Newsline: Bethany Seminary launches new 'MA Connections'

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl

Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

>BETHANY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LAUNCHES 'M.A.

>CONNECTIONS' PROGRAM

(Aug. 30, 2010) Elgin, IL -- Since 2002, Bethany Theological Seminary

has offered a master of divinity degree completion track titled "MDiv

Connections" for students unable to relocate to the seminary's campus

>in Richmond, Ind.

On July 12, the seminary received approval from its accrediting body,

the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), to launch an "MA

Connections" track for students working on master of arts degrees in

>theological reflection and research.

The seminary will officially enroll students in the new track in the 
Spring

2011 semester. New and continuing students interested in MA 
Connections

can take courses prior to Spring 2011 and transfer them into the 
track.

Distributed education tracks offer degrees through classes in a 
variety of

formats: weekend or two-week intensives on campus, online courses,

hybrid courses (a mix of online and residential), and off-site 
courses. ATS

requires that students take half of the courses for the degree at the

Richmond campus. The other half may be online courses or taken at the

Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center or at other ATS-accredited schools.

The MA thesis sequence courses, which are the core classes of the 
program,

will be offered in a variety of formats: as weekend intensives, 
hybrid classes,

or meeting weekly with some students physically present in the 
classroom

and others connected via video. Students enrolled in MA Connections 
will

have access to Bethany's library resources while they are attending 
classes

on the Richmond campus, and to the many online resources available 
through

the library including the American Theological Library Association's 
ATLA

Religion Database and ATLAS full-text PDF section. Both the MA and 
MDiv

Connections tracks assume a part-time course load. MA Connections 
students

will have six years to complete their degrees.

"With a growing number of students interested in distributed 
education,

Bethany will begin to offer other courses in alternative formats in 
the near

future," said academic dean Steve Schweitzer. "These changes come at 
the

same time as curriculum review is underway at the seminary, and the

convergence of these factors should allow us room to think 'outside 
the box'

in terms of what we are teaching and how we are teaching it."

Malinda Berry, instructor in theological studies and director of 
Bethany's

master of arts program, will serve as administrator of MA Connections.

Those interested in MA Connections may contact her at

berryma@bethanyseminary.edu<mailto:berryma@bethanyseminary.edu>  or 
contact Bethany's Admissions Office at 
enroll@bethanyseminary.edu<mailto:enroll@bethanyseminary.edu> .

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to

continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out 
its faith

in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist 
faith

traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It 
celebrated its

300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the 
United

States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in 
Nigeria, Brazil,

>the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

(This release was provided by Marcia Shetler, director of public 
relations for

>Bethany Seminary.)

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org