Academic Regulations

Performance in every course is graded on the scale below. The lowest mark that earns credit is 65%; a mark below that is recorded as F and carries no grade points.

This scale runs in one-third steps from 4.00 and has no 3.67 point. It is the university’s own scale and is reproduced exactly; it differs from the common four-point scale used elsewhere, and a credential evaluator abroad should read the grade points above rather than assume the usual mapping.

Special grades

Every course carries one of three classifications.

Grade Point Average

The Grade Point Average is calculated by dividing the total grade points earned by the total credit hours attempted. It is reported for a semester and cumulatively for the whole programme.

Doctoral fields

Ph.D. and Th.D. programmes are offered in Theology, Management, Leadership and Administration, Counseling and Family Therapy. The Doctor of Ministry is offered in Practical Theology and Divinity.

A supplementary examination attracts a fee; see Part V. The conditions under which a supplementary examination is granted have not yet been published — see Part VIII.

Fee bands

The university operates two fee bands. Which applies is determined by nationality and residence, not by mode of study.

Which band applies is determined by nationality and residence, not by mode of study. A student in either band studying online sits the same assessments and receives the same award.

Terms of payment

• The Application Fee is USD 100 and is paid with the application.
• An admitted student may begin studying immediately. Teaching does not wait on the fee schedule: a student is enrolled on admission and starts with their cohort.
• The Acceptance of Place Fee and the University Levy are due within the first period of study, and an initial deposit of 50% of tuition is due on the schedule the Finance Office confirms at registration.
• Payment dates are published each semester on the student website and in the university bulletin, and must be honoured.
• Payment may be made in cash, by cheque, or by direct deposit. Students pay in their own national currency to the ICOF national base in their country; the amount is the dollar figure converted at the rate published for that period.
• A late registration penalty of USD 20 applies to all late registrations. Registration dates are posted at all university communication centres; not having seen them does not remove the penalty.
• A bounced cheque must be made good in cash or by direct deposit, together with a penalty of 20% of its value.
• Fee statements are posted quarterly. Signing the Registration Form accepts responsibility for payment by the due date whether or not a statement has been received, and it is the student’s responsibility to keep the university informed of a correct address and to follow up unpaid amounts.
• A student carrying an outstanding balance from a previous year may not register until it is paid in full.
• A graduating student with outstanding fees will have a hold placed on transcripts, diplomas and degrees until those fees are paid in full.
• Surplus money is refunded on request, electronically to the student’s, parent’s or sponsor’s account. No cash or cheque refunds are made, and only one refund per month is considered.
• Fees are payable in full even where the academic programme is interrupted by events beyond the university’s control, including boycotts, civil unrest, political protest and violence, and natural disaster.
• A student or sponsor in breach of these terms is liable for legal costs the university incurs as a result.

Fees payable in addition to tuition

These amounts are the Africa and Global South band. The equivalent schedule for the Europe and North America band has not been published.

Every fee is quoted in US dollars. The schedule was converted from FCFA at 600 FCFA to the dollar, the rate the university has adopted, and each amount is rounded up to a whole multiple of 5 dollars so that no fee needs change made on it. You pay in your own national currency to the ICOF national base in your country.

Sponsored students

• A sponsored student must obtain the Student Sponsorship Verification Form.
• Sponsors are liable for the payment commitments they make on a student’s behalf.
• Cheques are payable to ICOFGU within the agreed range of payment dates.
• A cheque that clears later than the fees payment deadline attracts a charge of 5,000 FCFA or USD $10.
• Sponsors must sign the declaration form for their student and are liable to meet the obligations it records.
• Meal plans may be purchased in advance through the Residence Office.

• A student who wishes to withdraw must submit a Withdrawal Form and wait for clearance to be granted.
• All withdrawals are processed through the faculty responsible for the programme.
• A student who leaves without completing a Withdrawal Form remains liable for the fees due for the whole semester of study.
• The university is not obliged to refund fees to a student who withdraws after three months in the programme.

Refund schedule

Refunds are calculated from the date of enrolment.

• Students may apply for bursaries, scholarships and funding in the second semester, subject to the availability of funds.
• Selection takes account of the student’s financial need, academic performance and individual character.
• Application forms must be obtained and all requirements submitted in good time.
• Students in financial difficulty may apply. Work scholarships may also be available to second-year students.

See also Scholarships & Financial Aid.

These regulations are reproduced from the university’s grading system and its Student Fees Guide. The following points were found while transcribing them. None has been corrected here, because correcting a regulation is the university’s act, not this site’s. Each is a question for the Academic Board.

1. Note 1

   The Student Fees Guide is marked “Preliminary Copy”.

   It is published here because it is the only fees policy the university has, and a preliminary policy a student can read beats a final one they cannot. It should be adopted formally and the marking removed.

2. Note 2

   Section 1.9 of the Fees Guide is headed “Cost of Doctorates and PhDs at GRU UNIVERSITY”.

   GRU University is not ICOF Global University. The section appears to have been adapted from another institution’s document and the name left in. The heading is not reproduced on this site; its content is, because it reads as ICOF’s own policy throughout the body. The university should confirm this.

3. Note 3

   The special DBA fee is quoted as “450,000 (all inclusive) for the 1st academic year commencing 2016”.

   The figure carries no currency and the year is long past. It is not published on this site until both are corrected.

4. Note 4

   The two currencies are two fee bands — now stated, but only one is costed.

   The university has confirmed that the FCFA schedule is a subsidised, scholarship-funded rate for students from Africa and the Global South, and that students from Europe and North America pay a higher rate approaching European levels. That resolves what looked like an inconsistency. What is still missing is the international band’s own schedule: the USD tuition already published is shown against it provisionally, and needs confirming or replacing.

5. Note 5

   The grading scale has no 3.67 point.

   The scale runs 4.00, 3.33, 3.00, 2.67, 2.33, 2.00, 1.67, 1.33, 1.00, 0.67, 0.00. It is internally consistent and is published exactly as supplied, but it differs from the common four-point scale, where A- is 3.67 and B is 3.00. This should be stated deliberately in the catalog so that a credential evaluator abroad does not read it as an error.

6. Note 6

   B+ spans two percentage points.

   B+ is 89–90% while neighbouring grades span three or four points each. No marks are lost between bands, so the scale is complete, but the narrowness is unusual and worth confirming.

7. Note 7

   Degree classifications have not been supplied.

   The grading scale gives per-course grades and a GPA. It does not say what final GPA earns a distinction, a merit, or a first, second or third class. This remains the single most important gap in the award regulations.

8. Note 8

   Doctoral seminar totals do not reconcile.

   The Fees Guide requires four doctoral seminars of one week each within an academic year, and eight in total for the award. Read together this implies exactly two years of seminars, which should be stated rather than inferred.