iEquip ministry follows the traditional education format in delivering theological training for Native churches. It follows this format primarily for two reasons: (1) Student familiarity with this
approach, and (2) accountability that demonstrates progress in accordance with the secondary educational standards.
Course Registration
Students may register for a course during the first day of class with the instructor, or contact iEquip by U.S. Postal Service to acquire an application.
Classes
Classes are generally held in churches, or at neutral sites to minimize student travel time. Classes meet for the required hours of student-teacher contact in a classroom setting. In a regular educational institution, classes generally meet on a weekly basis over 15 weeks referred to as a college semester. In principle, we strive to fulfill the necessary semester time frame.
Block Studies
iEquip primarily offers courses through block studies. In this format, a class might meet three or four times over two or three months at six hours per day to fulfill the required student-instructor
contact hours. Further, inherent in this course offering format is flexible scheduling for the student lay-leaders. Also, see Appendix A for a sample of block study arrangement.
Attendance
iEquip offers most of its courses in a block study format where attendance is vitally important. Due to the tremendous amount of information per block session, a student who is absent for one
block session will miss a lot of information, possibly affecting the status of their course completion. Therefore, it is critical to participate in all class sessions.
Credit Hours
iEquip operates on a 15-week semester system. This means a one-credit-hour course will meet for 50 minutes of class time per week. Over the semester, the class will meet 15 times for lecture, discussion, evaluation, and seminars. Moreover, during the semester, a two-credit-hour course will meet twice a week and a three-credit-hour will meet three times per week.
Computation of Credit Units
- Semester = 15 weeks;
- 1 class session = 50 minutes;
- 1 credit hour class meets 15 times during the semester. And, a 2 credit hour course will meet 30 times, or twice a week, during the semester.
- 50 minutes x 15 weeks = 750 minutes (for 1 credit hour).
- 750 minutes ÷ 2 = 375 minutes (for ½ credit hour).
Grading
The alphabet grading system used by educational institutions will receive limited usage to evaluate coursework. However, it will rely on the completion of practical assignments in relation to local church ministry and will receive greater weight in appraising course work performed by the lay-leader student. Also, to reiterate, a significant portion of a student successfully completing a course still greatly depends on their attendance for all class sessions.
Course Completion Certificate
A Course Completion Certificate will be awarded to student lay-leader who successfully completes the required coursework.