How do HST online classes work?
HST students who cannot attend weekly classes on campus in Searcy can attend those weekly classes via synchronous Zoom meetings.
In the HST online section of a course, you can participate in class discussions in real time along with students who are meeting in the physical classroom. You can see them, and they can see you. You and your virtual classmates are on a screen at the front of the class visible to the local students and professor in the physical classroom.
During class time, you will see the physical classroom and other distance students on one of your monitors, and the professor’s slides on the other monitor. When you speak in class, the camera is situated so that the local students are looking right at you, making virtual eye contact. This allows for more nuanced communication as both you and your classmates can see facial expressions and other body language. Responding to a professor’s questions and illustrations or asking your own questions about classroom material is essentially like being in the room. You are present and engaged for the entire class period.
When do these online courses meet?
Typically, HST classes meet for a three-hour block of time one day each week. Standard meeting times are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday at 8 am, 1 pm, or 6 pm central time.
Will I ever need to come to campus?
Yes. All HST degrees have a residency requirement (a number of courses that must be taken on our Searcy campus). For the MA and MACM, the residency requirement is two courses. For the M.Div., it is three courses. Many distance students choose to attend one-week intensive courses in Searcy over the course of their degree to meet their residency requirement. The standard intensive course meets for one week, Monday through Friday, 8:00-5:00. Intensives are usually offered for one week in the fall, one week in the spring, and two weeks in the summer. You can see class schedules for each semester here
Are there any special technology requirements for online classes?
Yes. Students in online courses who are not physically coming to the classroom are required to have the following equipment:
- Laptop or desktop computer with a monitor, camera and microphone
- Internet access
- A web browser such as FireFox, Chrome, or Edge
- A second monitor
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