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Providence, RI -- The Providence College School of Continuing Education (SCE), in cooperation with the Diocese of Providence, RI, has expanded its certificate program in religious education to catechists, teachers and administrators in Catholic schools and parishes nationwide.
The Certificate of Religious Education (C.O.R.E.) was introduced in the fall of 2001 through the SCE's Distance Learning Program. Each course in the program is delivered online over a period of five weeks. In addition to teachers and catechists, Catholic school principals, parish administrators, and facilitators of religious education can benefit from these professional development courses.
"The C.O.R.E. program was inaugurated by Providence College to meet the Catholic Church's need for its diocesan school teachers to achieve theological literacy," explains Dr. Joseph Marina, dean of the School of Continuing Education. “Participants earn a professional certificate in religious education from Providence College upon successful completion of the C.O.R.E. sequence,” adds Dr. Marina. “More importantly, they bring back to their schools a much deeper understanding of the tenets of the Catholic faith and the means to communicate that understanding to their students.”
A council of principals, teachers, directors of religious education and Providence College faculty worked together to develop the C.O.R.E. curriculum. All courses are grounded in The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) and are delivered online through a user-friendly software platform, thereby eliminating the geographic boundaries of traditional campus-based programs.
The certificate program for teachers includes five required courses and two electives, while catechists must complete three required courses. Administrators engage in five required courses, plus two courses in leadership.
The required course offerings are:
- Catechesis: Theory and Practice
- Understanding the Christian Creed
- Sacraments: Rites, Roots and Rituals
- Catholic Christian Morality
- Prayer in the Catholic Tradition
Elective courses include:
- Sacred Scripture: An Introduction to the Bible
- Who Do We Say He Is?
- The Mother of God in Catholic Tradition
- What Does It Mean to Be the Church?
- Catholic Social Teaching
Leadership courses for administrators and educational leaders include:
- Supervising Religious Instruction
- Evaluating the Religious Education Program and the School Climate
All courses are taught by experienced educators holding advanced degrees in theology, religious education, or ministry. Students proceed through C.O.R.E. courses by reviewing online lectures, reading texts, communicating with their instructors and classmates and completing writing assignments and projects. Students can access all course material online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fee for each 10-hour course is $180, which in some cases may be eligible for reimbursement from schools, churches or dioceses. Financial assistance is also available from Providence College to qualifying dioceses.
For more information, or to register, visit www.providence.edu/core.
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