Rationale and Participants
Before the spring of 2008, no system was in place that would enable students to take courses within a collaborative network of Catholic seminaries and theological institutions. Because of the distance between seminaries and theological institutions, students who desired to take courses outside their curriculum had to rely on nearby universities to accommodate them. To resolve this problem, a number of academic deans agreed in the fall of 2006 to spearhead a Catholic Distance Learning Network in which member schools would be able to offer their courses online and receive enrollments of students from other member schools at no tuition cost to the students or member institutions.
We have accomplished this in two ways:
- We qualify educators in theological studies to teach online, and
- We ensure opportunities for the continuing education of these educators in the use of appropriate technologies.
In the first instance, we offered over the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009 an online course dealing with how to teach online. The course focuses on the creation and adaptation of a syllabus for online teaching and learning, differences between transmissive and transactive methodologies, online course assessment, and student evaluation.
Enrollment is now open to any educator in theological studies. (This is in addition to those who teach within the core body of the NCEA Seminary Department member schools - see 60-school network.) To view faculty who have already received certification in online teaching and learning, click here.
In the second instance, we offered nine asynchronous conferences on online teaching and learning as concerns theological studies. These conferences are of interest to all educators in theological studies.
CDLN Steering Committee
- Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy
Executive Director, NCEA Seminary Department (Washington, D.C.) Supervisor - Sebastian Mahfood
Assoc. Prof. of Intercultural Studies at Kenrick School of Theology (St. Louis, MO) Coordinator - Jim Rafferty
Former Member of the Association of Theological Schools Technology Committee (Minneapolis, MN) - Patrick Russell
Asst. Prof. of Scripture Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology (Hales Corners, WI) - Sergius Halvorsen
Distance Learning Coordinator at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Yonkers, NY) - Todd Lajiness
Academic Dean at Sacred Heart Major Seminary (Detroit, MI) - Mark Latcovich
Academic Dean at St. Mary Seminary and School of Theology (Cleveland, OH) - Sandra Magie
Academic Dean at St. Thomas School of Theology (Houston, TX) - Richard Siepka
(Pastor of St. Andrew's Church in Buffalo, NY) - Tom Walters
Academic Dean at St. Meinrad's School of Theology (St. Meinrad, IN)