A number of courses offered at BTS are available on CD-Rom or DVD for the student who is not able to attend a course in a live setting. Students may enroll in a Distance Education (DE) course at any time, one course at a time. There is a separate form to be completed to enroll in a DE course, available in the Seminary office or online. Students are responsible for purchasing textbook(s). Four months is the maximum time allowed for completion of a DE course; however, these four months do not have to correspond with a seminary semester. To obtain a distance education course, please contact the seminary administrative assistant at 205-776-5356 or electronically.
The student is expected to spend the same amount of time that he/she would if they were taking a scheduled class. If a student exceeds the four month allotted time frame, a request for a one-time extension must be applied for with a fee of $50.00. The extension is for one month. The required extension forms are available on the BTS website or in the Seminary office. If the course is not completed in this time frame it will result in a failing grade, the student must then re-enroll and re-pay the course tuition.
In order to receive exams, a student must select a proctor to request and oversee the administration of the examination. A proctor may be the student’s pastor, an elder, deacon, etc. He or she may not be the student’s spouse or other family member. Please have the proctor contact the seminary office for the proctor form and request each examination when ready. This may be done via mail, fax, or or electronically.
To view courses available via Distance Education, click here.
A note about accreditation for non-Alabama residents:
BTS is a member of theAssociation of Reformed Theological Seminaries (ARTS). ARTS has not yet obtained recognition from the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). In response to the proliferation of “diploma mills” around the nation, some states have tightened their laws regarding which out-of-state institutions can offer classes and degrees to their residents. The tendency in those states is to exclude all institutions, which do not have an accreditation recognized by CHEA or the U.S. Department of Education. While BTS believes that the classes and degree programs it offers are of a very high quality, prospective student should be aware of this issue. If you live in a state which has adopted restrictions on out-of-state institutions of higher education, you should confirm that those restrictions do not affect your ability to earn a degree through BTS before enrolling in this degree program.
