July 20, 2007 | By Gary D. Myers

NEW ORLEANS – The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) approved an initiative by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to allow a modified residency requirement for the doctor of philosophy degree.

The one-of-a-kind pilot project for a new delivery system in the seminary’s doctor of philosophy program opens the program to students who live farther away from campus. NOBTS will experiment with “modified presence” for the doctor of philosophy major in Christian education.

Instead of weekly on-campus meetings as utilized under the current delivery system, students will meet on weekends periodically spaced through the semester. This change will allow students serving in full-time ministries away for the New Orleans area to participate, with technology-aided instruction supplementing a reduced number of on-campus meetings.

“Although there are several programmatic changes in this new program, the main innovation involves redefining the presence required of doctoral students on the main campus allowing students to be enrolled in the Ph.D. in Christian education without having to live in the New Orleans area,” Lemke said. “We feel privileged to be the only institution approved by ATS for such a delivery system for the Ph.D. degree.”

According to the letter from ATS approving the alternative delivery system, the NOBTS program will serve as a research project for ATS and could become a model for similar programs in the future at other institutions. The pilot project extends through 2011.

The letter states that NOBTS will assist the Board of Commissioners at ATS in developing “interpretive guidelines for modified residency” and evaluate the “effectiveness of offering technology mediated seminars” in the doctor of philosophy program. NOBTS is required to submit annual assessment reports on the program through 2011.

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