North Dubuque Rd.
P.O. Box 168
Iowa City, IA 52243
319-337-1313
Admission to the Bachelor Programs
In addition to the regulations concerning general admission, applicants for admission to the bachelor programs must meet the following requirements:
All applicants to the bachelor programs must have graduated from high school or received a GED. Transcripts from all educational institutions are required. Official high school transcripts or GED test scores are required unless the applicant has more than 24 college hours. Only official transcripts will be accepted. The registrar’s office of Mid-America reserves the right to judge which transcripts are official and meet institutional requirements. In no case will the College consider as official a transcript marked “Issued to Student.”
The College may require students to make up serious deficiencies in their undergraduate studies. All exceptions to published admission requirements must be approved by the faculty upon recommendation of the college committee. In such cases, an applicant will be granted conditional admission. During this period, students are subject to the same limitations as students under academic probation, described under Disciplinary Regulations in this catalog. Conditional admission will be removed after a student completes 15 semester hours at the College and keeps a grade point average of at least a C (2.0 on a 4.0 scale). Students granted conditional admission must attend the Student Writing Center under the supervision of their advisor and/or writing coach and complete course requirements.
All applicants are required to submit scores from either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT). The SAT code for Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is 7039 and the ACT code is 3934. Applicants who are 24 or older, or have passed 15 hours from (a) a regionally accredited college or (b) a college with AABC accreditation, and have maintained at least a C average are not required to submit these standardized test scores.
SAT and ACT scores are used as a basis of admission and are also used to help evaluate a student’s ability to do college level work. Normally, an ACT score of 18 and/or an SAT score of 900 is required for admission. Conditional admission is granted in certain cases for scores below the norm.
Address:
College Board
Attn: SAT Customer Processing Center
P.O. Box 620
Princeton, NJ 08540
800-728-7267
ACT
2255 North Dubuque Rd.
P.O. Box 168
Iowa City, IA 52243
319-337-1313
Policy of Nondiscrimination
The College at Mid-America admits students of any race, color, national, or ethnic origin. The College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, national, or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, or other school-administered programs. The rights, privileges, and activities accorded to students are given equally to all students who have been admitted.