COCHRANE, Alberta, Canada (BP)–It’s one of the first of its kind in North America and is poised to bring education to those in ministry across the continent and beyond.
Previously, the Association of Theological Schools only accredited master of divinity degree programs when at least two-thirds of the degree was earned on the campus of a seminary in a traditional classroom. The Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary, however, has worked with ATS to launch a new delivery system, seminarylink.com, that will allow the seminary to work with students across Canada and the world.
Steve Booth, CSBS academic dean, said the program differs from most other seminary online programs in its structure.
“Seminary Link is not just a bunch of online courses delivered together,” Booth said. “It is the delivery of an entire degree program. And students won’t be out there doing this on their own out in cyberspace; we’re going to walk with these students wherever they are.”
Under this new delivery system, the class schedule would allow a student to take nine credit hours online per year and six credit hours in on-campus intensives, which equates to two visits to Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, per year.
Booth emphasized that the Canadian seminary is dedicated to making sure the online students get much of the mentoring and spiritual formation that on-campus students receive. Counseling, chapel, journey groups and the like will be replicated in innovative ways over the Internet.
“We plan on having things like a spiritual retreat with the Seminary Link students during the summer and ongoing mentoring online and in person,” Booth said. “In fact, some of the innovative aspects to the program will enhance some of the things we’re doing on campus.”
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For more information on Seminary Link, visit the website at www.seminarylink.com or contact the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary’s office of student enlistment at [email protected].
