Quick Summary
Eleven:6 developed the 3D GAP Program to deliver a range of undergraduate general education and Bible courses using its integrated delivery framework. Our objective is to help amplify the reproducing efforts of existing GAP and post-high-school internship programs across a variety of frontline ministry organizations (churches, camps, nonprofits) within our network as learning contexts for these courses. The program kicked off in 2017 with a cross-section of camp and mission organization GAP programs.
The Opportunity
The GAP program concept is exploding, in part because a growing pool of potential college students exit high school with big questions to resolve direction and develop foundational life skills before investing in a college education that will work for them. Faith-based ministries have begun to answer that call with opportunities to learn and serve in intensive, directed, mentored environments.
Programmatically, they help students begin to discern their gifts and calling, they lay theological foundations and they develop corresponding skill sets. They also provide a range of both service opportunities and experiences within which to gain context, competence and confidence. In some cases, deep integration with partner schools offers an opportunity to earn academic credit, but most have not yet navigated the challenging confluence of practical discipleship and academic rigor.
Our vision is to launch past the single-program approach and inject our integrated academic delivery process into the unique dynamics of a growing pool of exceptional existing GAP programs.
The Rationale
Why general education and Bible courses?
Exceptional faith-based GAP programs excel at helping students lay solid foundations for life, for ministry and for continuing education. General education courses align well with developing core skills (writing and communication, critical thinking, cultural awareness, science) and solidifying a biblical worldview. Bible courses offer the opportunity to shape a student’s worldview from foundational biblical truth, a powerful dynamic within the context of an active mentored learning environment. This range of courses most tightly fits with the targeted training and experiences inherent in the GAP programs we engage.
Why academic credit?
Simply put, academic credit will add real value to the student’s investment. Students that enroll in GAP programs have already decided to invest that year of life into laying foundations. The ability to take foundational courses within the dynamic of their GAP program will enhance their learning and stage their trajectory toward matriculation in a program that fits the gifts, abilities and passions they discover and develop in the program.
Transferability
The discovery-oriented nature of GAP programs presumes the career paths of students will include outcomes outside the scope of programs offered by any one school. Eleven:6 offers a range of courses that give students the option of enrolling for 21 to 30 credits that are portable across a wide variety of public, private and faith-based schools and degree programs.
Many non-school faith-based organizations have created Bible-heavy GAP or internship programs and have partnered with Christian colleges that agree to transfer in “courses” offered if students enroll at the partner college. While that approach is valid, it dramatically limits the transfer options for GAP students to one or a few schools that may not fit their ideal next steps.
The Courses
We maintain a rich catalog of courses across Bible & Theology, General Education, and Leadership & Ministry categories, which allows the Eleven:6 team to custom fit a scope and sequence to any GAP program, existing or new, that aligns with and amplifies each unique program’s context, mission and goals.
All courses are designed for frontline integration, using our proprietary Learning Blueprint framework to stage intentional learning. As well, courses are designed to use stock content and curriculum or custom content and curriculum within the framework, or a combination of both. Similarly, courses can be resourced with offsite Eleven:6 faculty, offsite partner school faculty or qualified onsite faculty.
The flexible fit parameters allows quick development and deployment of fully integrated programs that amplify the disciple-making mission of the frontline ministry, leveraging the ministry’s God-given DNA, people and resources to lead the process. This is a crucial distinction from the standard online course delivery options that run alongside, but not integrated with, a ministry context’s strategy and program.
Methodology
We leverage our enterprise learning management system (NEO LMS) to stage learning content delivery, student engagement with professors and with each other, coursework submission and assessment. We will custom-develop course instances for each GAP program to take advantage of their unique experiential dynamics and training resources, while providing resources, instruction and oversight at the level required for each site to deliver exceptional learning for students. This targeted approach is essential to both scaling the program and maximizing the value for students.
A Value Ecosystem That Works
The best ecosystems are balanced and self-sustaining. This program is designed to engage a powerful value proposition for each participant.
For Students
Students have the opportunity to access the partner school’s competitive distance learning tuition rates while learning within the context of a more intimate program strategically designed to help them identify a trajectory and to tool them up for aggressive learning with a solid Christian worldview. While they may incur additional cost for participating in the GAP program, the tuition rate is best-case for accredited courses with flexible transferability. When applicable, financial aid may reduce that cost dramatically.
For GAP & Internship Programs
The opportunity to add accredited academic courses braided within the context of their existing program is an immediate upgrade for recruiting into our partner GAP programs. For those that employ qualified academic instructors, we also have the opportunity to direct instructional funds back into the program. Partner programs have the opportunity to leverage our enterprise-level LMS with a growing pool of academic resources in a way that works with their culture, mission and programmatic dynamics without additional cost as well. The biggest win… a framework for staging and amplifying critical life skill development from the organization’s discipleship culture for their students.
For Partner Schools
Partner schools have the opportunity to grow their student population by leveraging a network of faith-based organizations that are actively recruiting participants beyond the school’s current footprint, with no startup or maintenance overhead. The cost of acquisition for new students from the program is negligible. Program cost is a per-credit-hour rate that generates an attractive margin for the school. Program students completing their GAP year have an existing relationship with a school, giving the school a head start in competing for continued enrollment of students that choose programs available through the school. Though secondarily, schools will have the opportunity to develop relationships with faith-based ministry organizations beyond their current footprint, expanding both their impact and their brand.
For Eleven:6
A driving mission-level core value for us is to add value and impact to the God-designed disciple-making ministries of frontline faith-based organizations, starting with the local church and working out from there. 3D GAP is an opportunity to do exactly that with the toolbox the Lord has given us.