1. THE PURPOSE OF THE COLLEGE
The College aims to provide opportunities for distance education and in-service training in biblical and theological study for Christians, including those who are not in a position to undertake full-time theological studies or to attend classes at a Theological or Bible College.
It provides basic theological study for those who have not undertaken any previous study of this kind, through to additional levels of work leading to the award of the Th.Schol. for those who have already completed other studies.
Its basic rationale is to assist Christians to equip themselves to be more effective in Christian living and Christian service, and to do so in such a way that they receive due recognition for what they achieve in the studies they undertake.
2. SEMESTERS
The College operates on a Semester basis. A Semester is fifteen weeks in length; Week 16 is Examination Week. Each Semester is self-contained, and a number of subjects (Subject Units) are offered by the College for that Semester. Not every Subject Unit is offered every Semester, or every year.
3. ENROLMENT IN THE COLLEGE
To enrol as a student in the Course offered by the College, a person must complete an Enrolment form, and be accepted by the College as a student (see page 31).
Enrolment with the College is open to any person in Australia or New Zealand, and expatriates. Those who are not resident in Australia or New Zealand may be subject to modifications in the Course arrangements, due to their distance away; these modifications will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Those whose first language is not English will be required (a) to produce evidence, when applying, of competence in English grammar and expression, and (b) to complete the preliminary subject Effective Study and Writing before their enrolment is confirmed.
Within the requirements of being able to profit from the study of particular Subject Units, and to have completed any set prerequisites (or to have been exempted from them), it is open to any person to enrol as a Student, and, upon payment of the Student Enrolment Fee and the Subject Unit Fee, to undertake study with the College.
It is possible to enrol at the beginning of each Semester (i.e., at the beginning of February and July). Each person applying to enrol as a student of the College must pay the Student Enrolment Fee together with the Subject Fee for the Subject Unit(s) which they plan to study in their first Semester (details, page 32).
Normally they would proceed to take the Level One subjects in order ([001,] 111, 121, 131, 141, 142, 161, and then two electives). If they are applying for advanced standing on the basis of prior work completed, they will need to consult with the Director about their application for exemptions, and about their first subject(s).
In some circumstances a person may (with the permission of the Director) choose to enrol as an Audit Student instead of as a Candidate for an award of the College. To enrol as an Audit Student means to do the work in a Subject Unit without sitting for the examination in that Unit. The Fees are the same whether is person is enrolled as a Candidate or is permitted to be an Audit Student. An Audit Student is required to do the exercises and assignment for each Unit they study but, not having taken the examination in these Units, will not qualify for any award from the College at the end of their program of study; however, an Audit Student may request from the College a certificate setting out the Subject Units which have been audited, and their results obtained in their written work.
A person who enrols as an Audit Student may, at any time up until the eighth week of the semester, apply to transfer their enrolment to become a Candidate in that Subject Unit and to sit for its examination. (A late application to become a Candidate and sit for the examination may be permitted by the Faculty if the Faculty accepts that there has been a valid reason for the lateness. A late fee will apply in such cases.) This provision allows a person to begin the Course before deciding whether to continue as an Audit Student or become a Candidate.
Unless a person has been granted approval by the Director to enrol as an Audit Student, a person will be regarded as enrolling as a Candidate.
4. TUITION AND STUDY
Tyndale’s programs involve the student in reading, listening to recorded lectures, submitting assignments, sitting for examinations, and attending a three-day Residential Conference for each of the three Levels of the Course. The Annual Conference for Staff and students is held annually in June at the College in Sydney.
Tuition is by means of a combination of recorded lectures, lecture notes, set reading in textbooks, and student response: book reviews, exercises, assignments, and reports, etc., and personal guidance from the Tutor in each subject. The “mix” may differ from one subject to another, depending upon what is most helpful for a particular subject.
The recorded lectures are of lectures in the subject area given by members of the Tyndale team or by other qualified lecturers. The cost of recorded lectures, and any lecture notes provided, is included in the fee for the Subject Unit. In each Subject Unit, a set book or books is/are prescribed for reading by the student. Some hard-to-get books are supplied (and charged for) by the College, but for the most part the set books need to be purchased or borrowed by the students themselves.
Most Subject Units require an average of about two hours a day of study time, or about ten hours per week for fifteen weeks (i.e., about 150 hours of study), together with approximately 12 hours additional time over and above this when working on the exercises and assignment (see Assessment, page 9), and for preparation for the examination, a total of 162 demand hours. A possible breakdown could comprise: 36 hours listening to lectures, making notes, and reflective thought; 75 hours reading textbooks and other books; 36 hours preparing and writing the set written work; and 15 hours revision in preparation for the examination. But this can vary considerably from student to student and subject to subject.
5. ASSESSMENT
Each Subject Unit is assessed by set work. The methods of assessment can consist of one or more of: progressive assessment during the semester, exercises and assignments, an end-of-semester examination. Some subjects, because of their nature, may be assessed on a different basis, but normally the work to be completed in a Subject Unit will consist of two exercises (due by the end of the fourth and seventh weeks of the Semester), an assignment (due by the end of the eleventh week of the Semester), and an examination (or equivalent) at the end of the Semester (held in the area where the student lives, supervised by an invigilator).
All scheduled pieces of written work must have been submitted to a student’s Tutor in a subject unit by no later than the beginning of the examination week as a pre-condition to qualify that student to sit for examination in that unit; an exception to this regulation may be approved by the Council if thought justifiable after specific consideration of the circumstances of the case and if the Council is of the view that the College’s standards are not thereby being jeopardized. If a piece of written work is submitted by a student within the allowable time (as set out above) but is marked “fail”, the student shall be allowed to redo that work (upon payment of the resubmission fee) even if this is subsequent to the examination.
Any person who enrols in a Subject Unit pays the full fee, covering both tuition and the end-of-semester examination, but an Audit Student is excused from sitting for the examination. However, a person who initially enrols just as an Audit Student may apply during the semester (by no later than the eighth week of the Semester) to be a Candidate for the examination. By the eighth week all Candidates must provide the College Office with the name, address, and telephone number of a clergyman/ pastor or similar person who is willing to be the invigilator for the examination.
Because of the possibility of their work being lost in the mail, students are requested to keep a copy of written work which they post.
6. TUTORS
Each person who enrols in a College subject will be placed under the supervision of a Tutor, to whom the exercises and assignment will be sent, and who will aim to provide any help they can with the work in that subject. A student who enrols in two or more Subject Units concurrently may have the one Tutor for both or all of them, or different Tutors for each.
7. RESIDENTIAL CONFERENCE
In addition to the Subject Units for each award, Candidates for an award will need to complete the requirements of a Residential Conference together with other students engaged in the College Course, where they will meet with their Faculty and Tutors. Details of this requirement are given below.
8. LENGTH OF COURSE
It is the intention of the College to offer students the maximum flexibility in how they undertake their Course, recognizing that most students are busy people with numerous other commitments, who are attempting to gain a theological education in their spare time. Therefore in any given semester an enrolled student can choose to study one, two, three or four Units - or none at all.
There is no time limit within which a Course must be completed, and once a pass has been gained in a Unit, it remains to the credit of a student permanently (subject to the regulations regarding late work and the requirements of other institutions, as set out in the NOTE on page 18).
