Northeastern To Offer Classes in Syracuse

Starting this August Northeastern Seminary (NES) will offer graduate level courses toward Master of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees on the campus of Onondaga Community College (OCC) in Syracuse, N.Y. Part of an expanding distance education program in service to the greater central New York State region, the courses will be offered via video conferencing in which the community of learners in Syracuse and Northeastern’s main campus in Rochester, N.Y. are linked though live video feed.

The PolyCom interactive video distance learning technology allows for multidirectional streaming so professors can teach from either the Rochester or Syracuse location and engage students through lecture and multimedia resources at both sites, and students can interact with each other as well. This classroom format is integrated with on-site small group interactions and periodic chapel services to enhance community and provide instruction in spiritual formation, a distinctive of the NES education.

Through the use of video conferencing, NES successfully launched a distance education location last fall in Williamsville, N.Y. “Our recent expansion into the Buffalo area and the upcoming course offerings in Syracuse are part of our commitment to making a seminary education even more accessible across all of New York State,” said Academic Vice President and Dean Doug Cullum. “It reflects the Seminary’s vision to prepare increasing numbers of theologically-reflective, spiritually-formed, professionally-competent persons for ministry.”

To date, NES has been authorized by the Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accreditation to offer up to 50 percent of the Master of Divinity program through distance education. Under the current model the remaining classes in the program are available to all students at the Rochester campus.

Of the collaboration with OCC, Dean Cullum said, “We are pleased to partner with a community-minded organization like OCC who clearly shares our vision for serving the members of the greater Syracuse region.”