After a heavy work load teaching three graduate level classes last semester (considered a full time load in most graduate schools) in the Bible college program in Colombia, I returned to the States in early May. But I did not leave my work in Colombia. It has followed my up there as there have been many papers to grade in recent weeks.
The great advantage of the university that provided accreditation coverage is that it functions on a distance learning format. As a result, I can teach the classes when it fits within my schedule and with my other work. Then, once the course is over, the students do the homework and hand it in. That also allows me to grade papers when and where it is convenient for me. So I can travel and speak to supporting churches but keep up with my work in the Bible college program in Colombia.
Ever since I returned to the States in May in order to spend time with my family and visit supporting churches, I have been receiving papers via email that I must grade and send back. Because of the structure and format of the university, I can do that as easily up here as I could were I in Colombia.
That flexibility is a great advantage for me and for the students as well. The program offers all the advantages of a traditional location based university yet adds flexibility for both the students and for me as the professor. It also allows me to handle a much larger load of students that what I would normally be able to teach in a traditional format.
So while here in the States, my few free minutes are usually invested sitting on the couch with papers stacked up all around me. While grading papers is not my favorite job, it gives me the chance to see what the students are really thinking and see where I need to focus my teaching in future classes. Plus it allows me to make use of time that might have been wasted were it not for that job. Well, I had better get back to grading papers. There is quite a stack of them waiting on me!