Purpose

To realise its vision of promoting excellence in African Christianity, NEGST intends, within the context of ministry to provide opportunities to non-traditional students to expand and enrich their previous training and experience. The School intends to provide other modes of packaging and delivering systems of its programmes with the view of serving a wider audience of both traditional and non-traditional students, while ensuring a minimum disruption from their regular life and ministry.

Scope

The scope of the Extension Studies programme will include:

Some of the regular programmes offered in residence but repackaged either as parallel programmes for commuter and/or extension students
Special programmes on modular and/or short-term basis, involving a limited amount of time in residence

Objectives

NEGST’s Extension Studies programmes will seek to:

Provide advanced biblical and theological training for ministers wishing to enhance their effectiveness in ministry without necessarily relocating into residential programmes
Make quality biblical and theological education available to gifted and lay Christian who are willing to develop their gifts through further training.

The Extension Studies Division plans to offer contextual Christian Leadership Development programmes in collaboration with the seven academic departments of NEGST and in partnership with Church and Para-church organisations that subscribe to NEGST’s statement of faith and educational philosophy. Commencing in the 2003/4 school year, NEGST plans to offer the following programmes

Post-Secondary Diploma

The Post-secondary diplomas will be offered in the following areas:

Theology
Islamic Studies
Urban Studies
Pastoral Ministry and
Educational Studies (Christian Religious Education)

The Post-secondary diploma will be a pre-university level programme designed to prepare the learner to develop basic level knowledge and skills in a chosen career or course. The Diplomas will be offered at the level of first year undergraduate degree course work.

Programme Requirements

The requirements of the programme will normally be completed within a period of two years by extension study.

The courses will be offered in eighteen modules with a total of 240
Quarter-term hours equivalent to 24 hours of course work. The student may spread the hours over a two-year period with 8 hours of classes on ten Saturdays in each quarter-term. Alternatively, the student may take the accelerated mode offered in July/August of each year for the two years. Students will also have the option of taking the residential diploma/certificate courses in the Christian Ministries Programme and transfer the hours.

Post-graduate Programmes

The extension programmes for postgraduate studies will attempt to repackage existing NEGST’s post-graduate programmes to provide for flexibility and affordability. The programme, which will aim at specialisation will be offered at three levels of competencies: The Master of Arts level; Advanced Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma levels. NEGST intends to offer the following programmes through extension studies at the Post-graduate level

Master of Arts Degree (Duration by extension = 3 years)
Educational Studies (Christian Religious Education)
Missions Studies (Urban Studies)
Islamic Studies
Biblical Studies
Advanced Post-graduate Diploma (1 or 2 years by extension)
Educational Studies (Christian Religious Education)
Missions Studies (Urban Studies)
Islamic Studies
Biblical Studies
Post-graduate Diploma (1 year by extension studies)
Educational Studies (Christian Religious Education)
Missions Studies (Urban Studies)
Islamic Studies
Biblical Studies

Programme Requirements

The Master of Arts programmes will require a completion of 96 quarter-term hours. In the extension programme, each course is considered a unit. Hence to complete the Master of Arts, the student must complete 27 units. The student can do all the work through extension and finish within a period of three years. All credits earned in the Advanced Post-graduate Diploma and the Post-graduate diploma can be transferred in full into the Master of Arts Programme.
The Advanced Postgraduate Diploma: This will be a two-year programme requiring the completion of 69 hours of course work, 36 of which may be earned in the Postgraduate Diploma. Three terms of course work beyond the Postgraduate Diploma earns the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma. Only students who have completed the postgraduate diploma can enrol into the advanced postgraduate diploma. Such students may transfer all their credits earned in the Post-graduate diploma into the Advanced Post-graduate diploma.
The Postgraduate Diploma: This will be a one-year programme requiring the completion of 36 hours of course work in the area of specialisation.

Class Option

The following class options will be available to the extension student:

Saturday Option: This option will allow for classes to be held on Saturdays in the regular school year. A school term will consist of 12 weeks, the 12^th week being seminar week. Saturday classes will run from 8:00am – 5:00 pm with three sessions.
Two Nights a Week option: This option will allow for classes to meet on two nights a week from 5:00 – 8:15 pm. Fifty weeks will be required to complete a one-year course of study. This option will not run alongside the regular school terms.
Fast Track Option: This is the accelerated option that will allow for classes to be held in two months during the summer holiday (July and August). This option will allow classes to be held all throughout the weeks of those two months. Also, short-term professional, and ministry skills enhancement courses will use this option, in which case, classes will not be restricted to July/August but to any time of the year the need arises.