Study Options

The Internet Biblical Seminary offers several ways for a student to study course materials. Additional options may be offered in the future.

• Facilitator-Led Classes: Online Facilitated Study
• Independent Study Classes:
• Online Independent Study
• Offline Independent Study

The table below provides additional details regarding these options.

Detailed Description of Study Options

Facilitator-Led Classes - Online Facilitated Study

Facilitator-led options allow the student to interact with a Facilitator and fellow students in the class via computer over the Internet. Facilitators may require their students to take a short Online Student Orientation course to learn skills needed to participate in a facilitator-led class before being approved for facilitated discipleship classes.

The Facilitator will decide how many students may sign up for a class, the start and end dates, and the enrollment deadline. To provide added security and safety for each student, Facilitator-Led classes may require the approval of the Facilitator to complete the enrollment process.

All interactive questions are checked, and your scores on Lesson Self Checks and Unit Exams will be recorded and can be viewed by your Facilitator and Group Administrator. Your Facilitator may require you to participate in other graded activities, such as essay questions, class discussions, and special projects.

If your goal is personal growth, you may want to participate in a facilitator-led class for the pleasure and accountability of interacting with others. Groups will likely require facilitated study in their Study Programs if the goal is certification for a leadership role or skill set. See individual Group Study Programs to determine the requirements for Certificate programs.

Independent Study

The Independent Study option allows students to study independently at their own pace and may be a good option for students whose goal is primarily personal growth.

Students may study independently and interact with the course materials in either Online or Offline modes as described below.

Students may also study independently of others using downloadable, printable PDFs.

• Online Independent Study Classes

  Online Independent Study classes are good for students who have Internet access but may not be able to commit to finishing their studies in the time allotted for facilitated classes. 

  All interactive Questions are checked, and your scores on Lesson Self Checks and Unit Exams are recorded but can be viewed only by your Group Administrator. If your Group offers certification, you should look at the Study Programs offered by your Group to determine whether classes taken in Online Independent Study mode qualify for their Certificate programs.

• Offline Independent Study Classes

  Offline Independent Study classes can be used on your computer even if you do not have a reliable Internet connection. You must have good Internet access to purchase and download the modules necessary to run these classes (unless they are provided to you on CD or another storage device), but you can then install and study even when you are offline (that is, without Internet access). In Offline mode, your scores will be stored on your own computer only; they are not shared with the IBS website. Therefore, you are the only one who can track your progress. For this reason, Offline Independent Study is most suitable for personal growth or to augment other study modes.

• Printable PDFs

  Students may also study independently of others by purchasing printable versions of the course to read on their own. They must have Internet access to purchase and download a printable file, but then they may print those materials to read when away from their computer. They can also read the printable file while on their computer, with or without Internet connection.