Reinstatement

A “Reinstatement” is a terminal period of additional study granted to a student after his or her time of study has expired.  Time expiration depends on the number of years a student has been enrolled in the various programs of ABGTS.  According to the By-Laws of the Seminary, Article VIII-7, the period of study shall not ordinarily exceed three years for the Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees, or four years for the D.Min., D.Miss., D.R.E., and Th.D. degrees.  The Area Learning Center faculty may extend this but in no case shall the study extend beyond six years without special approval of the Executive Committee of the ABGTS and this will only be in extenuating circumstances as a request for “reinstatement.”

A request for “reinstatement” should be made to the Executive Committee of the ABGTS through the Dean’s Office.

• The student must explain in writing why he or she was unable to complete the degree requirements in the extension periods that have already been granted by the ALC faculty.  In the case of Th.M., this refers to the three years of extension beyond the expected three years to complete the degree; in the case of the D.Min., D.Miss., D.R.E., and Th.D. degrees, this refers to the two years of extension beyond the expected four years to complete the specific degree.
• The student may request up to but not more than two years for a reinstatement period.  Reinstatements are usually requested according to the number of months needed to complete remaining requirements.  As a general practice, this is granted in six-month intervals (six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months).

• The student needs to list the requirements that remain for completing the degree and give specific dates when the student plans to have these remaining requirements completed.  The student should note how he or she would adjust his or her current schedule and responsibilities to meet these specific requirements.

• The student will need to read an additional 1500 pages in his or her field of study to update the student’s work.  The student's academic supervisor will assign this or the Associate Dean will appoint someone to assign this additional reading.  The student will need to submit reading notes on this guided reading to his or her supervisor.  This additional reading is required only if the student’s reinstatement request is approved by the Executive Committee and is not a prerequisite for requesting a reinstatement.     

• The Executive Committee Trustees will circulate the student’s request for reinstatement and make a decision concerning this request.  There is no guarantee that the student will be granted a reinstatement.  If it is granted, the student’s schedule of due dates for all requirements will be adjusted for the appropriate time period granted by the Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee’s decision will be based in part on the student’s explanation of why he or she was unable to complete the degree within the normal time period allotted and with regard to the student’s ability to adjust his or her current schedule and ministerial duties to meet the demands of completing all remaining requirements for the degree.
  
• When the Executive Committee approves a reinstatement, the Chairperson of the Executive Committee will communicate it to the Associate Dean, and this communication will be copied to the Dean’s office and recorded in the student’s permanent record.  The Associate Dean will communicate the  Executive Committee's decision to the student.
  
• Reinstatement fees may be charged by the Area Learning Center in accordance with the minutes of the 1995 Executive Committee meeting in Singapore.  As a guideline, one and one-half years of registration fees may be assessed for reinstatement.  In addition to this reinstatement fee, the regular annual registration fee must be paid for any period beyond one year of reinstatement.  For example, in the event of an eighteen month reinstatement the student would be expected to pay two and one-half  annual registration fees.
• Reinstatements are final.  Once this time period has lapsed, there will be no further time allotted.