Church Executive SEPT / OCT 2019 DIGITAL ISSUE | Page 26

CASE STUDY PhD
Remote Academic Learning at
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
A couple years back, we at NOBTS began a
new delivery method for our PhD program
called “Sync.” It is a format that allows
remote students to watch and participate
in seminars, live through interactive
two-way video. As a part of an ongoing
evaluation, we spoke with students who
were using this new delivery system.
“The connection I have with the
cohorts and professors,” one Sync
student told us, “is so valuable.
They share resources, encourage
me, challenge me, and pray for me.”
Another Sync student told us:
“I have learned and studied more
about the deep burning questions
people have about life and God and
about how to answer them from the
Bible and Christian theology.”
As happy as we are about this feedback,
we wanted to understand more about
our students enrolled in the PhD Sync
program. Specifically, what was working
for them…and what wasn’t.
Why did Sync students choose this
method for their PhD?
Most, we found, were already serving in
established ministries. As one respondent
told us, it really came down to “schedule
conflicts with ministry where I had to be
in town.” Others simply felt called to stay
where they were.
“I chose Sync,” one told us,
“because I’m serving in a role in
Kentucky where I still feel God’s
call. Sync allows me the best of
both worlds: first-class theological
education and convenience for
family and work.”
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CHURCH EXECUTIVE | SEPT / OCT 2019
Another common theme we came across
came from those further along in life and
ministry. Many had already relocated
during their master’s work and were not
able to do it again. Now that they are
further in their career, with their families
more rooted, relocating wasn’t an option.
What is the nature of the ministry of
those doing Sync?
Just about all who responded to our
survey were in some kind of pastoral or
administrative ministry. And most, but not
all, were full-time. They simply didn’t have
the time or money to travel.
A pastor in the Midwest told us he couldn’t
“live in New Orleans and take classes there
and also pastor a church in Oklahoma.”
Another, a bi-vocational pastor,
told us, because “I need a full-
time job to support my family
financially, Sync allows me the
possibility to pursue a PhD.”
And yet another told us about his aging
parents and said he simply needed to be
physically present for them.
The ability to have one foot in each
setting—the world of scholarship and
the vocation that supports them—was
a common theme in the feedback we
received.
What didn’t work about PhD Sync?
The feedback we received on Sync was
overwhelmingly positive. Every single
person who replied to our survey told us if
they could rewind and do it all over, they’d
“pick Sync again.”

One student -- who also said he would do
Sync again -- told us:
Sync
“I do believe being in an on-campus setting
is the best scenario. I have made many
trips to campus and to the library, but
being there would have been the best.”
This sums up our own thoughts on
the matter as well. We believe the best
possible education happens on campus. 

But that option is not a reality for everyone.
And so with Sync, we set about doing
everything we could to bring that same
education to students, no matter where
in the world they are. The overwhelmingly
positive feedback we received is a sign
that Sync is a delivery format our students
appreciate.
84%
PARTICIPATION
The Sync Program is also open to
traditional on-campus students who
cannot make an in-person meeting
during a regular semester. 84% of
last semester’s PhD students used
the Sync technology for at least
one meeting. Meaning, they may
have been in the city or far away on
a trip, and they may have attended
all of the other meetings in person.
But for at least one meeting, they
chose to join in remotely.
LEARNMORE
gonobts.how/phdsync