Distance Education

Distance education at LBS provides an opportunity for individuals who are unable to attend classes on campus to receive the same educational offerings and ministry preparation as those who attend classes on campus. Through the use of robust and user-friendly video and instructional management software, LBS offers students the opportunity for regular and substantive interaction with both faculty and fellow students. Distance education students can participate in classes synchronously (i.e., live as the class takes place on campus) or asynchronously (i.e., by watching recorded class sessions) as the student’s schedule allows. Distance students at LBS enroll in courses in the same sequence as on campus students and will have the same professors as on campus students attending the same courses.

To meet the demands of distance education, LBS utilizes a distributed learning format which allows instruction and learning to occur independent of time and place. This means that the professor, students, and content can all be located in different, noncentralized locations. This educational arrangement is called virtual-live distance education in which the distance student is virtually in the classroom and is live in the sense that they can interact with the professor and other students as if they were actually in the physical classroom. Of course, those distance or local students who cannot be in the classroom simultaneously will need to watch the class session recording and miss the live interaction as one of the students.

Although the student may pursue any educational programs (e.g., CTS, DCM, MTS, MDiv, or Dual Degree) through distance education, it is recommended that the distance education student consider opportunities to come on campus periodically (e.g., once or twice a year). Distance education students will need to purchase certain books for their LBS education journey. Additionally, it will be essential that the distance education student gain access to a high-quality theological library. This could be a combination of the Seminary’s own digital library resources, one’s personal resources, a church’s library, and/or a local public, private, university, or seminary library. Prior to the start of the first semester of study, distance education students are required to join all new students on campus to participate in the two-and-a-half-day intensive course called PT400 Introduction to Seminary Education. The technology that supports the classroom experience includes several cameras and large screen displays as well as multiple microphones and speakers. The distance students also must have a computer system with a camera, microphone and speaker. The software that supports this educational effort includes the Populi Student Management and Learning Management System, and the Microsoft Teams Videoconferencing System. These systems are described elsewhere in this catalog.