ACADEMIC NEWS
BLA ZI N G
D I G I TAL
PAT HWAYS
in Hig h e r
Edu c atio n
a nd Ou tr e ac h
Equipping Disciples for the New Evangelization with
First Full-Fledged Distance Education Program
Lisa Martinez
W
alking the hallways at Sacred Heart Major Seminary,
it’s easy to sense the enthusiasm among students,
faculty, and staff at the start of a new academic year. This
fall, such familiar enthusiasm was palpable—only now, it’s
not limited to Sacred Heart’s hallways and classrooms.
The pilot year for the seminary’s new
distance education program began this Sep-
tember with fifty-two students enrolled to
pursue an online Certificate in Catholic
Theology (CCT). Although the seminary
has previously offered online courses, the
CCT program is the first fully digital curric-
26
ulum offered by Sacred Heart, a response
to requests for more flexible online learn-
ing opportunities for lay theology students.
After a formal request to inaugurate
the program was approved by the Higher
Learning Commission in May, the semi-
nary began taking steps to utilize advances
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2018
in technology to better serve those who
cannot access a traditional classroom set-
ting but are discerning a call to serve the
Church through ongoing formation.
In addition to allowing greater access to
lay formation students, the distance-learn-
ing CCT program is a way for the seminary
to live its core mission as expressed in
Archbishop Allen Vigneron’s pastoral let-
ter, Unleash the Gospel, to form priests, dea-
cons, and lay ecclesial ministers by offering
high-quality education and formation root-
ed in the heart of the Gospel, according to
Sacred Heart’s rector Msgr. Todd Lajiness.
While expanding its digital reach to
students, the distance-learning program
also has attracted new faculty and staff
to support and fuel the growth. Dr. John
Gresham, who successfully introduced
online courses at the Paul VI Catechetical
Institute in the Archdiocese of St. Louis
for the past 15 years, was appointed earlier
this year as Sacred Heart’s first full-time
director of distance education and online
learning, while Ryan Cahill—who is pursu-
ing a doctorate in educational technology
at Central Michigan University—is serving
as an educational technology specialist to
assist faculty in developing online courses.
Together, the pair is building on the vi-
sion and foundation established by Dr.
Matthew Gerlach, dean of the Institute for
Lay Ministry, and Astrid Caicedo, assistant
dean of studies, who guided Sacred Heart in
the early planning for the strategic priority.
Online Learning, but ‘On-site’
Education
Though the program is primarily about
offering distance learning online, Dr.
Gresham prefers to think of his role as
facilitating “on site” education—not at Sa-
cred Heart, but in students’ homes, places
of work and in the public square where
their vocations are fulfilled.
“This ‘on-site’ education is incarnation-
al in nature,” Dr. Gresham said. “Students
are not called to live this out in a class-
room, but rather in the places where they
are living and now learning.”