Omaha School of Ministry exists to produce and equip well-trained, highly qualified ministers to expand the Kingdom of God.
In order to ensure the success of students, the quality of the learning environment, safety of staff and students, and to uphold the values of Omaha School of Ministry, students are expected to maintain the conduct detailed in this handbook. Failure to uphold the conduct detailed in this handbook will be met with disciplinary action (see ‘disciplinary action’).
Students are not permitted to consume, store, or have on their persons any form of recreational drugs or alcohol while on school grounds. Students are asked to refrain from any and all illegal drug or alcohol use while enrolled at Omaha School of Ministry.
Students are expected to attend and be on time to all classes and course related activities. This includes ministry residence roles and responsibilities. Students must let their ministry mentor and the OSM program director know if they will be absent from any school activities. Planned absences should be communicated as soon as possible (minimum of two weeks in advance) to ministry mentors and the OSM director. Planned absences may be denied by the course instructor, ministry mentor, or OSM director. If the student is gone for a planned absence that was not approved, they will be counted as tardy/absent from the course or event and may be subject to fines or penalties.Unplanned absences such as sick days or emergencies should be communicated as soon as the student knows they will be absent. In order for the student not to be counted as tardy or absent, they must communicate at least 45 minutes prior to the start time to their Ministry Mentor and OSM President. Students who are absent due to an illness for more than two days must submit a note from their doctor or physician excusing them from their responsibilities. Failure to present a note will result in the student being counted as absent or tardy for the following days.
If a Ministry Residence student is late or absent to any ministry activity, class time, or program responsibility, they will be counted as tardy/absent. Students who are counted as tardy will be subject to a fine of $15 per tardy. Students who are absent will receive a $25 fine. If a student has accrued a combined total of five tardies or absences, the President reserves the right to increase the fine amount.
Students are not allowed to bring or display any form of weapons, pornography, or dangerous material on school grounds or any OSM housing options.
Students should dress in appropriate clothing that promotes the learning objectives of Omaha School of Ministry. Any clothing that promotes violence, drugs or alcohol, pornography, insensitive and offensive material, or is degrading to any particular peoples, is prohibited. Students should dress with general modesty and professionalism in mind. Examples of inappropriate clothing include: Basketball shorts, tank tops, inappropriate logos, revealing clothing.
OSM is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. This is of utmost importance in our context. Ministers of the Gospel must be honest, well-trained, and exercise wisdom, all of which is guarded by academic integrity.
Cheating is strictly prohibited. Cheating is defined as:
Plagiarism, which is the unauthorized use of another person’s works or ideas without proper attribution or, when attributed, in greater measure than appropriate, is strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, using sources without citation, submitting someone else’s work as your own, using external materials during assessments or assignments without permission, or resubmitting work you have turned in for another class.
In addition, the use of AI language models and similar technologies is prohibited.
Students should familiarize themselves with proper citation practices and seek guidance from administrative staff or faculty when needed.
Each instructor has the right to further curtail the use of particular sources for all or part of their courses.
A student’s scholastic standing at Omaha School of Ministry is based upon their cumulative grade point average. A student in the program remains in good standing as long as they maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0. The first semester in which they drop below a 2.0 GPA or fail 2 or more classes, they will be placed on Academic Probation.
Students on Academic Probation must meet the following conditions to return to good standing:
Students who continually fail to meet these requirements to return to good academic standing may have their enrollment dropped at the discretion of the Dean and the President.
Students who are on Academic Probation have one semester to work toward improving their academic standing. Maintaining academic probation status over more than one semester will disqualify the student from any scholarships awarded directly by Omaha School of Ministry, but may seek other means of financial aid.
Program Essentials
The Omaha School of Ministry is dedicated to producing highly-equipped ministers. To this end, several core classes have a minimum passing grade requirement of 2.5 (C+). The classes listed below are considered Program Essentials Classes:
Students will also be expected to comply with the expectations of the various ministries they are a part of. These expectations will be defined by the policies of the individual ministries and their directors.
Students have certain rights and protections by virtue of their enrollment in an educational institution. These rights pertain to various aspects of their educational experience and are established to ensure their overall well-being and success in academic pursuits.
All students should comply with the expectations of their renters, host families, and OSM code conduct guidelines in regard to housing. Students should keep their apartments/rooms in respectable condition, and any damage caused by the student will be their responsibility to fix (this includes the covering of fees incurred by any damages). Students in apartments will have two inspections a year by OSM staff near the end of each semester to ensure students are in compliance with OSM guidelines outlined here.
The following are unacceptable in OSM provided housing options.
Students are encouraged to spend time together outside of classroom and ministry project time. However, students are asked to exercise caution and wisdom in spending time alone with members of the opposite sex, and to consider the appropriateness of mixed-gender settings in general.
Ministry residence students may not be in private settings or in residences after 1:00 AM with members of the opposite sex (regardless of the number of students) without an adult or member of OSM staff present. An adult here is defined as an individual over the age of 25, who is not in a dating relationship with any of the students present.
Private settings include, but are not limited to:
Furthermore, ministry residence students may not be alone in a home with a member of the opposite sex, to whom they are not married, without an adult or member of OSM staff present, as defined above.
Ministry residents should never find themselves engaging in a coed sleepover with other OSM students or youth/young adult students from Flatland Church.
Failure to comply with this policy will be met with a $50 fine added to the student account of any student present.
Students staying with an OSM provided host family must sign and agree to the “OSM Host Family Agreement” before moving in with their assigned host family. This document will be signed by the student, host family, and OSM president.
Disputes between roommates should be handled primarily by the students. OSM staff are not responsible for mediating disagreements between roommates. However, if a situation arises in which there is a pattern of disrespect, abuse, or a breach of OSM guidelines, staff will step in to resolve the situation. Repeated disrespect may be met with a student being asked to withdraw from OSM. If a student is unable or late in paying their rent consistently (more than once) disciplinary measures may follow (see disciplinary action).
Omaha School of Ministry strives to provide an effective learning environment for all its students. The following policies and procedures are set in place to achieve this goal.
OSM applies the following grading scale for all courses:
| Letter | Minimum Points |
|---|---|
| A | 92.00 |
| A- | 90.00 |
| B+ | 88.00 |
| B | 82.00 |
| B- | 80.00 |
| C+ | 78.00 |
| C | 72.00 |
| C- | 70.00 |
| F | 0.00 |
Passing will be based upon the quality and completion of assignments outlined in the corresponding course syllabus. Repeated incomplete, low-quality, or missing assignments may lead to failure of the course, to the discretion of the course instructor and OSM director. Failing an OSM course may lead to disciplinary action, including dismissal from the program.
Each course will have a syllabus which details all important information regarding the content and structure of the course. This includes instructor contact information, a course description, required materials, outcomes, assignments, a course schedule and calendar, class policies, and a bibliography. It is the responsibility of the student to have read and understood the syllabus in its entirety. Any late work policies are up to the discretion of the course instructor and the OSM President.
Course registration will be completed through the OSM Populi. All billing will also be facilitated through Populi. Students should check with the OSM Director or an advisor to ensure they are enrolling in the proper courses to fulfill their degree requirements. Students must be enrolled in a course no later than seven days after the course start date.
All tuition and fees will be paid through the Omaha School of Ministry Populi. The current rate for OSM courses is $75 per credit hour. All ministry residence students will pay a $750 annual site fee in addition to their tuition. Tuition rates are locked in for the school year and are subject to change from year to year.
All discounts and scholarships reflect the 2023–24 academic year.
Full-time students (students taking the maximum available course load, including ministry residence) are eligible for a $225 scholarship per semester. Additional scholarship opportunities include academic excellence, ministry involvement, and program achievement.
Full-time students (students taking the maximum available course load, including ministry residence) are eligible for a $225 scholarship per semester. Additional scholarship opportunities include academic excellence, ministry involvement, and program achievement.
All scholarship awards will be applied directly to student tuition first and foremost. Scholarship funds may not be applied to the OSM Site Fee. Students must be enrolled in at least nine credits per semester in order to use scholarship funds toward their bill. If a student fails to enroll in at least nine credits for two consecutive semesters (starting their first semester they are eligible to enroll in courses), they will forfeit their scholarship awards, and they will no longer be available to the student to use.
| Time of Withdrawal | Refund Amount |
|---|---|
| First Week of Classes | 100% |
| Second Week of Classes | 80% |
No refunds will be given past the second week of classes.
The Site Fee will be refunded at the following rate
| Time of Withdrawal | Refund Amount |
|---|---|
| First and Second Weeks of Classes | 100% |
| Third Week of Classes | 75% |
| Fourth Week of Classes | 50% |
No refunds will be given after the fifth week of classes.
The Site fee is broken down into two semesters. If a student has paid the site fee in full at the beginning of the year, the percentage refunded will be calculated based on half of the site fee, with the other half being fully refunded for the second semester.
Failure to meet payment deadlines will result in disciplinary action, including possible expulsion.
All ministry fields reflect the 2023–24 academic year.
Students will select a ministry field for each semester to complete their Ministry Residence (RES) courses. Students are encouraged to stick in their same field each semester but are allowed to try something new each semester.
Each ministry field has a mentor students will be paired with. Mentors are the student’s primary report, with the program director being the second. Students will be given roles, responsibilities, and projects to complete throughout the semester pertaining to their ministry field. The goal of each field is to give the student as much experience and insight into their desired ministry fields as possible. Students will not be allowed to switch their fields after the first two weeks of a semester.
Students are expected to provide their own meals. Students are invited to Staff lunches on Mondays where lunch is provided for students. Host families are not responsible for providing groceries or meals.
Any behavior that goes against the student handbook will be met with disciplinary action. Should a disciplinary measure be required, this is the course of action:
If the suspension has to do with any illegal activity or misconduct with minors, students will not be allowed back on campus, pending an investigation, up to and including formal investigation by law enforcement.
If a student wishes to appeal the decision of the President, they may make a written request to the OSM Board of Trustees within 30 days of the suspension email. After which the board of trustees may make a final decision on the appeal request.
