By FBBC Communications
Students enrolling at Fruitland Baptist Bible College in the Fall of 2014 have the option of completing their entire Associate of Religion in Christian Ministries and Worldview degree online. President David Horton commented, “We are very excited to offer this program online, and we believe it will enable vast numbers of people to receive 
a Fruitland degree who are unable to attend the main campus in Hendersonville.” The online curriculum at Fruitland consists of 64 courses offered over 8 quarters, which will enable a full-time student to graduate in two years.
Fruitland Baptist Bible College began to expand its educational outreach four years ago with the addition of an initial satellite campus in Monroe. Satellite locations now include Monroe, Wilkesboro, Rocky Mount, and the Hispanic satellites in Sylva, Statesville, Charlotte, and Wilmington. Fruitland ventured into online education two years ago with its first online course. Ben Tackett, the Registrar/Librarian at Fruitland played a key role in getting the Fruitland curriculum online. “Before Ben Tackett came to Fruitland, we desired to have an online program, but lacked the technical expertise to do so,” explained Dr. Scott Thompson, Fruitland’s Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Fruitland uses an online educational delivery system referred to as “Moodle,” which is also used by numerous colleges and seminaries in their internet-based programs. Moodle is “student friendly” and offers professors an opportunity to use a “wide variety of educational techniques in the presentation of the course,” according to Tackett. Students from any location around the world can benefit from Fruitland’s online program. One of the current participants lives in Kenya and desires to train other pastors with the knowledge that he gains from his coursework at Fruitland.
Horton and Thompson always encourage prospective students to make the main campus in Hendersonville their first choice when working on a Fruitland degree. Thompson emphasized, “There is an experience on the Fruitland main campus that cannot be replicated elsewhere, no matter how hard we try.” If students cannot attend the main campus, we “encourage them to consider one of our satellite locations, and now they have the option getting a Fruitland degree online,” according to Horton.
The cost of each online course is $225 dollars (plus the cost of textbooks) which makes Fruitland’s online courses both affordable and accessible. Fruitland is a great educational choice for those preparing for ministerial careers as well as those who desire a Bible-based two-year degree that can be foundational to a secular vocation. “The curriculum at Fruitland gives those who serve in law enforcement, nursing, business, and other fields, the core knowledge in worldview, history, language, and critical thinking to evangelize and disciple the unchurched in a global and multicultural context,” noted Thompson.
To learn more about Fruitland’s online program, visit the website at www.fruitland.edu or call the Fruitland office at 1-800-696-2215.