There were a number of
interesting findings, but a significant one is that an increasing number of graduates are completing a majority of their
coursework online or in other non-traditional ways. The report indicated, “The
percentage of graduates who have completed a majority of their coursework in
hybrid (10%) or fully online (5%) courses remains relatively small, but the
numbers are rapidly increasing, while graduates completing a majority of their
coursework as traditional daytime students on a main campus continues to
decrease.”
The majority of respondents
still did most of their coursework in traditional daytime classes but that
total number has continued to decline since 2014’s report. Figures showed that the number of students taking
intensive courses on the main campus, extension courses, hybrid courses (a combination
of on-site and technologically enhanced classwork), and online/distance courses
has continued to grow. In fact, the
number taking classes in the online/distance format has more than doubled since
2014.
There are a number of
reasons for this. To begin, many theological
schools are trying to respond to the needs of students and offer alternatives
to traditional daytime classes. These
institutions realize that the expense and inconvenience of relocating to pursue
a seminary degree has discouraged a number of potential students from
enrolling.
If the students are
mid-career people, they already have deep roots in their communities and may be
involved in their churches as volunteer, bi-vocational, or full-time ministers.
They don’t want to give up those responsibilities and relocate.
Even a number of young
adults who have more flexibility in their lifestyles are employed during the
day and prefer evening classes, weekend intensives, or online classes.
A second reason is that it
is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain a bricks and mortar campus. If the seminary has a main campus, leadership
wants to get the most use of the space, so classes are offered in the evenings
and on weekends. On the other hand,
offering more classes online expands the reach of the school beyond its
geographic location, broadening its “footprint” without investment in
additional physical facilities.
Such changes are a
challenge not only for students but for administrators and faculty as
well. Building community when students
are rarely or never together in a physical setting requires rethinking not only
how seminaries teach but how they develop relationships. The challenges are great but so are the
rewards.
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