Southeastern University, Part of Celebration Church’s “City on a Hill” Vision, To Open Fall 2018
Some days it feels like the only positive spontaneous news coverage about colleges follows various sports championships. When was the last time you turned on 24-hour news and the story about Pick-a-State University was not about hazing, protests or crushing student debt?
Southeastern University is about to change that because in just a few months, Georgetown will be home to a new commuter campus that combines the erudition of an international faculty, the convenience of online classes, a spirit-empowered community, and nearly all of the feel of a traditional school. Oh, and the annual cost, laid out clearly on the business card, is less than a year at ACC.
Meet Dr. Andrew Fox, a native of “Robin Hood country” (Nottingham, England), site director and Pastor of Education for the Central Texas extension of Southeastern University, based in Lakeland, Florida.
Housed at Celebration Church off Westinghouse Road and I-35 in Georgetown, SEU will offer two- and four-year programs in marketable fields beginning with the Fall 2018 semester.
Dr. Fox is happy to be part of the genesis of this program. “America is a very optimistic place with so many possibilities. This university is a microcosm of that greatness; we envision cultural transformation in the marketplace one graduate at a time.”
We also met Dr. Tolu Osoba, Assistant Site Director, who is from Lagos, Nigeria but considers herself a transplant from all over the world. Her outstanding education and background in the sciences are a perfect balance for Dr. Fox’s inter-cultural studies and love of the classics.
Students at SEU will benefit from an international faculty that includes military veterans and Ph.D.s from Ethiopia, Mexico, Germany and Panama. “We are delighted by the added value of our diversity,” Dr. Fox says. “Our faculty will bring a world view and will speak many languages, literally and figuratively, to communicate ideas in different ways.”
Among the pioneers at the university, the question is Why should anyone come and study with us? Simply put, they believe the differentiator is their Brand Promise, which is a three-dimensional approach (professor, mentor, expert) to education. Every student will have, not just access to, but relationships with his or her professors, experts in a chosen field and a mentor to guide and support them on the path.
To affect that relationship, SEU is already partnering with subject matter experts to provide seminars, summer studies and online study options for studies in their chosen field. “We are all about the whole person,” Fox says. “Students will not only learn the mechanics of a subject, they will have practicums, collaborative projects, internships and trips abroad that will count for credit as practical and life experience. Our alumni will be prepared for a career and it is our goal to have the highest employment rate among online universities.”
SEU, however, is not just online. They have adopted the ‘bricks & clicks’ paradigm that provides options and opportunities the college experience people are familiar with, but also the convenience of online learning for older or career students. “We do not have a football team and we may have residential students in the future, but our campus will have a blend of online learning and face-to-face instruction. Plus access to resources that foster collaboration while enabling them to focus on employment, entrepreneurship or ministry.”
SEU offers Associates’ and Bachelor degree programs and Masters in Human Services or International Community Development.
Fox says, “We are thrilled to be at the start of a Christ-centered curriculum and culture and we look forward to meeting our first students in August.”
For information or to register (free) visit Celebration.church/SEU