Maranatha Baptist Bible College Launches Maranatha Virtual Academy

I was alerted to this in an alumni e-mail on Friday. Very interesting on many levels.
As an alumnus of MBBC and FBTS, it has been interesting to watch my two alma maters take very different approaches regarding online learning.

From MBBC: www.mbbc.edu/online / www.maranathavirtualacademy.org

From the Sept. 2007 Faith Pulpit:
“We firmly believe that discipleship takes place as the mentor models the life of Christ before the disciple. For this reason, although we are open to the possibility that a limited number of courses and certificates might one day be offered through online instruction, we resist the possibility that we should offer entire degrees exclusively through online instruction. Disciples must spend some face-to-face time with their mentors, and this is the pedagogical opinion of the faculty and Board of Directors.”

[Paul J. Scharf] I was alerted to this in an alumni e-mail on Friday. Very interesting on many levels.
As an alumnus of MBBC and FBTS, it has been interesting to watch my two alma maters take very different approaches regarding online learning.

From MBBC: www.mbbc.edu/online / www.maranathavirtualacademy.org

From the Sept. 2007 Faith Pulpit:
“We firmly believe that discipleship takes place as the mentor models the life of Christ before the disciple. For this reason, although we are open to the possibility that a limited number of courses and certificates might one day be offered through online instruction, we resist the possibility that we should offer entire degrees exclusively through online instruction. Disciples must spend some face-to-face time with their mentors, and this is the pedagogical opinion of the faculty and Board of Directors.”

I believe that discipleship should take place in the home and in the church that the schools are simply assisting homes and churches. So, I personally do not believe that offering online courses are a bad thing.

My wife and I have home schooled for 13 years. We have used books, satellite, and this past school year, we used BJU’s online distance learning. The virtual academy that Maranatha is offering looks impressive. From my family’s finances and perspective, it seems really expensive. For those prices, I know of a couple of Christian Schools in our area that I would check into first. I would be interested in know what others think about this.

Disciples must spend some face-to-face time with their mentors, and this is the pedagogical opinion of the faculty and Board of Directors.

I would wonder if there couldn’t be some sort of blending, here. Homeschoolers maintain accountability through parents as much or more than they do online learning providers. Why wouldn’t an online provider of Bible college or seminary education not have similar accountability by formally partnering with local church leadership? A school could require applicants not only to get a recommendation from a pastor or church, but insist that a pastor or church leader formally oversee the process for the student. It may not be as ideal as resident work, but there are those who will either not get an education otherwise, or will get it from an institution that will not offer instruction governed by the same doctrinal constraints.

I was actually introduced to Faith more or less because of a distance learning option of sorts- a Faith prof came and taught in a church Bible Institute in Michigan in the church I was a member of at the time. The teaching was beneficial, to be sure, but the prof did not become my primary mentor at that time- the pastors of the church continued in that role. I’m not convinced that similar relationships could not be formed between local churches and institutions of higher learning, utilizing this new technology.

The K12 program is offered for free in South Carolina and many other states if you enroll through the public school system. The only difference I can detect is that Maranatha adds a Bible class and a Christian supervising teacher.