April 20, 2009 | By Gary D. Myers

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary announced a unique new approach to on-campus courses during the school's April 15 trustee meeting - "hybrid" courses.

Hybrid courses combine a limited number of classroom meetings with an enhanced and expanded internet component. While many regular NOBTS classes already include some internet components, hybrid courses will utilize the internet in a different way. Classes will meet once a month on the seminary campus for three hours of classroom lectures and interaction with faculty members, the rest of the instruction and coursework will accomplished through the internet.

"The hybrid courses are similar to our current Saturday classes," said NOBTS Provost Steve Lemke. "They have regular periodic meetings on campus, but a significant part of the course is accomplished online between class meetings."
 
Saturday classes at NOBTS also meet only four times per semester, however the Saturday courses require more time in the classroom than hybrid courses.

NOBTS will launch the pilot project this fall with four graduate hybrid courses and two undergraduate hybrid courses. The seminary will continue to offer a full slate of traditional classroom courses as well.

Two of the graduate courses will be paired on Wednesday morning and afternoon, and another pair of courses will be offered on Fridays. The Friday hybrid classes will be scheduled to meet the same weeks as Saturday courses offering students the come for to class on Friday and stay over for class on Saturday. Undergraduate hybrid courses will be offered on Mondays. Leavell College, the seminary's undergraduate school, does not offer Saturday courses.

According to Lemke the hybrid approach offers a number of advantages for NOBTS students - especially commuter students or extension center students trying to earn main campus hours. The plan makes it easier for students maintain full-time status. Due to the unique schedule the hybrid model also opens on-campus courses to students who live farther away from campus.

"Not only will this hybrid class schedule help students with busy schedules, but the hybrid courses are also less expensive than internet courses, provide more personal interaction with the faculty member and class, and count toward campus housing and financial aid eligibility," he said. "A student could meet full-time requirements by taking one or two hybrid courses and one or two hybrid courses and one or two Saturday classes or night classes."

"We anticipate that this model would be particularly attractive to commuting students and those who work full-time," Lemke said. "We believe that hybrid courses are going to be the wave of the future in theological education."

In the classroom segment of the course, professors will provide personal interaction with the students. According to Lemke, this "face time" with the faculty member and other class members is a strength of this program. Hybrid courses combine much of the flexibility of pure internet course with the element of community building in the classroom.

Because of the limited amount of on-campus time required, students cannot miss any of the scheduled meetings. If for some reason a student is unable to continue with the hybrid course, the seminary will allow the student to shift to an online-only format to complete the course. However, the shift to an online-only format will cost the student more in tuition and internet courses are not counted toward full-time student status for financial aid and housing purposes.

The first slate of hybrid graduate courses includes four basic courses that apply to most of the master's degree programs at NOBTS including courses in systematic theology, Old Testament, biblical backgrounds and Baptist heritage. The undergraduate hybrid courses will include a class on Southern Baptist life and introduction to Christian education.

Seminary administrators also revised the seminary's internet policy, opening the courses to main campus students. Previously, main campus students were not allowed to take internet courses. During the 2008-2009 the seminary temporarily suspended the rule. The new policy allows main campus students to take internet courses over and above the hours required for full-time status (nine hours for graduate students; 12 hours for undergraduates). Courses taken online do not count toward campus housing or financial aid eligibility. Students must meet full-time status through traditional classroom courses or through the new hybrid classes.  The hybrid courses were created in part to provide a more affordable alternative to internet classes, with the added enhancement of more personal interaction.

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