Aldersgate Distance Education Program
Welcome from the ADEP Director
Thank you for your interest in the Aldersgate Distance Education Program of GBSC! We call ourselves the Aldersgate Distance Ed Program because we like to serve those busy people whose hearts beat warmly for God and for ministry. Like Wesley, whose heart was “strangely warmed” with the assurance of salvation in Aldersgate on May 24, 1738, you have come to know the reality of God’s presence and are now seeking to know and serve Him better. ADEP will help fulfill that desire of your heart.
What kinds of classes does ADEP offer? We offer two complete programs, the AA in Bible & Theology, and the BA in Ministerial Education. These are excellent, substantial (and fully accredited) degrees and both will prepare you in a significant way for ministry and for life. Of course, you can also take classes “a la carte” -- if we offer a course, generally you can take it and then transfer it into another program that the course fits into.
Off to the left of this page, you will see a link that will take you to a list of courses currently being offered as blended classes—classes that combine online learning with on campus block sessions. The typical ADEP student will come to GBS for 2-5 days once or twice per semester to attend these block class sessions (each class meets only once like this per semester). Students seem to really enjoy the education they get and the interaction they have with their teachers and other students while they’re on campus.
We can also offer these courses completely online to those who find it impossible to come onto campus. Several other courses are also available as purely online courses. These include courses such as College Math and English Composition. The reason we are able to offer so many courses completely online is because of our recent upgrade to a new learning management system. Since this online learning management system allows students to download complete courses onto their computers, even those with irregular Internet connections can keep up with their studies. As long as you are able to connect to the Internet with a fairly new (Windows based) computer at least once per week, you will be able to stay on track--since you can work on assignments offline and even submit them offline in the installed “player.”
The attractive, robust features of the new online system and the use of videotaped lectures of GBS professors make these online courses interesting, effective, and comparable to our regular on-campus classes.
We now have available a preview of the online courses that we are developing in our new learning management system. If you are interested in looking at this preview, click on the Request Information link on the left. In the comment section, tell us that you would like to see the “Preview” course. We will provide you with a unique username and password that will give you access to that course.
Feel free to browse all the links from this page, including the FAQs, and to fill out the online application. If you have any questions, you may email me at mbird@gbs.edu or the general ADEP email address: aldersgate@gbs.edu.
God bless you!
Mark Bird
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