Page 85 - THBI Student Handbook - 2020

For a student of True Hope Bible Institute to be approved to receive his or her graduate degree, either
Masters or Doctoral degree – INCLUDING AN HONORARY DOCTORAL DEGREE – the student’s
graduate degree paper must exhibit that he/she has a sound understanding of the Degree Study Program’s
field of study, to the extent that he/she is able to impart his or her understanding into the life of another person.

In order for a student’s graduate paper to receive a passing evaluation, all requirements for the graduate
paper must be met and all guidelines must be followed. Failure to do so will result in the paper being
rejected and if not resolved by the student in a reasonable amount of time, the paper will be deemed a
failure resulting in the failure of the entire Degree Program in which the student is enrolled.
Graduate Papers receiving “Failed Reviews” shall be considered “NON Recoverable” and shall receive
the grade of FAILED, meaning the student shall fail to earn his/her graduate degree in the event that the
“failing student” is non-responsive and/or confrontational and/or uncooperative with the LSC and/or
other THBI leadership attempting to work with such students for the purposes of granting a “Second
Submission Opportunity” to recover from the failed review.

Graduate Degree Writing Requirements
At THBI, both the thesis and dissertation are required to exhibit the ability of the graduate level
student to guide or assist the reader into understanding the point of view, perspective, concerns
and conclusions of the paper.
While gaining knowledge is important, a well written paper that only shows how much the student
knows misses the entire purpose of the requirements! Or, to so how well the student comprehends
his/her knowledge, again, fails to achieve the objectives of what THBI requires.

Also, merely stating a position or conclusion will not be sufficient to meet the requirements of THBI - -
while academic ability is vital, the application is equally or more so - - therefore, the student must be
able to help the reader gain the benefit of personal application of the conclusions of the paper.

Graduate Papers are evaluated (reviewed) to determine a “Pass” or “Fail” status. Graduate Papers are not
given grades or scores beyond pass/fail.
I. REVIEWS:
The THBI Reviewer of a graduate paper shall evaluate a student’s paper on both technical and
substantive points.
A. Technical: The paper must adhere to the requirements and guidelines set forth by THBI and given
by the LSC.
B. Substantive:
1. The thesis statement or dissertation’s opening statement (proposal) must be specific and present
the reasoned focus of the paper;
a) The paper’s opening must not be generalized nor merely a general, social or
denominational positional statement.
2. The content must be Biblically supportive and substantiated by proper research;
a) A topical list of Scripture verses or a collection of Bible passages merely speaking on a
topic will not be acceptable

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