Helpful Tips for Choosing Courses and
First Year Course Recommendations (Fall 2013)
Revised May 7, 2013
Some classes have more than one section (A, B, C, D, E)
This means it is the same class, just offered at different times, sometimes taught by different professors. You may choose
whichever section you like as long as there is space available.
Start with required classes and those that have the least number of sections
For example, your major may require you to take certain courses in sequence. Sign up for those first, then if you want to
take both a Theology and Psychology class, fill in your timetable with the class that has only one section available first.
Then choose the section of the other class that fits your schedule best.
There is a ten minute break between classes
This means you can schedule your classes back to back and have time to get to your next one. Consider leaving yourself a
break at some point during the day for lunch or just to relax.
Ensembles and Private Music lessons are listed on Briercrest Live as follows:
For Ensembles register through your Briercrest Live account for ENS; you will audition during Week of Welcome.
For Private Music lessons (Piano, Voice, Instrument, or Dance)
1. Go to your My BriercrestLive account.
2. Register for PL – Voice or Piano or Instrument, and a box will pop up that has a link to the application
form you must complete and submit. You need one registration for each type of lesson.
3. A confirmation that your application was received will come up.
4. Click on My BriercrestLive and select PL, again, and add it to your registration.
5. You will then be registered for a Private Lesson. If you have any questions contact worship.arts@briercrest.ca.
Your desired course is full
If the course you want is full, keep trying through Briercrest Live and if someone else drops it and you’re the next to
register, you will get the seat. Please drop courses you don’t plan to take to allow others who need the course to have your
seat.
How often does my class meet?
Classes normally meet twice a week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday), or one 3-hour class (Monday evening or
Friday morning with a short break in the middle). In the timetable you will see the days the classes are held and the times.
For example: Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 – 9:45 am or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 until 9:45 am.
What is a modular course (“mod”)?
Modular Weeks are 5 day courses offered in October, March and April, that typically require pre and post-course work. A
“mod” may be added up until 2 weeks before the first day of class, space permitting, but earlier sign-up ensures it will not
be cancelled due to low enrollment and for you to begin pre-course work. Special add-drop rules apply to mods, which
can be viewed here: http://www.briercrest.ca/current/college/academics/key-dates-and-deadlines/.
Be aware of prerequisites for upper-level courses
Make sure you know which courses you plan to take that have pre-requisites in order to register for them. A ‘pop-up’ note
will appear when you are registering for courses with pre-requisites. This is especially important since some are offered
only every other year (biennially). It’s generally a very good idea to complete your required 100 level courses your first
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year or two so you have the prerequisites needed for upper level courses that come later. Freshmen are limited to 100 &
200 level courses only.
Frequency of course offerings
The majority of courses are offered once a year or once every two years. This is why attending all program meetings
called by your program coordinator and meeting with your faculty adviser to check your course selection is very
important (and then following the sequence suggested). Not following this advice or taking a semester off may delay
degree completion by a semester or more.
Add/Drop deadlines and absences
Be aware of these deadlines for each semester (in the Fall semester the deadline is September 12, 2013). Not dropping an
unneeded course by 5:00 pm on this date means no tuition refund, although you can still withdraw from the course and
receive a Withdraw until the posted date mid-semester. Classes missed when adding a course after it has begun will be
counted as an absence.
Five 3 credit hour (c.h.) courses are considered the typical academic load to complete a Certificate in Biblical
Studies in one year, an Associate of Arts (AA) in two years or Bachelor of Arts (BA) in four years (one or two semesters
with six courses will be necessary for most AA or BA programs). Choosing a lighter load will extend the time needed to
complete a degree and may be desirable if involved in heavy extra-curricular activities. Continuing and Distance
Education (CDE) courses and/or a variety of modular courses offered four times a year may be taken to get back on track
if starting with a light load.
 Music Students require 1 credit hour (c.h.) ensembles and private music lessons which are taken on top of the 3 c.h.
academic courses. AAs require one semester with four 3 c.h. courses and three semesters with five 3 c.h. courses. BAs
require two semesters with four 3 c.h. courses and six semesters with five 3 c.h. courses. It is recommended that freshmen
music students start with four rather than five 3 c.h. courses first semester.
 Clipper Athletes - sign up for only four 3 c.h. courses (12 credit hours total). Due to heavy team commitments, most
athletes take an extra semester (AA) or year (BA) to complete their degrees. If desired, it’s still possible to complete
within 2 or 4 years by using CDE (in the summer only) or “mod” strategies in the off-season as suggested in the paragraph
above regarding typical academic load.
 Students with diagnosed learning disabilities who may require accommodations are asked to submit a current
psycho-educational assessment taken within the past 5 years to Admissions as soon as possible and no later than early
August. Early planning may aid academic success. Students without a current assessment on file cannot be granted
accommodations.
Details for your program: consult your specific program webpage at www.briercrest.ca. Blank program
sheets are available @ http://www.briercrest.ca/current/college/academics/program-sheets/.
IMPORTANT FOR ALL: Please attend your program (or program of interest) advising meeting offered the
first week of September. Then make an appointment during the fall with your Faculty Adviser to guide you
with future course selection. The Faculty Advisers for each program are listed below. It is essential and
expected that you read the information and downloadable handbooks on the Academic webpage to better
understand how college academics work and to know all important deadlines.
http://briercrest.ca/current/college/academics/important-documents/.
Listen for additional important academic advising tips and information during Week of Welcome. You can
adjust your courses before classes start or within the first week of classes (the add/drop deadline is
September 12, 2013).
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Faculty advising team:
Program Coordinators/Faculty Advisers 2013-2014
* Denotes non-direct entry program. Please contact Faculty Adviser for more information.
Degree
Program
Coordinator
Email
Faculty Adviser
Email
*BA Applied Linguistics: TESOL
David Catterick
dcatterick@briercrest.ca
David Catterick
dcatterick@briercrest.ca
Certificate of Biblical Studies
Don Taylor
dtaylor@briercrest.ca
Don Taylor
dtaylor@briercrest.ca
AA Biblical Studies
Don Taylor
dtaylor@briercrest.ca
Don Taylor
dtaylor@briercrest.ca
BA Biblical Studies
David Miller
dmiller@briercrest.ca
David Miller
dmiller@briercrest.ca
BA Business Administration
Stephen Robitaille
srobitaille@briercrest.ca
Stephen Robitaille
srobitaille@briercrest.ca
BA Christian Ministry
David Ernst
dernst@briercrest.ca
David Ernst
dernst@briercrest.ca
BA Christianity and Culture
Brian Gobbett
bgobbett@briercrest.ca
Brian Gobbett
bgobbett@briercrest.ca
*BA General Studies/BSE Elem. Ed.
Barb Elich
belich@briercrest.ca
Barb Elich
belich@briercrest.ca
*BA General Studies/BSE Phys. Ed.
Lori Peters
lpeters@briercrest.ca
Lori Peters
lpeters@briercrest.ca
AA Global Studies
Tim Stabell;
tstabell@briercrest.ca
Tim Stabell;
tstabell@briercrest.ca
Alan Guenther
aguenther@briercrest.ca
Alan Guenther
aguenther@briercrest.ca
Tim Stabell;
tstabell@briercrest.ca
Tim Stabell;
tstabell@briercrest.ca
Alan Guenther
aguenther@briercrest.ca
Alan Guenther
aguenther@briercrest.ca
AA Humanities
Joel From
jfrom@briercrest.ca
Joel From
jfrom@briercrest.ca
BA Humanities
Joel From
jfrom@briercrest.ca
Joel From
jfrom@briercrest.ca
*BA Humanities/BSE English
Rhoda Cairns
rcairns@briercrest.ca
Rhoda Cairns
rcairns@briercrest.ca
*BA Humanities/BSE History
Brian Gobbett
bgobbett@briercrest.ca
Brian Gobbett
bgobbett@briercrest.ca
AA Music
Ron de Jager
rdejager@briercrest.ca
Ron de Jager
rdejager@briercrest.ca
*BA Music
Ron de Jager
rdejager@briercrest.ca
Ron de Jager
rdejager@briercrest.ca
registrar@briercrest.ca
TBA
registrar@briercrest.ca
BA Global Studies
*BA Music/BSE Music
BA Psychology
Charles Hackney
chackney@briercrest.ca
Charles Hackney
chackney@briercrest.ca
BA Psychology/BSc or BSW
Charles Hackney
chackney@briercrest.ca
Charles Hackney
chackney@briercrest.ca
AA Social Science
Charles Hackney
chackney@briercrest.ca
Charles Hackney
chackney@briercrest.ca
BA Theology
Kevin Daugherty
kdaugherty@briercrest.ca
Kevin Daugherty
kdaugherty@briercrest.ca
*BA Worship Arts
Keith Molberg
kmolberg@briercrest.ca
Keith Molberg
kmolberg@briercrest.ca
BA Youth Ministry
Ken Moser
kmoser@briercrest.ca
Ken Moser
kmoser@briercrest.ca
IMPRINT Certificate
Brian Gobbett
bgobbett@briercrest.ca
Brian Gobbett
bgobbett@briercrest.ca
Kaléo Certificate
Wes Olmstead
wolmstead@briercres.ca
Wes Olmstead
wolmstead@briercres.ca
Tim Macfarlane
tmacfarlane@briercrest.ca
Transfer student questions
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Suggested First Semester Core Courses (can be applied to any program)
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ENG 100 Literature and Composition I
BLST 103 Gospels
BLST 111 Old Testament Literature
THEO 112 Spiritual Formation
THEO 115 Introduction to Christian Theology
Any 100-200 level elective that fits your program

Most Core elective courses are offered annually, but some are biennial (every other year) including the
courses listed below. If you’re in an AA program these courses may not be offered in your second year.
o ECON 100 Microeconomics
o ECON 101 Macroeconomics (Winter 2014)
o THEA 221 Acting I
Program Specific Advising: If you are interested in one of the following programs, please choose these
courses, as they are needed prerequisites for future courses and may not come up again for a couple years
(in other words, it’s okay to delay some of the Core courses, listed above, to fit these in now)…
BA/BSE Partnership Degrees:
ENG 100; PSY 100 or 101; PHI 101 – EDUC courses will be
offered in 2014 only; BIOL 115
BA/BSc. Or BSW Partnership Degrees:
ENG 100; BIOL 115; PSY 100
BA Youth Ministry:
YM 100 Foundations of Youth Ministry
BA Business Administration:
ECON 100 Microeconomics; BU 211 Financial Accounting
BA/AA Music/BAWorship Arts (Worship Arts: submit specific online application form for this program). Sign
up for four 3 credit hour courses, one large ensemble (College Singers) and a private music lesson for credit.
Register for MUS 110 Introduction to Musicianship (students with limited/no theory) or MUS 115
Musicianship I (students with some formal theory training)…a placement exam will confirm this choice when
you arrive in the fall and you can switch if necessary in the fall before classes begin.
MUS 216 History of Western Music I (HWM) is offered once every three semesters. Some music
programs require it, others have it listed as an elective (consult your program sheet). In most cases, it is
recommended it be delayed until the next time offered. HMW II will be offered in Fall 2013, HMW III in
Winter 2014 and then HWM I will be offered in the Fall 2014 semester.
AA Social Sciences:
PSY 100 Intro to Psychology I
Social Science electives offered this semester:
ECON 100 Microeconomics (prerequisite for ECON 101 Macroeconomics)
AA/BA Global Studies:
ANTH 200 Cultural Anthropology
ECON 100 Microeconomics is the prerequisite for the optional Global Studies
Elective, ECON 101 Macroeconomics, offered in January.
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AA/BA Humanities:
Complete the required six hours of ENG in year one and six hours of PHI and HIS
(18 credit hours total) in year one or two in order to meet prerequisites for most
humanities electives in future years.
BA Applied Linguistics TESOL:
The TESOL major is a three year sequence which can be started in the first or second year. Students tend to
track with a designated cohort (group of people). It is advisable to take Core courses the first year, then begin
the TESOL sequence the second year.
Students transferring in with one year’s transfer credit (or close to it) are advised to begin the
TESOL course sequence immediately and in the first semester should register for:
LING105 Introduction to TESOL (August modular)
LING 120 TESOL Practicum I (October mod)
LING 220 Linguistics: English Grammar
LING 221 Language Teaching Methodology
GER 100 German I
ENG 100 may be delayed until Jan. 2014 (1302) if not transferred in.
Freshmen who have good reason to believe that they will make a good transition to College studies
because of stronger than average prior academic performance and higher levels of emotional and
spiritual maturity may begin the main TESOL sequence in their first semester. Students choosing to
start their sequence in their first semester will complete the same courses as outline above. They need to
note that starting the sequence in the first year will mean that typically have no TESOL classes in their
last year of study.
All other freshman students including those who have been given conditional entry to the program
are advised to take Core and free electives in their first year including six hours of 100 level ENG and
courses from a variety of disciplines.
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