Kairos University

Hi All,

It’s been a while since I last posted anything. I just found a great little find for those interested in on Online Counseling degree or Seminary programs where you pay a subscription per month instead of per credit hour.

www.Kairos.edu

Originally Sioux Falls Seminary and has now merged with several other institutions to offer coursework from these institutions. It’s an interesting way to share resources among to offer their program.

I’m still learning a lot more about their program, but would like to share it on this forum so y’all can check it out.

 

This university reminds me of the kairos retreat our Catholic school girls used to go on.

 

There's a section like this on the landing pages for each of their BA (Christian Thought and Practice), MA (flexible area of focus), MDiv, and DMin, titled variously "Contextual Learning" or "Contextual Projects:"

Learner-designed talk. Nice to see!

RA and ATS. Appears to be in the process of applying to move a COAMFTE MFT program from Evangelical Seminary to Kairos. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, but "In addition, students from over 70 different denominations attend Kairos University. The Kairos Project allows students to work closely with any denomination to ensure ordination requirements are fully embedded in their educational journey."

 

That's good, Chris. From wiki:

"Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning 'the right, critical, or opportune moment'. In modern Greek, kairos also means 'weather'. It is one of two words that the ancient Greeks had for 'time'; the other being chronos."

Basically - Kairos = a good, or propitious moment to do something. Like go on a retreat, perhaps.
I learn so many things here at DI! (Shouldn't we get a few credits?)

 

They still do at the Catholic school where I work.

 

There's a long-running Writer's Mag. called Kairos. Submissions, contests etc. It's here: https://kairoslit.com/

 

Actually, καιρός generally means "appointed time," at least in the koine and patristic periods. As you might imagine, not all "appointed times" are propitious. It is a companion term to χρόνος which refers merely to "time."

 

Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your knowledge. Good to learn this.

 

Hello Y’all…

So I enrolled in Kairos’ Master of Counseling program. I love how this program is set up. It’s a true subscription model. For $400 a month, you can take as many courses as you can muster. The curriculum is structured off the course book(s) and requires you to read the material and answer a series of reflective questions to comprehend what you learn. There are also projects and other assignments for each module.

What I also enjoy is that you can take a course and if you’re finished you can begin another course anytime within the term (or start as many as you like simultaneously—the choice is yours but you have to complete each course by the end of the term). Terms consist of three month duration. Looking at the way courses are structured, most have a minimum of 12 modules or more (depending on the chapters from the course selected text). If one is disciplined enough, they can really save a lot of money compared to other traditional counseling programs, by knocking out courses as fast as they like.

I believe you I will have every two weeks a cohort virtual meeting opportunity to connect with class colleagues and the instructor. This is my first few days diving into the first course of my program, but so far, I am enjoying the curriculum a lot.

I will share more in the future on how this program progresses.

 

Definitely let us know what the coursework is like! Some schools, like Purdue Global for Bachelor's degrees, tend to bog down students with a TON of work. This tends to prevent students from being able to complete their programs quickly. UMPI's MAOL was similar, but I hear they've streamlined the process so that it's now possible to finish in 6-8 months. If it's similar for Kairos, paying $2400-$3200 for a Master's degree would definitely be a good deal!

I'm quite tempted by them myself, now that I've actually taken a closer look at them.

 

I don't think that's feasible with the master's in counseling though. It's 60 credits and has internship requirements.

 

$3200 at $400 a term would be 8 terms. Each term being 3 months would be 2 years. That seems doable, unless I've misunderstood?

 

Maybe not specifically the ENTIRE Master's in Counseling, because of the internship requirements, but the rest of it. The courses listed under Foundations of MFT/Counseling and maybe also
Contextualization of MFT and Counseling should give a decent indication of what kind of work Kairos expects. Most of the others, I don't know about. Except the clinical practice part; that's an entirely different ballgame.

Kairos also has a plain MA that I'm possibly interested in. But not if they make you write papers for the sake of writing papers. I do realize that graduate work requires more papers than undergrad, but there is a difference between requiring papers and requiring PAPERS as busywork to extend the program length artificially.

It's $400/mo, not $400/term. So it's $1200/term. Their plain Master of Arts and Master of Divinity are $300/mo. or $900/term. If it takes you 1 year to finish those, it'd be $3600 for a Master's degree. 2 years for $7200 isn't a bad deal either.

 

How onerous is the applications process, BTW? The catalog says that you need to provide an autobiographical statement + 2 references (one of which must be a pastor). How long is this autobiographical statement supposed to be? Do the references fill out a form similar to your application form, or is it something that they must print out and sign?

 

I know most of Lamar's counseling program courses are five weeks long, but you take one at a time. I am just concerned if one can grasp sufficient content in such a short time to become a competent counselor.

 

Any thoughts or experience on their Th.D.?

 

The admissions process was not very difficult. The letters of recommendations are two electronic forms that you send to your recommenders. I sent them via email and the pastoral reference is for those who are going in a theology program. I used a personal reference and a past business related reference (previous supervisor). Below is the prompt for your autobiographical statement:


Bachelor’s, Graduate Certificate, and Master’s Program Applicants:

Submit a 1000-word statement that includes:

• Life and Faith Experiences - Describe your personal faith history and how it has led to your decision to pursue graduate studies.
• Personal and Spiritual - Share the personal and spiritual formation goals you’d like to accomplish. Describe the personal characteristics you think will contribute to your development.
• Vocational - Discuss your sense of call/desire to serve others, the professional or ministry experiences that have led to your decision to pursue theological education, and your vocational/professional goals upon graduation.

Doctoral Applicants:

Submit a 5-8 page statement that includes:

• A description of why you are interested in a doctoral program and how you perceive this program will help you meet your personal, professional, and academic goals.
• The initial area of concentration that will likely be the general subject area for your final project and why you are interested in this particular area.
• A brief description of your life, including any formative experiences and an account of your Christian pilgrimage.
• A summary of your educational experience.
• A description of your call to vocational ministry and your vocational ministry experience.

 

Update: So regarding terms... I am mistaken. The terms only apply for those courses that require a practicum. The majority of your coursework is self-paced and you can start and complete them as you go.

Currently I am enrolled in two courses (I can enroll in as many as I like without any issues -- the subscription is just paid for each month which is simple).

My coursework thus far involves me reading the designated textbook, responding to some reflective questions, some minor projects/assignments, and taking some quizzes/tests. Please know that my counseling program has more set requirements in the program. However, with the Kairos model, you are able to customize your curriculum. You traditionally would also have three mentors in your program--1 academic, 1 vocational related, and 1 personal/spiritual. These three mentors would be part of your journey in the theology curriculum and will assess your competencies in the program. Since I am in the counseling program, I don't have the three mentors, but I am encouraged to seek those if I desire. It seems that the counseling program (due to state licensure requirements) are more defined in the curriculum set, but the subscription model is very, very flexible. I just started and I'm 23% done with my first course. Truthfully, I can see myself completing a course a month with this program, which is similar to National University or Lamar's format, but without the stress of having to get things in at a certain deadline. I create my own deadlines and schedule--it's 100% self-paced.

You are also placed in a cohort where every two weeks, you can connected with your instructor virtually and class colleagues to debrief on any questions. I haven't experienced this yet, but I am excited to go through that modality of learning. Sessions are said to be recorded for those who cannot attend.

Here are some challenges from my experience: The program is in it's newest stage. Kairos (SF Seminary) originally had a counseling degree, but it seems that the counseling program is being morphed from Houston Graduate School of Theology. My initial experience is that I was left to take the initiative on how to enroll in courses and discovering the processes. Despite the minor hiccups, I am really enjoying the program. It really allows you to be in the drivers seat and allows you to have full control of your educational journey.

 

This is said to start for the Fall 2022.

 

HLC has apparently approved their Th.D.

From Kairos’ own description:

“The PhD is research-oriented; the DMin is practice-oriented. The ThD through Kairos sits between them. It is research-oriented with an eye toward the improvement of practice.”

https://kairos.edu/2020/04/27/new-thd-program-integrates-research-and-practice/