Australian College of Ministries
The Australian College of Ministries (ACOM) is an Australian Churches of Christ college owned by the state conference of New South Wales. It was formed as the result of the merger of Kenmore College (Queensland) and the Churches of Christ Theological College (New South Wales) in 1999. In 2012 the Queensland Churches of Christ Conference reluctantly left the ownership of the college and ceased its financial support. It is a member college of the Sydney College of Divinity.
General
ACOM is an Australian Christian college, offering an extensive range of accredited vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications through flexible delivery (distance education with occasional face-to-face contact) modes.
It integrates academic studies, skill-enhancement competencies and character-formation[1] ACOM's model of training has been noted by a scholar[2] for its commitment to: (a) the integration of theory and practice, (b) situated learning, and (c) the role of the mentor in student learning.
In its four schools (Bible, Theology, Leadership and Spirituality), ACOM houses a faculty with a focus on leadership and teaching.[3][4] This faculty serves over 700 students across Australia (comprising 450 vocational, 180 undergraduate, and 100 postgraduate students), and employs staff in five Australian States and the Australian Capital Territory.
ACOM has been criticised for not following a traditional campus-based model of theological education and for being too focused on practical ministry skills and spiritual formation at the expense of research, scholarship and theological insight.
References
- ↑ Farmer, K., & Dowson, M. (2000), Networking against the ‘tyranny of distance’ in ministry preparation, Reo: A Journal of Theology and Ministry, 18, pp. 25-42
- ↑ e.g., Banks, 1999
- ↑ McInerney, D.M., Dowson, M., & Yeung, A.S. (2005), Facilitating conditions for School Motivation: Construct validity and applicability, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65, pp. 1046-1066
- ↑ Miner, M., Sterland, S., & Dowson, M. (2006). Coping with Ministry: Development of a multidimensional measure of orientations to the demands of ministry, Review of Religious Research, pp. 212-230
- Dowson, (Eds.), Research on sociocultural influences on motivation and learning, Vol. 7: Standards in education, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
External links
Coordinates: 27°36′34.74″S 153°08′07.73″E / 27.6096500°S 153.1354806°E