At the beginning of June 2021, the College was formally granted validation to deliver all our courses and modules online. This means that our awarding University (UWS) were satisfied the College would continue to provide a quality education online, as well as on-campus, and had the academic resources to do so. This is an excellent recognition of the development work carried out over the past two years as we’ve explored and investigated expanding our delivery methods to enable us to provide theological education across Scotland (and perhaps even beyond!)
However, all online delivery is not the same! At SBC we think that learning should be interactive, in community, and in context – these are theological convictions and educational commitments. This means that our version of online learning is not pre-recorded lectures or learning in isolation, but it’s gathering in an online space, talking together in real-time, and interacting with staff and other students alike. It’s the same kind of learning experience we have on-campus, except we’re doing it online. It means there’s no travel required to a central hub, as you connect online from wherever you’re based – though you’ll always be welcome to our Paisley campus if you’re in the vicinity! It means week-by-week you’ll get to know other students and the lecturers through talking and learning together in real-time, rather than only interacting with them at residentials or via email. We hope this will be a rich and stimulating learning environment for all involved.
How are we doing this? It’s not the easy option! We’ll be teaching on-campus in the mornings, 10am-12:30pm (with 30 mins break), and then mirroring the classes online that same evening, 7:30-9:30pm (with some optional pre-class social time). Last year we expanded our digital library to be part of the Digital Theological Library (DTL) offering online access to over half a million theological books and articles – so no matter where you are, you’ll be able to get access to the necessary resources. Perhaps most of all, we’re well-positioned to adopt online learning as a delivery method for what we already do. It’s been a while since we thought the best way of learning was to sit through long lectures, only listening and taking notes. Instead our general rhythm looks far more like weekly seminars based around interactive discussions and group work combined with some reading, writing, and reflecting throughout the week. And this works whether we’re on-campus or online.
Pragmatically, it means you can study on-campus or online full-time or part-time (or for a single module). If full-time, our classes on-campus will require you to be in Paisley on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings 10am-12:30pm; and online, our classes will require availability on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings 7:30-9:30pm. (If part-time one or two mornings / evenings will be required depending on the rate you want to take classes). There is also the possibility to take some classes online and some on-campus. We’re excited for this development – we think this is the most integrated, hybrid model of theological study in Scotland offering on-campus and online study at two different times and for full-time or part-time study. We hope that you’ll consider supporting us in this venture by studying with us or sharing the news with those who want to study theology.
For more information or to explore study options, please email graham.meiklejohn@uws.ac.uk