conference report

Looking back on the 39th Annual Conference

Thank you . . .

Thank you for making another ACCESS conference a huge success. It's really the only time in the year that we gather face to face and network around good ideas, good food and great fellowship!
It was great to see familiar faces and welcome many newcomers to our organization. Whether it was your first time or 21st time, it was a great time to rally around our calling to a Higher Standard!

We're excited to announce the next Annual Conference will be held at
Moody Bible Institute to coincide with the 40th anniversary of ACCESS!

Here's a summary of this year's Conference Report

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Katherine (Kitty) Amos led us in an interactive consultation concerning matters of A Higher Standard, specifically related to accreditation. Although now retired from Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Dr. Amos served five years as associate director of accreditation and extension education at the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. She served as an evaluation chair or staff person for 200 accrediting visits and assisted theological institutions in conducting self-studies, preparing for peer evaluation visits, and developing extension sites, distance education programs, new degree programs, and international degree programs.
Amos has served as an associate director for the College Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an academic vice president, and an assistant vice president of student development. She has also been a member of the faculty of Florida State University and the University of Louisville.
She served as issue editor and writer for the Journal of Theological Education and has written for national journals and newsletters including ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Education and The Living Pulpit. Amos is a member of the Women in Leadership in Theological Education Advisory Committee for the Association of Theological Schools and frequently serves as a consultant in the area of extension and distant education in theological education.

2009 COTY Awards

One of the highlights of the Annual Conference is the Course of the Year Award. This award is co-sponsored by ACCESS and Christianity Today International. We invite any ACCESS members (institutions or individuals) who have produced a course in the last 12 months to submit an entry. Members may submit more than one course. The courses are peer-reviewed and are judged based on instructional design, media/materials development, and learner support.

This year, we had entries in three categories: Independent Study, Online Course, and a new Hybrid Course category. This year we had 13 entries and as you might expect, the courses were very well-done. Some of the course entries included Romans, OT Literature and Themes, Christian Worship, Marriage and Family, Understanding Cultures and Worldviews, History and Philosophy of Education.

And the winners of the 2010 COTY Award are . . . .

Conference Attendance and Presentations

We had 40 ACCESS members at this year’s conference. There were some new faces, some who hadn’t been in awhile, and of course familiar friends. This year’s presentations were among the best at an ACCESS conference. There was a nice blend of theory and praxis as well as scholarship and application. The content ranged from student to administrative concerns. It’s evident that the ACCESS membership is very engaged in the field of Christian distance education.

Click here for a summary of the presentation outline.

Special Report from the Exec. Director

Every year on New Year’s Day, I try to take stock of what’s been and what is hopefully to come. Sometimes we send out updates to our family and friends covering some of the year’s highlights. As you know, the mission statement of ACCESS is to provide leadership in the field of Christian distance education. Specifically, we provide leadership through:

  1. Resources
  2. Community
  3. Promotion

One of the specific goals this last year was to provide webinars to our membership. Our first webinar addressed the issue of podcasting and its potential transforming both classroom and online learning. Our next webinar looked at a model that conceptualizes how online Christian distance education providers may facilitate student spiritual formation using Bronfenbrenner's Ecology of Human Development theory as a guide, within the context of social ecologies and the ecology of the Body of Christ. Finally, our last webinar looked at the issue of identity verification and its role in distance education. We hope to continue an ongoing series of webinars in 2010 and hope you’ll be able to join us for those.

The biggest goal for 2009 was the launch of our new web site. It took MANY hours and emails but we finally have something that we feel meets most of our needs and will continue to grow and expand with us. We tried to be wise stewards with our financial resources and do as much of it in-house as possible. Michael Wilder was a key figure in this process and spent countless hours working on the site. I hope you’ll visit often. We plan to expand its usability and make that a central gathering spot both for members and non-members alike. Along with that, we launched our listserv capability and have already put it to good use. Part of the impetus for this was a request from an ACCESS member to have a vehicle by which members could post questions about issues related to this field.

Finally, our membership has grown and I think that with changes to our process of admitting new members, we’ll continue to see growth.

One of the goals I have for the upcoming year is to make greater inroads with other organizations that are involved in some capacity of Christian distance education. Accrediting bodies, mission organizations, and councils of education are all groups that would add to a collaborative effort in this field.

The other goal is to generate a greater body of publication and scholarly research. One of the things I feel is missing in this field is a reputable body of literature. I know this firsthand. When I was working on my dissertation, it was very difficult to find anything related to the issue of spiritual formation in theological distance education. It’s important to inform and lead the field with critical work that is being done. We’re all doing things that need to be published. We all need to do more! We can no longer sit on the back pew and wait for the secular world to inform us – we need to be on the front row working and collaborating with other professionals in the field of both secular and theological distance education.

I feel honored and blessed to play a part in the development of an organization like ACCESS. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by the members of the Executive Committee – I appreciate their wisdom, competence, and spirit of willingness to serve and represent the membership. One of the things I like best about the annual conference is the opportunity to catch up with and meet new members. It’s a great time to be part of ACCESS – I hope you’ll spread the news!

2010 Conference Participants Survey

If you have not filled out the Conference Survey, please do so soon so we can continue to provide venues that meet your needs.

For those who attended, you will receive an email containing the Survey. Or, you can get the Survey here. Thanks so much!

 

THE STATS

Location: Cincinnati Hyatt Regency Hotel

Sponsored by: Cincinnati Christian University

Date: March 10 - 12, 2010

Theme: A Higher Standard

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Katherine Amos

In Attendance: 40

THE MEMORIES

If you have conference photos you'd like to share, please send them to info@accessed.org.
We'll put up a slideshow soon . . .

 

 

NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE

Make plans now to attend the 40th Annual ACCESS Conference. Celebrate 40 years of God's faithfulness
as we gather at the very location ACCESS began!

40th Annual Conference

Date: March 9-11, 2011

Location: Chicago, IL

Host: Moody Bible Institute