Academic Policies
At Right On Mission, we want students to act with integrity as Christ followers, even in the face of opposition.
Right On Mission's academic policies apply to all courses, programs, and services of Higher Learning.
Students must pay their tuition before entering the course.
Students being credentialed, certified, or pedigreed by ROM must receive Faculty Advisement. It’s free--book your appointment here.
Students must be at least 21 years of age, agree with ROM’s Statement Of Faith, and be able to pass a Bible Proficiency Test in order to earn any ROM certificate or credential or pedigree such as our M.Div. Equivalent.
Students automatically agree to abide by ROM policies just by signing up.
Students are allowed to take up to fifteen courses a year.
Students are advised to take five or ten courses a year.
Students are allotted three years to complete our Governance Credential.
Students are allotted up to seven years to complete a Vocational Certificate.
Students are required to finish the M.Div. Equivalent within ten years.
Our intention at all times is to promote a learning culture. Therefore we insist on having class environments that give space for students to listen, absorb, think, process, raise questions, respond, argue, discuss, and interact respectfully with others. We want students to be able to learn out loud honestly and openly without fear of being evaluated unfairly. Real learning is discipleship-oriented because the more we understand truth in every sphere, the easier it becomes to trust God.
At Right On Mission, we want students to act with integrity as Christ followers, even in the face of opposition. Thus we established three different ways to take our courses.
Audit — To audit means to "hear.” Auditors are those who participate in class as active students. Auditors do not get credit or receive a grade. Auditors are strongly encouraged, but not required, to engage the required reading assignments (so as to be able to follow the class discussions). If an auditor’s questions derive from a lack of reading, the professor is not obligated to address those questions. Auditors who do not complete the course end with an “I” (Incomplete) on their transcript.
Pass/Fail — Students who "Pass" are those who opt to do the course assignments for credit, yet without receiving a letter grade for the course. Any student who demonstrates mastery of at least 70% of the course material by fulfilling the course requirements passes the course.
Letter Grade — Students who take the course for a letter grade are those who opt to take the course for credit in order to gain competencies for life and professional work. Any student who demonstrates mastery of at least 80% of the course material by fulfilling the course requirements passes the course.
Students are allowed to enter the course intending to take it at one level, but then switch to a different level sometime later during the course. For example, a student may enter the course intending to take it for a letter grade, but then switch to Pass/Fail or Audit--or vice versa. To do so, students must email their professor and CC' HL@rightonmission.org about their intention.
If at any time a student wants Right On Mission to use a Pass/Fail grading system with them on any course, we are happy to do that. However, we recommend students use our Letter Grade system on any course that deals with the competencies that the student wants to feature on his or her resume. The high standards at Right On Mission reflect our Mission and Core Values.
If any student drops out of the course or fails to submit an assignment without first securing an extension on the due date from the professor, that student will receive an Incomplete “I” from Right On Mission. Students who receive a grade of “I” can later replace that “I” with a different grade by retaking the course. Students must pay full price to retake the course again for a letter grade or Pass/Fail.
The grading system at Right On Mission is unique. To begin, we resist the "halo effect" that has diminished and lowered the quality of grading in many schools. In other words, we do not assign students higher grades than they actually earned. We want students to see where their work truly ranks as honestly assessed by our faculty. Our heart is to give students the unusual advantage of receiving the faculty's sharpest feedback. Sharpened students make sharp graduates.
Legend:
"Aced the course" = 97-100% accuracy on all the work
"Mastered the course" = 90-96% accuracy on all the work
"Mastered most of the course" = 80-89% accuracy on all the work
"Passed the course" = 70-79% accuracy on all the work
"Polished work" = virtually no typos or incorrect grammar
A+ means the student aced the course, submitted polished work, and interacted with required texts
A means the student mastered the course, submitted polished work, and read all required texts
A- means the student mastered the course but did not submit polished work or complete the reading
B+ means the student mastered most of the course, submitted somewhat polished work, and partial reading
B means the student mastered most of the course but did not submit polished work or complete the reading
B- means the student submitted polished work but mastered less than 85% of the course
Pass = 70-79% accuracy and submitted all the work
Fail = less than 70% accuracy and/or did not submit all the work
Incomplete means the student did not do the whole course.
NOTE: All academic issues, including (tardiness, absences, work submitted late, etc.) should be processed directly between the student and faculty member before other Right On Mission administrators intervene. If the matter becomes too grave to be peacefully resolved even with the aid of Right On Mission administrators, then the matter shall be referred to a church tribunal of Right On Mission's choice.
NOTA BENE: Right On Mission seeks to partner with entities that can issue Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to students who pass our courses.
Pricing at Right On Mission is based on our unique business model. Rather than using government student loans and inflated tuition prices, we offer $15% - 85% lower prices for the sake of stewardship and future flourishing. Pricing is, in part, connected to our course formats.
Course Formats In order to provide more options and entry points for students to participate in Higher Learning, Right On Mission offers a variety of course formats:
Regular Courses - These are 2-unit courses required for one or more Vocational Certificates or as an elective in the MDIV Equivalent. Regular courses may or may not include an intensive, but do entail 2 hours or 2.5 hours weekly follow-up meetings. Regular Courses range from 18 to 24 hours of class time.
Specialty Courses - These are 4-unit courses that meet twice a week, entail more homework, and enable students to acquire professional ministry skills. Although Specialty Courses are priced more closely to university prices, they are still made more affordable. Specialty Courses range from 36 to 54 hours of class time and may include up to 20 hours of field work.
Short Courses - These are 1-unit courses designed to equip students immediately (e.g. Tech Savvy, How To Read A Book, etc.). Short Courses also serve to help students meet their Webinar requirement. Short Courses range from 8 to 12 hours of class time. NOTE: Some Short Courses are offered at times as Regular Courses instead with 18 to 24 hours of class time.
Long Courses - Long Courses are 3-unit courses that are not required for any Vocational Certificate, but count as electives for our MDIV Equivalent. The purpose of a long course is to offer students a deeper dive into a hot topic that may attract believers who are not otherwise interested in becoming pedigreed for ministry. Long Courses range from 25 to 30 hours of class time.
At Right On Mission, we reward students for early registration payment for our courses.
Early Registration Deadline
Early Bird Tuition must be paid 3 days prior to the start of the General Registration Deadline to retain Early Bird Pricing (= 10 days before the course starts)
General Registration Deadline
Tuition must be paid 3 days prior to a course starting in order for the student to remain in the course.
Early and General Tuition:
Regular Course
Early discount tuition: $450; General tuition: $500
Short Course
Early discount tuition: $250; General tuition: $300
Specialty Course
Early discount tuition: $1500; General tuition: $1575
Research Discernment Lab
Early discount tuition: $300; General tuition: $349
Strategic Futuring | Prices vary by package
Retake Tuition:
Students must pay full price if retaking as Pass/Fail or for a Letter Grade.
Students pay a discounted rate of $150 for a Regular Course and $500 for a Specialty Course if retaking as an auditor. If the student wants to switch their level from auditor to P/F or Letter Grade they will pay the difference.
It is still possible to take a course past the registration deadline. Tuition then increases $50. The student will not be allowed to participate in follow-up Zoom sessions nor will they be able to complete the course until the full amount is paid in full.
ADD
After general registration closes, students must fill out the Add/Drop/Withdraw Form on Populi to add a course.
The final day to add a course is before the second session of instruction.
A $50 late fee will be applied in addition to the student’s tuition fees.
Reminder: It is the student’s responsibility, not the professor’s, to make sure the student gets caught up on any missed time.
DROP
If a student appeals to be dropped from a course within the first 24 hours of paying for tuition via Populi, full tuition, including the $25 administration fee, can be transferred to another ROM Service or course.
Reminder: It is the student’s responsibility to notify Right On Mission of the ”drop” by filling out the Add/Drop/Withdraw Form on Populi to be officially removed from the roster.
If the course is dropped after the first 24 hours and before the second class session, Right On Mission will credit the student's account with their full tuition minus a $25 administration fee.
If the student chooses to apply their tuition to another course, the student will need to pay an additional $25 administration fee to be enrolled.
WITHDRAW
Students may withdraw from a course anytime after the first 2 course sessions by filling out the Add/Drop/Withdraw form on Populi.
The student’s GPA will neither be lowered nor raised by the presence of a “W” on the student’s transcript.
Students who withdraw will not receive credit for the course and their transcript will be marked with a “W.“
Reminder: If the student fails to withdraw before the course ends, they will receive a failing grade.
RETAKE
Students who retake a course must pay full price if enrolling Pass/Fail or for a Letter Grade. If the student retakes the course as an auditor, the student becomes eligible to enroll at a discounted rate of $150 for a Regular Course and $500 for a Specialty Course.
Right On Mission defines extenuating circumstances as circumstances which:
Interfere with the student’s ability to attend class or complete course assignments;
Are exceptional, unforeseeable, and extend beyond the student’s control;
Have occurred during or shortly after the class period or assignment(s) missed.
Examples of extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to:
unforeseen medical incapacitation or physical or mental illness that took place during an active enrollment in a course and/or program;
death of an immediate family member (e.g. parent, sibling, child, spouse), or someone for whom you are the documented primary caretaker, which took place during an active enrollment in a course and/or program;
other severe and unforeseen circumstances that took place during active enrollment in a course and/or program.
Extenuating circumstances are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The owners of Right On Mission reserve the right to factor in their faith and religious freedom in each evaluation process and shall have the final say as to any disputed conclusion.
Examples of conditions that will not be defined as “extenuating circumstances” include, but are not limited to:
failing to attend class or turn in assignments on time due to negligence;
technology problems such as computer failure or lack of technological equipment (e.g. headphones, webcams, or microphones, etc.);
other foreseeable circumstances or unintended double-booking.
Right On Mission understands that extenuating circumstances may require students to drop from a course after the regular drop date. Right On Mission requires students to:
submit an Extenuating Circumstance appeal form through Populi within 7 calendar days of the incident;
email their professor and HL@rightonmission.org explaining the extenuating circumstance. This must be submitted within 7 calendar days of the incident to inquire if accommodations can be made;
include supporting documentation that:
clearly shows the extenuating circumstances experienced
falls within the timeframe of the specific course.
If the student does not follow the steps provided or give supporting documentation within 7 business days, the request may be dismissed.
Our business model is to offer premiere education at artificially low tuition prices. In order to reduce our administrative costs, we do not offer refunds.
A student’s transcript will show all courses, including courses in progress. It is the student’s responsibility to direct any concerns or discrepancies to HL@rightonmission.org.
Transcripts will not be released unless all financial obligations have been fulfilled. It is the student's responsibility to clear all holds on his or her account before submitting a transcript request. An outstanding balance will cause the transcript order to be canceled.
Right On Mission is not responsible for any transcript orders that are lost or delayed by the postal service. Right On Mission cannot guarantee the transcript’s arrival or the time it will reach the destination once it is sent.
If you have questions, contact HL@rightonmission.org or (530) 768-7068, ext. 2.
Transcript Payment and Fees
Transcript orders are purchased through Right On Mission’s website with a major credit or debit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express). Standard processing is 5-10 business days. Note: Delivery times may vary depending on locations and whether or not the process is slowed by holidays or emergencies.
During intensives and online discussions, students must give their full attention to what is taking place in class—or step outside the class until they can come back in and re-engage. Students must use their computers judiciously. Students shall not view/respond to emails or text messages during class or conduct extraneous searches or play games during class. If a student needs to communicate with someone via phone or computer, that student is required to do so outside of the physical classroom to prevent disrupting class. If any student is found during class using a laptop for purposes other than class or doing anything else that is considered by the faculty member as being inappropriate during class, the faculty member may call for a class break in order to speak privately with the student to ask him or her to cooperate immediately. If the student does not cooperate, the faculty member may ask the student to excuse himself or herself from the class. If the student elects not to excuse himself or herself from class in cooperation with the faculty member's request, the faculty member may expel the student from the course altogether. No refund shall be granted to any student who is expelled from Right On Mission.
As a matter of routine, students are required to keep their cell phones off during class (unless the student is an on-call physician or the parent of children who may need that parent’s immediate attention during class). During breaks, students are encouraged to check their phone messages and make preparations so that they can fully be attentive during class time.
Students are encouraged to stay hydrated during class. Water bottles are especially welcome in class.
Although students are welcome to dress casually, even in sweats, they are nonetheless required to dress modestly in class and all Right On Mission events in accordance with the Golden Rule (Matthew 22:37-39). If there appears to be a borderline case of indiscretion, the professor will decide if a student needs to be asked to cover any parts of his or her body in order to help foster an educational atmosphere of learning and discipleship.
The goal at Right On Mission is for everyone to be treated lovingly and redemptively with proper accountability and community support.
If a student sincerely believes that his or her work was unfairly assessed, the student can submit a grievance by first speaking directly to the professor in person or on the phone; if the matter is not resolved, then the student can take up his or her grievance by contacting the Operations Manager who will then involve the President. The President will appoint a three-professor, mixed gender committee from within Right On Mission to collectively re-assess the student's grade. If the student has a grievance against a professor who is also the Right On Mission President, the student's grievance will nonetheless be decided by a three-person, mixed gender committee from within Right On Mission whose decision regarding the matter will be final, except the committee, in this case, will be selected by the Business Manager, not the President. Whatever the professors decide will be the final decision regarding the student's grade.
If any student is mistreated by having any Right On Mission worker express a racial slur or some other kind of specific, degrading statement regarding how the student's ethnicity, that student must report the problem to Right On Mission in writing within one week from the time of the occurrence in order for Right On Mission to be able to address the problem in a time-sensitive way. Right On Mission sees acts of "partiality," in the biblical sense, as being sinful and unacceptable.
If the grieved student violated any part of the Class Etiquette policy, that student may be suspended from taking more courses. The student's grievance will automatically be dismissed if the student uses any profanity or obscene language in the process. It is possible that Right On Mission may come up with a creative solution that satisfies all parties involved; if that happens, then the matter will be considered to have been resolved. If the matter becomes too difficult for Right On Mission to solve itself, then Right On Mission will seek a church tribunal to decide the matter in order to keep the matter out of court. Upon making any payment (even if the payment is refunded), all Right On Mission students acknowledge and agree to submit to a church tribunal, not a secular court, for a final decision about any academic dishonesty, incivility, or professional misconduct.
If the student has a grievance that he or she wants to submit in order to help Right On Mission function more biblically and Christianly, that student is strongly encouraged to write directly to Right On Mission at info@rightonmission.org and ask for an appointment with the appropriate person at Right On Mission who can hopefully improve the Vocational Seminary. Any student who offers constructive criticism that significantly increases the effectiveness of Right On Mission may possibly be awarded a discount on a future course or positively featured in our newsletter or commended in a formal letter written to the student by the Right On Mission President.
If the student's teacher, after having been afforded due process, is implicated for being racist or uncivil or for using obscene language with students or workers or anyone associated with Right On Mission, then Right On Mission holds the right to dismiss that teacher and consider the teacher's contract with Right On Mission null and void.
If ever a crime is involved or behavior that jeopardizes the safety of any person, then students, faculty members, and Right On Mission workers are strongly encouraged to call the police or dial 911.
Sexual harassment is not allowed at Right On Mission (ROM). In accordance with the owner’s faith, the definition of “sexual harassment” at ROM is being spoken to or written to with lewd language; or being offered a suggestive comment that communicates the intention of a sexual advance; being stalked; or being touched by another person or forced to provide physical contact in a sexual way; or being pressured toward any kind of sexual involvement.
Anyone at ROM being sexually harassed is to report it immediately in writing so as to register the existence of the problem to the Operations team, Business Manager, or President.
It is ROM’s intention to prevent sexual harassment from happening in the first place and to halt it as soon as possible after the matter is made known.
ROM believes in due process as a mechanism for seeking out truth; thus it is ROM’s intention to listen to both sides of any conflict and to provide ROM students and employees access to ROM’s Grievance Policy, including when the conflict pertains to an accusation or denial of sexual harassment.
Right On Mission (ROM) is a closely-held-for-profit corporation. As such, it is to be counted as a “person” that is protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. According to the text provided in the United States Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) covers “any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief.” Having this Anti-Partiality Policy is part of “the exercise of religion” of ROM’s owners.
The owners of ROM sincerely believe that “partiality” in this context refers to “unfair bias that denigrates the image of God that each and every person equally bears despite their demographic information.”
The Lord has self-revealed that “God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation, the person who fears God and does what is right is welcome to God” (Acts 10:34-35) and that God impartially judges every person in accordance with the perfect standards of God’s holiness (I Peter 1:17).
God commands:
“You shall not show partiality in judgment” (Deuteronomy 1:17).
“Do nothing in a spirit of partiality” (I Timothy 5:21).
“But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as transgressors” (James 2:9).
For whoever does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong that the person did, and that without partiality” (Colossians 3:25).
In light of God’s commands, the owners of ROM see themselves as accountable to God to foster a workplace culture that honors the human dignity of each person.
Every grievance in Right On Mission will be processed in conformity with our Religious Freedom policy. All Right On Mission workers, including faculty, consultants, team members, and employees, agree upon being hired to submit to all Right On Mission policies. Right On Mission is committed to promoting repentance and restoration rather than covering up any person's misdeeds. No one at Right On Mission stands above the law of Christ or outside the realm of loving accountability that accords with truthfulness, justice, and integrity. All people benefit from God's grace, and yet grace does not ignore the need for character reparation in each one of us.
Right On Mission is a privately held company that promotes an orthodox view of Christianity. Because we openly honor biblical standards, we rely on the First Amendment for our religious freedom to make internal decisions regarding conflicts that arise with faculty, students, clients, and any other workers in Right On Mission.
No conflict or grievance in Right On Mission shall be resolved in a civil court. When a student pays tuition, that student thereby agrees not to file suit against Right On Mission. A grieved student, however, is entitled to become eligible to appeal for a full refund from any course if the student appeals in writing to info@rightonmission.org within five calendar days of the occurrence of a perceived offense that happens during an intensive or online session.
In 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States recognized that Americans do not lose their religious freedom when they run a family business. The Court allowed “closely held” for-profit corporations to be exempt from a regulation its owners religiously object to, if there is a less restrictive means of furthering the law’s interest, according to the provisions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, born of US Congress in 1993, requires “strict scrutiny” when a neutral law of general applicability "substantially burden[s] a person's exercise of religion.” Strict scrutiny requires a law to be “the least restrictive means” of furthering a compelling government interest. Right On Mission, a closely held corporation, reserves the right to run its Services, including its Higher Learning Services, in full accordance with its owners’ sincerely held religious beliefs.
Plan to attend all course sessions so that you can engage deeply with your professor and fellow classmates. For confidentiality reasons and the protection of the privacy of each student, Right On Mission does not provide recordings for any class session.
By enrolling in Right On Mission, registering for a course, or purchasing any Right On Mission educational service, all students thereby consent to allow Right on Mission to record them in the classroom setting through video, audio and/or photography for evaluative purposes unless the student withholds permission for such in writing.
All recordings and photos shall be used at the discretion of Right On Mission for purposes such as marketing, developing higher quality services, and for orienting team members, consultants, clients, students, potential students, and faculty members into Right On Mission's movement-building culture.
Any student or faculty member who does not wish to be recorded or photographed must notify Right On Mission in writing (info@rightonmission.org) to request to be excluded from photographs that Right On Mission features on its website, Facebook page, or other marketing materials.
Visit our FAQs page and Privacy Policy page for more information.