Bethel Seminary
Student Services and Resources—San Diego Campus
Appeal Process
Students with concerns in any area of due process related to student life may appeal to the student affairs committee. The committee will be appointed by the faculty for students who feel that individual circumstances warrant exceptions from published policy. The student affairs committee will include one faculty member, one member of the administration, and one student representative. Further appeals beyond this committee will be directed to the full faculty. Written requests should be submitted to the associate registrar’s office.
Bookstore
Bethel Seminary San Diego operates a bookstore that enables students to purchase all required textbooks at the lowest possible cost.
Computer Access
Bethel Seminary San Diego’s library has IBM-compatible computers connected to a main laser printer that students may use. There are also typewriters available for student use.
Employment
Most students find it a financial necessity to work part time while in seminary. Many students are involved in paid positions within local churches in the San Diego area. Various businesses have regular contact with Bethel in order to provide part-time employment opportunities for students.
Health Insurance
Students are required to participate in a hospital insurance plan. This may be done by purchasing a policy from an insurance company of the student’s own choosing or by participating in a plan where the student or spouse is employed.
Placement
The seminary seeks to prepare graduates who qualify for ordination or for M.F.T. licensure in California, but the successful placing of a graduate in a position involves several variables, such as the needs of the specific church or agency, the availability of the graduate, and his or her competency for ministry. Students are encouraged to establish a denominational relationship early in their seminary experience to prepare for placement and ordination, if that is their goal. Representatives from several denominations and mission agencies regularly visit the campus to meet with students.
Students should use their required supervised ministry experiences as opportunities to build a résumé of experiences that will lead naturally toward their ministry goals. Service within the chosen denominational setting, contacts with established pastors, and attendance at denominational conferences and ministerial meetings build a network of relationships that facilitate placement.
Students are expected to take the initiative in seeking placement upon graduation since most ministry placement is done through established national and district offices. The Office of Supervised Ministry is available for placement counseling, to help students communicate with their officials, and to make students aware of placement opportunities. Those who feel called to overseas ministry are urged to maintain contact with appropriate mission agencies beginning early in their seminary careers.
Publications
Heart & Mind magazine, published three times a year, is distributed to prospective and current students and alumni. Its purpose is to highlight how God is working in the seminary community as well as to provide stimulating articles by faculty and other contemporary theologians.
The San Diego M.F.T. department publishes The Bridge, a newsletter to keep in touch with alumni, the San Diego therapeutic community, and local churches.
The SW Friends newsletter is a periodic publication of interest to a wide-ranging constituency in the southwest U.S., primarily highlighting San Diego-related events, programs, and opportunities to students, alumni, parents, and friends of Bethel University and Bethel Seminary San Diego.
The Student Handbook, which is updated annually, contains all information pertaining to academia and student life and is issued to all incoming students.
Student Senate
The seminary Student Senate is active on the San Diego campus, contributing in numerous ways to enhance the educational experience of each student as well as ministering to the entire seminary community. Specifically, the Senate exists to promote and serve student interests, to lead and guide in student desired initiatives, and to establish and sustain the welfare of the student body.
Additionally, the senate is in charge of facilitating worship opportunities, programming periodic seminars and other student activities, enhancing internal communication, and serving as liaisons between the student body and faculty and administration. Senators are elected to a one-year term at the beginning of the school year in the fall. All students are eligible to serve.
Disability Services
Bethel Seminary provides services and reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Examples include sensory, physical, systemic, learning, and psychiatric disabilities. Students enrolled in Bethel courses should contact the instructor as soon as possible if disability-related accommodations are needed. Accommodations for students with documented disabilities are set up through the Office of the Associate Dean. For further information about these services or to request accommodation, contact Kent Eaton, associate dean, at 619.582.8188, ext. 223.
The Bethel Seminary Catalog is provided online as a convenience for those who desire course information in electronic form. The printed version of the Bethel Seminary catalog is the official version, and it will be treated as the document of record in all seminary business.