Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. / Prepared for: School of Education. Bibliography: leaves 148-159. Also available online.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 258-264).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Logos Evangelical Seminary, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-239).

At the time of this writing the author is a lecturer in the Department of Speech, Television, Radio, and Drama at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. In this capacity it is my pleasure to work with Dr. Alfred R. Edyvean who is head of this department. The schedule of classes is in the process of being revised by the administration. At the present time a student may enroll and attend classes two or four days a week. The basic courses are set up so that they include two hours of class study per week. This means that a student could receive his B. D. degree by a schedule that would require him to be present in class only two days out of each week. It has been decided that a three day schedule would be more advisable. Therefore, each basic course would require a student to be in class three hours per week. Naturally the courses of study will have to be revised to meet this schedule. The basic course in the Speech, Television, Radio, and Drama Department is divided into two sections. The first semester is "Oral Interpretation," and the second semester is "Oral Communication." This means that each student must take four hours of class work to complete this basic course. However, in the new schedule the basic course will be required on the basis of three hours of class work for one semester. This means that the outline and content of the basic course must be revised to meet this schedule. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to provide a curriculum of study in oral communication for this new schedule. In order to discover the best curriculum to be proposed, a decision was made to make a survey of the present trends of oral communication on the seminary level. A letter of inquiry was sent to fourteen seminaries throughout the United states to discover their particular curriculum for the basic course in oral communication. The purpose of this was to can.- pare that offered by Christian Theological Seminary with the other seminaries to discover however could improve our curriculum. Eleven seminaries responded and their response is included in Chapter One. Chapter Two is devoted to an analysis of these responses. In order to analyze themes objectively as possible a study is included as to the nature of speech, or oral communication. Then, in Chapter Three a curriculum is proposed. My first acknowledgment must be given to Dr. Alfred R. Edyvean. His guidance for this work is deeply appreciated. Acknowledgment also must be given to the eleven seminaries which responded to the letter of inquiry which they received concerning this study.

An international survey was conducted to assess theological higher education via distance learning as perceived by graduates of Trinity College and Theological Seminary's (Trinity) doctoral programs. The purpose of the study was to determine student-perceived strengths and weaknesses of Trinity's doctoral-level distance education theology programs. Also, the future of distance-learning mediated programs of theological higher education was speculated. A random sample of 400 doctoral recipients was selected from the population of 802 doctoral recipients who graduated from Trinity between the years of 1969 and March 1998. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 203 (50.0%) were returned. Frequency counts, percentage distributions, and chi-square tests of goodness-of-fit were employed to analyze the data. A profile of the modal type of student who would participate in theological distance education at the doctoral level was developed from the demographic variables queried. Responses to questions regarding respondents' educational experiences and coursework were solicited as well. Respondents identified five primary strengths of Trinity's distance education doctoral programs as: the convenience of the program; the immediate application of course content to personal and professional endeavors; the quality of education provided; the Biblical groundedness of the curricula, the materials, and the faculty; and the required reading and research. The three predominant weaknesses of Trinity's distance education doctoral programs as identified by program graduates include: the lack of interaction between students and faculty; the lack of regional accreditation; and course repetitiveness meaning that some courses offered repeated content from prior studies at a lower educational level. It was concluded that the future of theological higher education via distance learning is promising. Trinity has emerged as a dominant distance learning institution as a result of its continued exploration and advancements. However, Trinity and other similar distance education institutions must continually and consistently evaluate their programs and their students' expectations in an effort to transition theological distance education into the 21 st century.

This research attempted to ascertain whether the ratings of applicants in the admissions-evaluation process of Dallas Theological Seminary (Admission Committee Rating, or ACR) were related to persistence in seminary study sufficiently to allow reasonable prediction of completion based on the strength of the ratings. Five ACRs were examined - the total ACR and its four components, strength of previous academics, personal references, potential and promise for ministry, and previous ministry experience. Other non-admissions factors were also examined to see what relationship they had to persistence. Those factors were years of matriculation, age at matriculation, gender, marital status, ethnicity, nationality, types of previous higher education, whether or not financial aid was received (if known), and the total amount of financial aid received (if known). Persistence in the study was defined as graduation from the seminary's major four-year master's degree program (Th.M.) within the time limits published for the degree. Analysis results indicated that only two of the five ACRs were statistically significant, ministry potential and ministry experience, but the relationship with completion was weak. The conclusion reached was that the relationship between the strength of the admission evaluation and persistence was practically insignificant and contributed little to the ability to predict completion on that basis alone.

Thesis (D. Ed. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Abstract and vita. Includes final project proposal. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 244-252, 43-47).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. "November 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 244-252).

This study analyzes the satisfaction of doctoral students in the joint doctoral program in Christian higher education between Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) and the University of North Texas (UNT). The study focuses on the 18 students who have been identified as advanced participants in or graduates from the joint program from its inception in 1997 through its 10-year mark in 2007. Fourteen of the 18 eligible students agreed to participate in this study for a 77.8 % response rate. The doctoral students completed a survey that was created using a study of Garrett in 2006 of doctoral students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and of McLaughlin in 2002 of graduate students in Christian education at DTS. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the joint doctoral program in higher education between both institutions meets the expectations of the students and prepares them for the range of careers that they then pursue. The study offers a number of findings surrounding the five research questions and offers several conclusions and recommendations for further research. The study concluded that the surveyed participants were immensely satisfied with their education experience thus assuming that the joint program does meet expectations and prepare students for future careers.

Twenty-first century learners have bought into a cafeteria-style mentality for obtaining higher education that learning should be available at the student's convenience. Institutions that ignore this postmodern trend will likely find their applicant pools dwindling along with significant reductions in entering class sizes. Students will simply choose other schools able to provide respected, accredited, and useful learning which fits their busy lifestyles. Since 1987, Dallas Theological Seminary (Texas), a 76-year-old graduate school of theology in the conservative, evangelical, free-church movement, has offered distance learning classes in both extension and print-based delivery models. Because the faculty plays a pivotal role in the successful or unsuccessful implementation of online courses (McKenzie, Mims, Bennett, & Waugh, 2000), the present study uncovered the attitudes of full-time, graduate theological faculty at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) regarding distance learning and the likelihood of faculty to adopt this delivery innovation. Bruce Manning's (1976) Trouble-Shooting Checklist (TSC) for Higher Education Institutions was the instrument used in the study. The TSC is a nonparametric test designed to uncover differences between the observed and expected levels of acceptance that a department, program, or institution possesses regarding change toward distance learning in contrast to residential learning. The checklist's two major purposes are to provide an overall norm-referenced, predictive score estimating the organization's likelihood of adopting and implementing an innovation and to profile the strengths and weaknesses of an organization's environment (culture) relative to the adoption and implementation of innovations. Five scales provide a comprehensive understanding of the organizational climate, personality and leadership characteristics of participants, communication pathways within the organization, the degree of sophistication or expertise within the organization, and the receptivity of the students. An official administration of the instrument was conducted involving all full-time faculty at DTS. Frequency counts, percentage distributions, and the chi-square goodness-of-fit statistic were used to analyze the data at the .05 alpha level. A summary of findings from the questionnaire was prepared indicating that significant change must take place within the faculty culture of DTS before distance learning innovations can be implemented.