Online Learning

Our online courses are offered within the same semester time-frame as the College: Fall (September-December), Winter (January-April), and Summer (May-August.) Each course needs to be completed within its 13-week timeframe.

Columbia’s online courses don’t have set-times for lectures, so you are free to access the course material according to your own schedule. That said, you will have weekly readings, quizzes, and due dates for your assignments, so you will need to keep up with your work as with any other college course. Expect to spend an average of 8-10 hours per week per 3-credit course.

Not usually! All standard academic policies (grading scales, course refunds, etc.) apply to online courses unless the online course syllabus states otherwise.

To apply for this program, you need to complete the standard Columbia Bible College application form. Choose ‘Full-time/Part-time’ (not ‘Online Studies), and then select ‘Certificate’ and ‘Online Certificate – Christian Studies.

If you are a full-time student enrolled in on-campus classes and taking one online class, you’re eligible to live in residence. If you’re a student in the Online Certificate in Christian studies, you’re expected to live off-campus.

Yes! Students are welcome to complete up to 18 online credits towards their degree, 9 online credits towards a diploma program, or 3 online credits towards a certificate program.

If you’re a part-time student (fewer than 12 credits per semester), you may take online courses in Fall, Winter, or Summer semesters.

If you’re a full-time student, you may take an online course in the Summer semester to accelerate or catch up in your program. If you have an unresolvable course scheduling conflict, you may also take an online course in the Fall/Winter semesters.

Keep in mind if you’re using a student loan to pay for your tuition, you are not eligible to take online classes at Columbia during the regular academic year (September-April). Please contact our Financial Aid Advisor if you have any related questions.

Definitely. You can apply for the Online Certificate in Christian Studies, or you can apply to Columbia as a ‘Online Studies Student’ if you want to take one to three courses, total. You are are able to take up to 9 credit hours of classes, and after that, you will need to apply to a specific program of study. Keep in mind that if you enroll in a certificate program after taking 9 credits online, you will only be able to apply 3 credits towards your certificate’s graduation requirements. This is because we emphasize discipleship in the context of everyday interactions within community, which is missing in the online learning experience.

The same tuition rates apply to both our online and on-campus courses. The most up-to-date tuition fees are found here.

After you apply and register as an online studies student, your Columbia supervising instructor will send you an orientation email that will set you up with your online course. This email will also establish the official start and end dates for your course, along with specific due dates for your course work.

Most of our online courses include access to an online textbook, so you won’t need to buy a separate textbook unless you’d like a hard copy for your home library. You will also receive access to Columbia’s online database of e-books and periodicals to help you with assignments.