Southern Christian University Experience

Hello All,

Well, I just finished my first semester at Southern Christian University (SCU) last week. I am pursuing a MS in Ministerial Leadership (36 hours, completely online). I would like to share my SCU experience with all of you.

I took Critical Introduction to the Old Testament and Research and Evaluation. I should receive an "A" and "A-" respectively.

Overall, my experience has been positive. Here are a few comments:

1. Administrative staff - very pleasant and courteous whenever I call.

2. Instructors - the lectures were quite boring at times, but the instructors seemed to be quite knowledgeable. Most of the time instructors respond promptly to student emails (within 24 - 48 hours).

3. Online videos - quality is adequate, but definitely nothing to write home about. Some courses are streamed live for synchronous viewing and then archived for asynchronous viewing. Other courses are presented from the video archive for asynchronous viewing only.

4. Tests, assignments, amount of reading, etc. - the Critical Introduction to the Old Testament class required four textbooks and a lot of reading. There were 30 quizzes, two exams, two short writing assignments, and points for discussion board participation.

The Research and Evalution class did not involve a lot of reading, but it did require about 40 pages of writing, 10 quizzes, a comprehensive final, and discussion board participation.

Starting with the upcoming summer semester (I will be taking three classes) each student will be required to submit a research log for every class at the end of each semester. This assignment entails recording on a web site the locations of books, journal articles, web sites, etc., that you have found related to the courses you are in. During this past semester the research log underwent a testing period and was not mandatory.

5. Miscellaneous - the syllabi are presented in a standardized format for each class making them easy to understand. Your final grade is based upon how many points you earn out of a total of 1200. The difficulty level of the tests and quizzes was about average. It is easy to purchase textbooks off the MBS Direct web site.

After completing this degree, I plan to pursue a Master of Divinity in Ministerial Leadership at SCU (90 hours, completely online), unless I can find another regionally accredited M.Div that is completely online and cheaper.

SCU is the only regionally accredited school offering a M.Div without any residency requirement. However, SCU is very expensive ($440/sem hr. and a $400 comprehensive fee each semester). If anyone knows of a cheaper, competely distance ed, regionally accredited M.Div please let me know ASAP! I like SCU, but I really need to find a less expensive program if possible. For now, though, I will press on with SCU.


Cheers and God bless!

Eddie

 

<<SCU is the only regionally accredited school offering a M.Div without any residency requirement. However, SCU is very expensive ($440/sem hr. and a $400 comprehensive fee each semester). If anyone knows of a cheaper, competely distance ed, regionally accredited M.Div please let me know ASAP!>>

Trinity isn't RA yet but they have earned candidacy. Most people on DegreeInfo, even those that don't particularly like the school, feel that Trinity will become fully accredited. They acheived candidacy easily in February (13-0 vote), and the NCA website states that most institutions that make it to candidate status do go on to become fully accredited. Anyway, Trinity offers an 88 hour MDiv for $145 per hour.

Pug

 

Hodge Family,

Ask SCU if they intend to participate in the academic common market. Some Southern states and schools participate with varying programs that allow for in state tuition from another state.

I don't see them as participants at this point.

Good luck.

http://www.sreb.org/programs/acm/participating/institutions.asp

 

It isn't a perfect fit to your request, but Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary has reduced their residence requirements to two classes (pastoral counseling and expository preaching). The rest of their program may be done by distance learning, and I find the $165 per semester hour tuition bearable.

 

The Ms should apply to the MDiv and reduce that required for the higher masters.

 

Dave,

I am considering the Liberty M.Div program after I finish the MS at SCU. I took a couple of courses through Liberty but stopped because the program did not have the structure that I need to stay on track. SCU requires weekly quizzes and assignments, whereas the Liberty courses did not. At Liberty, you get your materials at the beginning of the semester and everything is due four months later. I am too much of a procratinator for a program like that. However, the low price tempts me to give Liberty another try.

Bill,

Yes. everything in the MS program transfers into the M.Div program. When I am finished with the MS I will have 36 hours of the 90 hours for the M.Div done.

Pug,

I will be keeping my eye on Trinity. If they become regionally accredited I may possibly look into giving them a try.

Fed,

Thanks. I will look into it.

 

North Park Theological Seminary is $365/sem hour for online courses. They offer the M.Div. through their SemConnect program which is a combination of low and dispersed residency as well as online.

Bethel Seminary has a similar program with about $230/quarter hour.

Fuller is about $250/quarter hour. They have an online program that can be combined with credit earned at one of their many extension sites.

All of the above are ATS accredited. There are not any ATS accredited schools that offer the M.Div. without at least low residency requirements. Many denominations will not normally recognize a seminary degree unless it has the ATS stamp of approval. I believe that all ATS schools also have RA.

Here is a list of ATS schools with distance learning programs.

 

Boydston,

Thanks so much for the information. I know that ATS accredited seminaries cannot offer entire degree programs at a distance. ATS accreditation is not something I need a school to have, just regional accreditation is fine. If you hear about a regionally accredited M.Div program offered totally at a distance, cheaper than SCU, please let me know!!

 

Hodge Family,

Lubbock Christian University is beginning a predominately on-line M.Div. this fall. They are SACS accredited. An overview of the program can be found at www.lcu.edu/mdiv For the specifics of the program, you might want to e-mail Donna Taylor at [email protected].

I do know that they will require students to complete 18 hours on campus through one-week modular courses. The rest of the 84 hour degree can be earned entirely on-line.

I know it isn't exactly what you are looking for, but it still might be worth your while to check into it. They are a LOT cheaper than SCU -- even with the six or seven trips to Lubbock!

I wish you the best wherever you wind up. God bless!

mhl

 

mhl,

Thanks a lot for the information! I didn't know this. This goes to show just how important and useful this discussion board is. I had looked at the Lubbock Christian web site some time ago. I had no plans to return to their web site once I found out that Lubbock Christian did not have an online M.Div.

I probably will not enter this program due to the residency requirement, but I will definitely keep my eye on it; they just might remove the residency requirement in the future. However, I do like the fact that the Lubbock Christian courses are online.

Liberty has a low residency requirement for their distance M.Div, but they are still using video tapes for many of their seminary courses. The SCU online courses with their weekly assignments keep me on track much better than the Liberty courses that I took. If the SCU tuition cost becomes simply unbearable, I will strongly consider the Lubbock M.Div program.

Your post serves as a reminder of two things: (1) that I should periodically check the web sites of colleges, universities, and seminaries to see if new online M.Div programs have been implemented, and (2) by myself, I can't keep up with all the available distance learning opportunities out there. This discussion board is an invaluable tool for anyone involved or wanting to get involved in distance learning.

Thanks again!! May God bless you also.

 

I have no new info for you, but wish you all the best in your studies. When I talked to Beacon College about a year ago (TRACS accredited), they were contemplating a big expansion of DL. Did they do it? Most of the other schools mentioned on this thread will carry more prestige than Beacon, but it might be worth a quick check.

I would still avoid Trinity Newburgh, with or without accreditation. If they ever close Masters Divinity School and admit that they've been running it as a cash cow, and drop their hucksterism with "discounts", and stop playing games with degree nomenclature, those would all be steps in the right direction.

 

Uncle,

Thanks for the info. I will give the web site a quick check.

I do plan to avoid Trinity even if they do obtain regional accreditation.

Take care!

 

Thanks, Eddie. You know, amid the crap and blather of mills, shills, trolls, and trills, it's really gratifying to see good use being made of DL and a worthwhile exchange of information. Keep up the good work at Southern and all the best for your future plans.

 

Hodge Family,

I'm glad the information about LCU was helpful. I have already taken a couple of classes in their on-line M.S. in Minstry program, but I'm transferring into the new M.Div. program this fall. I'm excited about it, even though it will probably take me 9 years to finish. But hey, what's 9 years really?

I feel your pain regarding the cost of SCU's degree programs. I earned a B.S. in Ministry there in 2002, but there was NO WAY I could go on into their master's program. It was just way out of my price range!

Take care, and I hope you find the exact program you're looking for!

mhl

 

Uncle,

Thanks!!


mhl,

What do you think of LCU so far as compared to your experience at SCU? I would appreciate any insight you'd like to share. Thanks a lot.

 

Hodge Family,

It's hard for me to compare my experiences at LCU and SCU, since one was an undergraduate program and the other is on the graduate level. But I suppose the major difference between the two (besides the cost!) is in the methodology used in the on-line courses. At SCU, there was quite a bit of live streaming video used, but not at LCU. At least in the courses I've taken at LCU so far, the intructors either posted their notes on Blackboard every week or put together a powerpoint presentation of their lectures. To be honest, I preferred the posted notes or powerpoint presentations to a lot of the streaming video. As you mentioned in one of your previous posts, the live lectures could get a little bogged down sometimes. Also, the LCU professors seem to utilitize the Discussion Board feature on Blackboard more than my SCU intructors did. I like interacting with my classmates.

All in all, I guess I'm more satisfied with LCU so far. I've definitely been challenged more in their program, but again, that may have more to do with the degree level than anything.

I'm not sure how much this helps, but for what it's worth, this is one man's opinion.

mhl

 

mhl,

That helps a lot. Thanks for the information. I have corresponded by email with the folks at LCU. I am seriously considering the M.Div at LCU. I just don't know how I would fulfill the on campus requirements.

Let me know from time to time how things are going at LCU.

Thanks again.

Eddie

 

Eddie,

I hope things work out for you at LCU. If there is any other way that I can help, I'll be glad to do what I can.

I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Take care!

mhl

 

This is an interesting situation in that it appears to me that SCU offers two M.Div. degrees in two seperate schools. If it is taken through their school of theology it is ATS accredited (and thus has residency requirements). If it is taken through their school of leadership it appears that only the RA applies.

I suspect that the reason you are paying accredited ATS prices even though you are in the non-ATS accredited school is that they didn't feel that they could charge two different rates for what they want to be perceived as degrees of equal value. That's an internal political hot potato.

 

Re: Re: Southern Christian University Experience

I couldn't find SCU on the ATS website....