Policies

Eligibility policies

GPA requirement

January: minimum 2.2 GPA*
Semester: minimum 2.5 GPA*

GPA requirements must be met at the time of application and when the program begins.
A student may not participate in an off-campus studies program while on academic or disciplinary probation.

* Individual programs may require a higher average.

Eligibility by age

Students must be at least 18 years of age to participate in Bethel off-campus programs.

Eligibility by credit

Students must complete a minimum of 15 credits to be eligible for semester off-campus programs.
Students must complete one semester (with full-time enrollment status) at Bethel prior to studying off-campus.
Individual program prerequisites (i.e. foreign language requirements) may vary.

Eligibility by enrollment status

Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) students may not participate in Bethel off-campus programs.
Freshman may participate in a January Session or spring semester program during their first year, provided they are in good standing.
Sophomores and juniors in good standing are eligible to study off-campus anytime.
Seniors will need to petition Bethel's residency requirement in order to participate in a semester off-campus program during their final year at Bethel.
Graduate students are eligible to participate in graduate-level study abroad experiences.

Eligibility by student conduct status

In order to receive Student Life approval to study off campus, students must be probation-free for two consecutive semesters prior to their program start date.
- For January and spring applicants: spring and fall before the off-campus program
- For summer and fall applicants: fall and spring before the off-campus program
If Student Life approval is revoked at any time leading up to the program, students will be removed from the course at their own expense.

Back to top

Academic policies

Application due dates

Third-party semester, January, and summer programs

Fall	April 15*
January	October 15*
Spring	October 15*
Summer	April 15*

* If a third-party program has an earlier application deadline, it is the student's responsibility to meet that deadline.

Faculty-led January programs

Priority deadline	Early April
Final deadline (on a space-available basis)	Mid-September

Once the study abroad application is complete, students must receive approval from the Office of International and Off-Campus Programs, their academic advisor, the Registrar, the Business Office, and the Office of Student Life before going abroad.
- Bethel reserves the right to cancel a student’s acceptance to a program due to academic or disciplinary circumstances at any time after acceptance. The student will be responsible for any payments already made and may be responsible for additional fees incurred by the cancellation.
Please visit our How to Apply page for further information on the application process.

Auditing

Students cannot audit off-campus courses.

Residency requirement

Seniors must meet Bethel's residency requirements when participating in an off-campus program.
- Courses taken through Bethel third-party provider programs meet residency requirements.
  - In order to receive formal documented approval for studying off-campus during senior year, students must complete the Residency Requirement Petition.
- All faculty-led courses meet Bethel's residency requirements and do not require a petition.

Grades and credit transfer

Faculty-led programs:
- Faculty-led programs are Bethel courses and do not require a transfer process.
- Grades for faculty-led programs are factored into the GPA as usual.
Third-party programs:
- For students participating in approved third-party programs, credits earned will normally transfer to Bethel.
  - However, to assure that this credit will transfer to Bethel to meet specific requirements, it is strongly recommended that students complete the course petition process BEFORE going abroad.
  - For courses transferred in from a foreign university, students will need to earn the equivalent of a C in the course for Bethel to accept the credit. Bethel will not transfer in failing grades.
  - Letter grades for each course will appear on the transcript but will not be factored into the GPA.
- Programs where Bethel grants the credit (Semester in Segovia) will be factored into the GPA as usual.

Registration

In order to study abroad, you must still have an active registration at Bethel (exception—students with Preferred Readmit status).
Students on faculty-led programs will register for their specific course as it is found in the Bethel catalog.
Students on all other programs will register for the course GES284 (up to 18 credits). This is a generic placeholder course that keeps you enrolled as a full-time student so your billing and financial aid can continue to be processed through Bethel.
- Once the program is complete and the transcript arrives at Bethel, the correct course titles and credits will be substituted on your academic record.
Please note: Your student account with the Business Office must be paid before you will be able to register for your semester abroad. You MUST be registered in order to study abroad. In addition, any holds on your account will prevent you from registering for your return semester to Bethel.

Back to top

Financial policies

Study abroad charges

The charges below were approved by Bethel University for the FY23 fiscal year and are subject to change in future years.

Third-party programs

Application processing charge*	$50
CISI Insurance	$41.50 per 30-day period
Admin charge	$500 for semester participants $250 for summer and January participants
Provider charges	Varies by program**

* Application Processing Charge is non-refundable.

** Students will complete a Cost Estimation Meeting with a study abroad advisor to review estimated charges for their chosen program.

Faculty-led programs

Application processing charge*	$50
Program fee**	Varies by program. (Please view our Bethel faculty-led programs page to explore upcoming programs and fees.)

* Application processing charge is non-refundable.

** "Program fee" DOES include:

Study abroad program costs (i.e. airfare, hotels, food, transportation in the host country, tickets to museums and events, local expert guest speakers, etc.)

CISI insurance

Admin charge

"Program fee" does NOT include:

Tuition charges:

Whether or not you will need to pay tuition charges (on top of your program fee) will depend on your enrollment status. Credits earned during January will be included in a student's Spring Semester calculations for tuition charges. Students earning less than 12 credits within the January Session/Spring Session will be charged per credit.

January Session is a ‘part of term’ for the Spring Semester. All January Session credits count toward a student's status as “full time” or “part time.” Students enrolled in 12 or more credits within the Spring Semester are billed the full-time student tuition rate. Students enrolled in less than 12 credits will be charged per credit for both January Session and Spring Session.

(Please see the Office of Financial Aid's Tuition & Costs webpage for current tuition prices.)

Billing

The student account in the Business Office must be paid in full or receive special clearance prior to participating in an international/off-campus program.

Semester, January, and summer programs

The sum of the CISI insurance, admin charge, and provider charges will be charged to your student account.
Payment will be due at the same time as for a regular on-campus term at Bethel, unless you enroll in a payment plan.
- Please visit the Business Office webpage for complete information on payment plans and due dates.

Faculty-led January programs

Installment payment 1	1/3 of program price	Due Sep. 1*
Installment payment 2	2/3 of program price	Due Oct. 1
Installment payment 3	Remainder of program price	Due Nov. 1

* These payment due dates may be extended if a student is applying for additional loans to help cover the cost, provided the student gives written notification to the Office of International and Off-Campus Programs.

Financial aid

Bethel gift aid does not apply toward the cost of off-campus study
- Gift aid will resume as normal upon a student's return to campus the following term
Most federal and state aid (including loans) does apply toward the cost of off-campus study
Please visit our scholarships page for additional funding options

Cancellation and refund policy

If the student decides to withdraw from a program after confirming by paying the application processing charge, s/he will be responsible for the payment of any monies related to the program that cannot be refunded or recovered, and an additional cancellation fee may be assessed.

Third-Party withdrawal policy

Faculty-led January session withdrawal policy

Back to top

Health and safety policies

Emergency contact policy

Bethel reserves the right to contact a parent, guardian, or any person a student has indicated to contact in reasonable case of perceived danger or emergency. Bethel will also make an attempt to notify the student when such contact takes place.

Insurance

All Bethel students are enrolled in CISI insurance.
Students will also have the opportunity to enroll in Cancel For Any Reason/Interrupt For Any Reason (CFAR/IFAR) insurance on their own for an additional cost.
Please visit our Google Site for additional information.

Travel warning advisory

Bethel does not support student applications to locations under a Travel Warning advisory by the U.S. State Department, unless the program is offered by one of our approved third-party providers. Students wishing to participate in programs not offered by an approved third-party provider must withdraw from Bethel for the semester they are abroad.

Back to top

Conduct policies

Academic expectations

Students must maintain an adequate standard of academic work.
Students are expected to follow the course load recommendations of their programs to continue earning the equivalent of 12-18 U.S. semester credits at Bethel.
Students must not engage in plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic dishonesty.
Students must agree to abide by all academic and conduct regulations set forth by the host institution as a condition of their enrollment.

Local laws and regulations

Students must obey all local government laws and regulations where the program is located.
Students are subject to the laws of the host country.
Students will attend to legal matters with personal funds. Bethel does not guarantee that assistance can be provided under such circumstances.
Breaches of the local law of the host community or country will be referred to the requisite local law enforcement authority.
While in the host country, students must also refrain from political activity for their own safety. Students should avoid joining political parties or unions, demonstrations, soliciting political material, or picketing.

Behavioral expectations

Students are expected to observe rules and exhibit behavior appropriate to the local community they visit.
Students must behave responsibly at all times (including in the classroom, living situations, free time, and group excursions).
Behavior considered unacceptable includes but is not limited to:
- Actions causing danger to oneself or others;
- Actions which result in the intentional or unintentional destruction of others’ property;
- Involvement in theft;
- Possession of firearms, bombs, or other incendiary/explosive devices;
- Furnishing false information to Bethel staff, local authorities, and institution officials;
- Very loud and/or disruptive behavior;
- Anti-social or unseemly behavior which reflects poorly on fellow Bethel students or Bethel itself;
- Failure to heed the direct instruction of Bethel staff or host institution staff.
Students are not permitted to behave violently at any time. This includes physical violence, intimidation, and verbal abuse.
Inappropriate sexual behavior disruptive to the program or offensive to the host culture is not tolerated. Sexual misconduct refers to sexual harassment, sexual assault, threats, or coercion.

Drugs and alcohol

Alcohol abuse/misuse is not tolerated. Alcohol consumption that results in any of the following may lead to disciplinary action: loss of consciousness; destructive or abusive behavior; endangerment of self or others; treatment or hospitalization for alcohol poisoning.
Drug abuse/misuse is not tolerated. The possession, use, sale, distribution, or production of illegal drugs, or acting as an accessory for any of the above will not be tolerated and will result in automatic expulsion. (This applies to the abuse of prescription drugs as well.) U.S. law states that possession of any drug is illegal and punishable by fine, imprisonment, and/or deportation.

Covenant expectations (CAS only)

On-campus undergraduate Bethel students (CAS) will be held responsible for all rules of conduct for Bethel University students, as outlined in written form in the Covenant for Life Together.