COURSE PROCEDURES

             Bachelor   -  High School Diploma / GED plus 120 completed credits )                                                                                                                                  

              Master     -  Bachelor degree plus 48 additional credits

              Doctorate - Bachelor / Master degree plus 48 additional credits

  All students who do not submit a formal thesis or dissertation paper must submit a paper, which will be considered an informal thesis or dissertation, in their major field.  Although the student’s work must be academically thorough and complete, it may be self-paced.  

Progress System 

Program Length - Each applicant has a unique composite of background, achievement and life experiences.  The staff of Northwestern will evaluate the applicant’s academic and life experience and then design a program to supplement those assets to create a path to the sought degree or degrees sought. We have found that many applicants qualify for the associate’s degree and even bachelor level degrees through experiential knowledge, which is demonstrated by outlining and documenting past learning experience. The master’s and doctorate, however, are only acquired through a combination of coursework and documented experiential knowledge related directly to the specific areas in which the graduate degrees are being awarded. In the rare exception that a student has absolutely no educational or life experience credit to be evaluated, Northwestern, will require the equivalent of a traditional school’s credit requirements in time needed to attain sufficient credit to graduate. For instance, with no experiential or academic credit applied, 120 credits of instruction will require 4- years of work. However, this is the exception rather than the norm. Most students who enroll with Northwestern and provide sufficient experiential information for credit evaluation are able to achieve their degrees in a very reasonable amount of time and at a savings of up to 98% in out of pocket expense.

Because each student travels a different path, and at his own pace, there are no rigid time limits for course completion. Some may accelerate this process and achieve their degrees much faster, than through traditional education. Because we do not limit your schedule, the length of time required to attain your degrees can be rapidly accelerated and is dependant solely on your own desire and motivation for rapid achievement. 

Program Entry and Termination policy  

Because all that is required for enrollment and graduation is a Love Offer, that the student selects as payment in Lieu of Tuition which may be as much as 98% less than many colleges and universities, enrollment is limited. Therefore, it is very important that you process your evaluation as soon as possible to insure acceptance. There is no course year and programs are open to entry at any time. However, we can only accept a minimum number of new students for enrollment each month. In order to avoid delays in being able to take advantage of this rare educational opportunity, this should be considered a major priority.  Students who cannot promptly begin coursework, will be placed on a waiting list and will not be allowed to begin a degree program until notified that a faculty advisor is available for their instruction and guidance.

The nature of self-directed education demands of the student’s maturity, responsibility and self-discipline on the student’s part. Therefore, the applicant should remain aware of the following:

• If we determine that the student has failed to make adequate progress or to submit required work toward the completion of his/her degree objective, we reserve the right to terminate the student.

• Deliberate falsification of any applicant’s records submitted to the seminary will result in termination.

• If a student wishes to voluntarily withdraw from the Northwestern educational program for any reason, he or she should submit a formal letter, stating such intention and the reasons for withdrawal. 

Love Offers are not donations, they are payments selected and offered by the student, in lieu of standard tuition, which would normally be much more expensive. Love Offer payments, are refundable if a student terminates, as indicated on the Refund Policy, for a valid reason as determined by Northwestern Theological Seminary. However, if a student is terminated for disciplinary reasons, there will be no refund. Furthermore, once a student  is awarded a degree, there will be no refunds allowed.

Equal Rights Policy

All people, regardless of race, creed or color of skin are welcome to apply for both ministry membership with Christian Alliance Ministries and for acceptance as a student at Northwestern Theological Seminary. No student will be denied either ministry membership of seminary acceptance, because or their race, creed or color. However, we are a Christian ministry and seminary therefore faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is a requirement for acceptance.