July 07, 2010
A Grand Rapids Theological Seminary (GRTS) education is no longer just available to Michigan residents.
In an effort to meet student demand for more options and greater flexibility, as well as serve those who would not normally have access to graduate theological education, GRTS is moving toward a goal of allowing students to complete a master of arts degree fully online.
GRTS students wanted more enrollment options with greater flexibility, according to John Verberkmoes, GRTS academic dean.
The push toward providing online education options started in 2006, when Verberkmoes developed and taught organizational leadership, GRTS’ first online course.
The course, which Verberkmoes still teaches every term, has been joined by 11 more courses, with an additional six to seven to be added by fall 2010.
All the online courses are developed and taught by GRTS full-time faculty and has a 12-member cap to provide personal attention.
“Ministry is incarnational. So the very delivery of online education is potentially incongruent with that,” said David Livermore, executive director of the Global Learning Center and associate professor of intercultural ministry. “But by putting students in peer learning groups, asking them to read one another's work and work on collaborative projects, when done well, an online course can not only tap into some of the incarnational aspects that happen in a traditional classroom but may even accelerate the possibilities.”
And students are pleased with the quality of the classes.
“Student evaluation data for the online courses indicates that student satisfaction with the quality of the online courses is comparable with residential offerings,” Verberkmoes said. “At GRTS, we deeply value academic quality, and we are achieving it in our online course offerings. We did not rush into online education. It has been a process, and our approach has allowed us to maintain high academic quality.”
There are benefits inherent to online learning, both Livermore and Verberkmoes said. Livermore cited the ability to cater to different learning styles and encouraging students who don’t ordinarily speak up in class to have input in the class.
Verberkmoes noted that it extends the seminary’s sphere of influence and extends access to graduate theological education to those who wouldn’t ordinarily have access, such as rural pastors.
GRTS plans to offer a master of arts degree that will be fully available online by fall 2010: a master of arts in ministry leadership.
The following online courses are currently offered: Biblical hermeneutics, organizational leadership, Old Testament Biblical theology, New Testament Biblical theology, Christian worldview, Christian spiritual formation, evangelism and discipleship ministries, the educational mission of the church, introduction to women’s studies, global impact, educational ministries for adults and multicultural counseling.
For more information about distance learning at GRTS, visit http://www.cornerstone.edu/grts/academics/distance/.
