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Seminary Expanding Online For-Credit Course Offerings
CHICAGO (April 29, 2000) - A few generations ago people bragged about walking three miles uphill to a one-room schoolhouse to get a formal education.
People heading for ministry in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) soon will brag about walking upstairs to their office computer to complete much of their education.
With the approach of a new millennium comes a new set of options for students, including online for-credit courses offered by North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) as part of its degree programs. Online courses began in the fall of 1999 under the direction of Christy Thomas, then assistant dean of off-site programming. The curriculum includes numerous courses - 10 on-campus intensives this summer and four in the fall.
Will a student be able to graduate from North Park Theological Seminary without stepping onto the campus? No, say NPTS representatives, because only one-third of total credits may be obtained through distance learning technology and satisfy Association of Theological Schools requirements.
Long-term plans envision completion of a degree program without permanent residency on the Chicago campus, according to NPTS admissions director Mark Washington. This would be accomplished through completing one-third of coursework via distance learning (probably online) and completing two-thirds through intensive or modular classes of one to two weeks' duration on campus. That would allow pastors of churches and parachurches who are completing degree programs to remain in their current ministries, with occasional trips to Chicago for intensive classroom work.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Young Life are using online seminary courses to provide a solid spiritual foundation to those already on the frontlines of ministry. Washington also sees benefits for rural pastors, who may have limited continuing education opportunities in their area, and to lay leaders who can access more comprehensive information in areas like small group ministry.
"This signals a new era for the seminary," Washington said. "There's a desire to find out the needs of the church and individuals and to structure new programs, instead of the other way around," he continued. "The online courses came out of a desire to serve the whole church irrespective of geography. It's not practical for us to plant multiple off-site locations, and it seemed like we could reach the whole world with online types of media."
Richard Moore of Sloan, Iowa, has completed numerous courses via distance learning, currently enrolled in an Old Testament course at NPTS. The closest seminary to Moore is 90 minutes away, an impossible commute for a full-time worker in ministry with a wife and two children.
"Without these types of classes, I would not be able to finish seminary," said Moore, pastor of Evangelical Covenant Church in Sloan. "When I started seminary, I had two teenage boys and for various reasons we couldn't move to Chicago," he said. "I've come on campus for concentrated classes, and that has worked well. The convenience (of distance learning) is a major thing," he continued. "There is no way in the world I could do seminary education without this program, no way."
Moore noted that this kind of learning technology has forced him to become more familiar with computers. He believes the technology is effective, especially through the use of chat rooms. "Professor (Robert) Hubbard has been excellent in facilitating the conversation," Moore said. "I think it's been every bit as successful as if I were sitting in the same room with him. There's a definite classroom feel to the chat room."
Thomas sees other benefits in online education, especially for those students whose schedules and personalities prevent them from contributing as well in traditional classroom settings. "Introverted students, especially those whose cultural norms prohibit them from entering or leaping into an emotionally charged discussion, can contribute equally in the less-threatening bulletin board discussion," said Thomas. "And in chat rooms, e-mail and (computer) bulletin board discussions, they've found that you can form better collaborative work communities than you can in the normal, traditional classrooms," she continued. "People can meet at odd times, in different places, and you don't have to take time off from work."
One challenge lies in learning how to effectively use the new technology – it is estimated that a typical professor needs a full year of content preparation before leading an online class. "North Park has done a wonderful job in helping the faculty," Thomas said.
Individuals desiring further information may call Washington at 773-244-5532 or visit the seminary website at www.northpark.edu/sem. The July issue of The Covenant Companion also will feature distance learning as it relates to seminaries, including NPTS.
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