COCHRANE, Alberta, Canada (BP) - The Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary has worked with the Association of Theological Schools to launch a new delivery system, seminarylink.com, allowing the seminary to work with students across Canada and the world.

Steve Booth, CSBS academic dean, said the program differs from other seminary online programs in its structure.

"Seminary Link is not just a bunch of online courses delivered together," Booth said. "It is the delivery of an entire degree program. And students won't be out there doing this on their own out in cyberspace; we're going to walk with these students wherever they are."

Under this new delivery system, the class schedule would allow a student to take nine credit hours online per year and six credit hours in on-campus intensives, which equates to two visits to Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, per year.

Booth emphasized that the Canadian seminary is dedicated to making sure the online students get much of the mentoring and spiritual formation that on-campus students receive. Counseling, chapel, journey groups and the like will be replicated in innovative ways over the Internet.