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193 │COLUMBIA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY 2017-2018 │ACADEMIC POLICY
Graduate-level:
CoE, CICS, and SSM Clinical Counseling: Competency/proficiency exams are not accepted.
Columbia Biblical Seminary: Although the CBS does not accept transfer credit from unaccredited institutions without special
approval, a student may request advanced standing with credit through a proficiency examination for courses completed at
an unaccredited institution. Advanced standing may be awarded either with or without credit. Advanced standing without
credit entitles the student to replace a curricular requirement in a field previously studied at an unaccredited school with an
advanced course at CBS in the same field. Advanced standing with credit satisfies the graduation requirement for which
advanced standing is awarded and is awarded only on the basis of a written or oral examination administered at CBS.
Advanced standing with credit may not be applied toward graduation requirements in the Program 2 M.A. (Theological
Studies) degree.
Advanced Standing is available under the following conditions:
 With the exception of internship courses, advanced standing with credit may be granted for any course offered at
CBS appropriate to the student’s degree program, including free electives.
 Application for advanced standing must be made within one year of matriculation into CIU’s SSM.
 No more than ¼ of the requirements of any degree program may be credited through advanced standing.
 An approved Proficiency Exam Authorization form must be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar with
evidence that the student has paid the non-refundable examination fee.
 Competency must be demonstrated by scoring at least 77 percent on a one-time-only written and/or oral
assessment to be administered by the professor of record of the given course, with final approval granted by the
dean.
 Students may not receive advanced standing credit for courses they have audited at CBS.
Diplomas
Graduates are issued a diploma bearing the corporate name “Columbia International University.” Diplomas, certificates, and
final transcripts will not be issued if the student has any remaining financial obligations to CIU. Graduates, upon request,
may receive a Columbia International University replacement diploma, dated with the original graduation date and containing
a marginal subscript indicating “Replacement Diploma: [date of issue].” (A diploma with the new school name is also
available for pre-1994 graduates.) There is a fee for a replacement diploma.
Dismissal
See “Academic Probation” in the Student Life section and Plagiarism in this section of this catalog.
Degree Changes
Students desiring to add a degree(s) or change concentrations within a degree must request approval through a Record
Change form, which is available at
Dual Graduate-level Degrees
Students may apply a maximum of 50 percent of one graduate degree to another graduate degree at CIU as long as
requirements for both degrees are met. The required number of credits for completing both degrees may be less than if the
two degrees were completed separately; however, students must satisfy all requirements for both degrees, including
program admission and completion requirements. Students may pursue multiple degrees sequentially or simultaneously.
Enrollment in Courses Outside of Undergraduate Division
Graduate-level courses numbered 5000-6999 are open to undergraduate upperclassmen for undergraduate degree
requirements. Junior or senior undergraduate students may enroll for up to 15 semester hours of graduate credit. See
“RAMP” in this section of the catalog for more information.
Juniors: A student classified as a junior having a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 may register for graduate-level courses
numbered 5000-5999.
Seniors: A student classified as a senior may register for graduate-level courses numbered 5000-5999. A student classified
as a senior having a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 may also register for graduate-level courses numbered 6000-6999.
Extracurricular Activities
Any student desiring to participate in a university-sponsored extracurricular activity (e.g. sports, music group, performing
arts group, student leadership) or representing the university must be a student in good standing. Good standing means
that the student meets 1) minimum GPA requirements, 2) is not on any form of character probation, 3) has status as a full-
time student, and 4) if admitted provisionally, has successfully demonstrated academic success for one semester at CIU
with the minimum GPA requirement.