Weekly Email: May 25, 2026
We are now in Week 8 of the Spring 2 term. This week I want to highlight a couple of recent graduates from our online learning office, and also update you on Advanced Standing, which is now open to current students.
In this email:
- Student Tip: The Work Behind Your Course
- Program News: Advanced Standing Is Open to Current Students
Student Tip: The Work Behind Your Course
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about graduation and how seeing students cross the stage can be an encouragement to you as you're in the middle of your degree. What I didn't mention is that we had two people in the online learning office graduate as well.
First was Ben Cottrell, one of our excellent Instructional Design Assistants. If you've ever emailed onlinelearning@sbts.edu, you've likely heard from Ben, even if you didn't realize it. One of the key roles for the instructional design assistants is doing quality checks on our courses. Our goal is to have no errors, no contradictions, no lack of clarity in any course, and Ben's part of the team goes through every course making sure that's the case.
There are a lot of moving parts in an online course. If you haven't thought about that, good. We want the online aspect to get out of the way and feel so seamless that you don't notice what goes on behind the scenes to make it work. Big congrats to Ben on graduating with his Master of Divinity.
The other is Jonathan Algren, our Associate Vice President for Online Learning. Jonathan has a fascinating backstory, and I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have in this position overseeing our online learning team and program. He was a student at Boyce College and then started his Master of Divinity. During his MDiv he took a pastorate in Pennsylvania, where he served for a time before sensing a call back to Louisville to take campus classes. He was in the online program while he was pastoring, but he really felt a call to work in online learning, and that's part of what brought him back. He just graduated with his PhD in Old Testament under Dr. Jim Hamilton.
One of the things about Jonathan is that he cares deeply for the online program and for our students studying from a distance. He was one of them. He saw firsthand the need for a good online program training ministers of the gospel on the ground where they are, equipping them for the work in front of them. If you've been in the online program for any length of time, you've probably noticed that the quality keeps increasing. The course design, the student note documents, the live classroom recordings we did with Dr. Presley and are getting ready with Dr. Walker, and so many other improvements all trace back to Jonathan and his desire to have the best online program we possibly can.
So this week I just wanted to highlight a couple of graduates from our office. The work that goes into your online courses is happening because the team genuinely cares about your formation. The attention to detail in every assignment, the consistency across courses, the student note documents, the design choices unique to each course but coherent across the program, the team meetings focused on what students actually need, the weekly professional development we sit through together, all of it points back to one thing...
You are not studying alone in a vacuum. There are people here who think about you, who pray for you, who want this program to be worthy of the calling you're pursuing. Keep going. The work you're doing matters and the work being done for you reflects that.
Program News: Advanced Standing Is Open to Current Students
You should have received an email from me last week about Advanced Standing. It's now open to current students. Advanced Standing is our way of honoring the undergraduate Bible and theology coursework you've already completed so you don't repeat it in your degree. To be considered, you'll need a completed undergraduate degree from an accredited college, a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, and a grade of B or higher in any course you'd like evaluated. It covers core foundations like Intro to Old and New Testament, Beginning Hebrew and Greek, Hermeneutics, Church History, Systematic Theology, and a number of other introductory courses. Read the full list of eligible courses, requirements, and FAQ on the Advanced Standing page.
Quick Reference of Upcoming Term Dates:
- Current Week: Spring 2, Week 8 (May 25-June 1)
- Summer Term Begins: June 1-July 26
- Fall 1 Term Begins: August 3, 2026
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