All institutions participating in Federal Student Aid Programs are required to notify enrolled and prospective students and prospective employees about consumer information. You have the right to review the following information in each document below. To request a printed copy of the entire Consumer Information Guide, contact the Financial Aid Coordinator or the Director of Financial Services at the Kansas City campus during regular business hours (M-F, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSTITUTION
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA):
In carrying out their assigned responsibilities, many offices at the institution collect and maintain information about students. Although these records belong to the institution, both institution policy and federal law accord students a number of rights concerning these records. The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) establishes the rules and regulations regarding access to and disclosure of student records.
To fulfill FERPA requirements, the institution has established Policies on Student Records. These policies outline a student’s rights regarding his/her records, where records about the student may be kept and maintained, what kinds of information are in those records, the conditions under which the student or anyone else may have access to information in those records, and what action a student can take if it is believed that the information in his/her record is inaccurate or that the student’s rights have been compromised. The policies on student records are published by the Registrar’s Office.
Because the institution does not maintain all student records in one location, each office that maintains student records is required to develop a written statement of its policies and procedures for handling those records; these statements are available for students to examine in the respective offices. In addition, copies of the institution’s policies on student records and the pertinent federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), are posted in the Registrar’s Office.
General Information: http://www.mbts.edu/downloads/_about/FERPA_information.pdf
FERPA Release Form: http://www.mbts.edu/downloads/_about/FERPA_release_form.pdf
Facilities & Services for Disabled Students:
For information on facilities and services for disabled students, see the document entitled, Disability Services at MBTS. If you need further information, please contact the Student Development Office at (816) 414-3733.
Student Body Diversity:
For information about the diversity of the institution's student body, contact the Registrar’s Office at (816) 414-3713.
Cost of Attending Midwestern:
For actual tuition and fee charges contact:
Registrar’s Office
Administration Building
(816) 414-3713
http://www.mbts.edu/academics/tuition_and_fees/
For estimated tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and personal/miscellaneous expenses contact:
Financial Aid Office
Trustees Classroom Building
(816) 414-3739
http://www.mbts.edu/admissions/financial_aid/
Refund Policy:
The institution has a tuition refund policy that stipulates the amount of tuition and fees that are refunded to a student who withdraws from all classes during a term. See http://www.mbts.edu/downloads/_academics/fees_and_financial_services.pdf
Withdrawal Procedures:
Students who are withdrawing from all classes at the institution must notify the Registrar’s Office.
Repayment Policy (Return of Title IV Aid):
The federal government mandates that students who withdraw from all classes may only keep the financial aid (federal Title IV grant and loan assistance) they have “earned” up to the time of withdrawal. Funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by the institution and/or the student to the federal government.
Descriptions of Academic Programs:
Information on the institution’s academic programs, degree offerings, and plans for future programs is available at http://www.mbts.edu/academics/degree_programs/.
Instructional Facilities and Labs:
Information on the institution’s instructional facilities is available from the Student Development Office. Also see http://www.mbts.edu/academics/library/ for information on library resources at the institution.
Faculty:
Information on the institution’s faculty and instructional personnel is available at http://www.mbts.edu/academics/faculty/.
Accreditation Information:
Students may review copies of documents regarding entities that accredit, license, or approve the institution and its programs. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning Commission, 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504. Tel: (800) 621-7440. Contact the Institutional Effectiveness Office to review the accreditation documents at (816) 414-3700. Further information is available at http://www.mbts.edu/academics/accreditation/.
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing:
H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), is a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It includes provisions that are designed to reduce the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted works through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing. The basic provisions are as follows:
-- An annual disclosure to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violating copyright law
-- A plan to "effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials" by users of its network, including "the use of one or more technology-based deterrents"
-- A plan to "offer alternatives to illegal downloading"
Below is a basic outline of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s (MBTS) efforts to comply with these policies.
Annual Disclosure:
Consistent with principles of our institution and our expectations of student behavior, we view education as the most important element in combating illegal sharing of copyrighted material. We use a wide variety of methods to inform our community about the law and our response to copyright infringement claims:
-- MBTS Information Technology policies clearly prohibit the copying of copyrighted material without proper permissions. This policy is included in the Student, Faculty and Staff handbooks.
-- MBTS will distribute information in the fall semester of each academic year on our policies concerning P2P file sharing, the legal implications as well as legal alternatives to illegal file sharing. This information will be distributed in hardcopy to all new incoming students.
-- MBTS will maintain up to date information on our policies around P2P file sharing on the MBTS web page. This will include the implications and liabilities of illegal file sharing.
Plans to “Effectively Combat” the Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Material:
MBTS currently employs an enterprise-class Sonicwall security device for analysis of all inbound and outbound network traffic. We block access to P2P protocols as much as is practical by current technology.
When excessive sustained uploading is detected the IT department makes an effort to identify the end users system and notify the user of the issue and possible causes. In extreme cases when contact cannot be made with the system owner the data connection is severed until the owner can be reached and the issue resolved.
More Information about Peer-to-Peer File Sharing:
What is Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing?:
Peer-to-peer (P2P) is an approach to content distribution in which digital files are transferred between “peer” computers over the Internet. Because they do not rely on a central server to deliver content, P2P networks tend to be fast and reliable—they can balance traffic loads that might otherwise overwhelm servers, and they minimize the chance of service breakdown due to localized server or communication outages. As a new channel for content distribution, P2P changes the conventional hierarchy of information. The roles of producer, consumer, and gatekeeper of digital content blur, and more information and resources can be delivered to more people and applications than otherwise would be possible. P2P technology has the potential to play an important, positive role in the fulfillment of institutional missions of teaching, research, and the dissemination of knowledge. [Source: 7 Things You Should Know About P2P]
Is P2P File Sharing Illegal?
It depends. P2P file sharing is perfectly legal if the work being shared is not copyrighted or is shared with the authorization of the copyright owner. However, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works through a publicly accessible, P2P network is copyright infringement pure and simple. There is no concept of fair use that encompasses making a copyrighted needlepoint design available for downloading by 100 million KaZaA users. [Source: Frequently Asked Questions about the P2P Piracy Prevention Act (H.R. 5211)]
The following list of P2P file-sharing programs are not to be installed on any Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS)-owned computer, or any computer with access to MBTS-owned network resources:
eDonkey, Overnet, Shareaza, WinMX, BitTorrent, Limewire, Morpheus,eMule, Ares, BearShare, Kazaa, iMesh, FastTrack, Ares Galaxy, Gnutella, ANts P2P, Azureus, BitComet, BitTornado, BitTorrent 5, BitTorrent 6, Cabos, DC++, ExoSee, eDonkey2000, Freenet, KCeasy, FrostWire, giFT, µTorrent, MUTE, MLDonkey, Gnucleus, Kazaa Lite, gtk-gnutella, Warez P2P, Winny, AresWarez, Blubster, others.
You may not be aware that file-sharing applications cause the following problems:
MBTS is committed to making you aware of legal options for downloading and sharing music, movies and other digital media. Please go to this list provided by Educause to find sources for legal downloads. Some of these resources make music available to you at no charge, others offer digital media at a reasonable cost.
A multitude of information can be found online. Here are a few of the more useful sites:
If you have questions about file sharing, please contact the MBTS Helpdesk at 816-414-3763 or helpdesk@mbts.edu.
STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
Most information is available from the Financial Aid Office or online at http://www.mbts.edu/admissions/financial_aid/. The Office of Financial Aid publication Funding Your Education at MBTS will provide information about:
Rights and Responsibilities of Aid Recipients:
Scholarship Fraud:
According to the Federal Trade Commission, perpetrators of financial aid fraud often use the following lines to sell their scholarship services; students should avoid any scholarship service or website that says the following:
If you believe you’ve been the victim of scholarship fraud, wish to file a complaint, or want more information, call 1 (877) FTC-HELP or see www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams. On November 5, 2000, Congress passed the College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act to enhance protection against fraud in student financial assistance by establishing stricter sentencing guidelines for criminal financial aid fraud.
STUDENT OUTCOMES
Student Right-to-Know Act:
Overall Graduation Rate - The overall graduation rate is also known as the "Student Right to Know". It tracks the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students to see if they complete a degree or other award such as a certificate within 150% of "normal time" for completing the program in which they are enrolled.
Note that not all students at the institution are tracked for these rates. Students who have already attended another postsecondary institution, or who began their studies on a part-time basis, are not tracked for this rate. At Midwestern, 26 percent of entering students were counted as "full-time, first-time" in 2008. Graduation rates are not available at this time because of an insufficient number of cases.
Job Placement Information: See the ministry placement and referral page at http://www.mbts.edu/student_life/ministry_placement/
HEALTH & SAFETY
Drug & Alcohol Abuse Prevention Information
2011 Campus Safety and Security Report
2012 Campus Safety and Security Report
Drug & Alcohol Free Workplace Policy