On campus these days, folks might not be asking the movie’s famous one-liner, “Is this Heaven?” They might, however, have that same sense of amazement as they see how modern technology is being used to further the mission of a seminary founded in 1852.
In 2000, UDTS began offering online courses for women and men preparing to serve as commissioned lay pastors. Enthusiastic feedback from students, instructors, and presbyteries alike encouraged the school to offer master’s level courses in 2004. These classes were particularly attractive to Presbyterian students at non-Presbyterian seminaries. Here was an opportunity for UDTS to share its gifts in preparing effective pastors, utilizing technical expertise gained through the CLP program.
Increasingly, the seminary received requests to offer an M.Div. degree online. Many of the students who had received their CLP training via distance learning at UDTS were now sensing a call to ordained ministry. But as CLPs serving in small churches across the country, they didn’t want to abandon their local ministries to attend a residential seminary. Other requests came from women and men who were tied to their local context.
As faculty and staff discussed the possibility of an online M.Div., they realized how difficult it was to shift from the nineteenth-century model of seminary as a residential academic community to thinking about using current technology to embed theological education more deeply in local congregational life. But as the conversation proceeded it became clear that marrying residential and distance education was an exciting option. This new model could provide for vital ministry formation without compromising excellence in academic preparation. Years of experience in distance education helped dispel notions that community doesn’t happen in an online environment and class after class of top-notch students convinced faculty that online “classrooms” could replace chalkboards and overhead projectors.
In 2006, UDTS petitioned the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) to offer a Master of Divinity degree with up to two-thirds of the credits earned via distance education. The accreditation process provided the opportunity for the seminary to plan a distance program that mirrored the residential degree as closely as possible. From the beginning, the school was committed to provide the same courses taught by the same faculty at the same academic level, as well as access to academic and student services such as the University Library, chapel, and fellowship groups. The required residential component was strategically utilized to schedule ministry-oriented classes like worship, pastoral care, and preaching for times of face-to-face teaching. Following a positive site visit, the ATS granted accreditation for the Distance M.Div. degree program in February 2007, making UDTS the first seminary in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to offer an online degree program.
They had built it – but would the students come?
The first cohort of Distance M.Div. students arrived on campus in August 2007 for new student orientation and their first residential intensive. These students, representing 11 states and 13 presbyteries, spent two weeks in daily chapel, spiritual formation groups, and classes designed to orient them to the seminary’s course management system and online research methods. With amazing speed, God formed this diverse group into a supportive Christian community. Surrounded by sisters and brothers who had also been waiting for the opportunity to attend seminary, one student commented that she built stronger relationships during those two weeks on campus than she had over years of membership in her home congregation.
Two weeks later, students returned home to begin their first semester of online studies, eager to pursue their dream of pastoral ministry. Throughout that year, online and in a January residential intensive, students and faculty built a community of faith and learning that stretched across the nation. Online resources provided access to worship, lectures, and other on-campus events, as well as a place to post news and prayer concerns. Spiritual formation groups continued throughout the year, strengthening the practical component of the program as students engaged in Christian disciplines in their local settings. When classes ended in May, students were thrilled by the intellectual and spiritual growth they had experienced in one short year.
This past August a second cohort of students representing more states, presbyteries, and one other country joined the program. Residencies and distance courses are creating a rhythm in the school year that provides learning, worship, fellowship, and formational opportunities both on campus and in their home congregations. These students are excited and grateful to have this opportunity. In a sense, this combination of local context and seminary-level teaching gives students the best of both worlds: a chance to learn from devoted doctors of the church paired with the daily life of a local congregation to nurture personal skills for ministry.
Given the vigorous growth of this program, UDTS is hiring new faculty to teach in both the residential and the distance programs. Distance education has expanded the availability of theological education and is embedding theological education more deeply in the local ministry and mission of the church. Having built this program, the seminary is committed to continuing the exploration of new and effective means to prepare faithful and compassionate pastors for Christ’s church.
Melinda Thompson is director of distance education for University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.
