Questions About Partnership

Partnership offers dioceses an opportunity to join with others to do what they cannot necessarily do alone, that is, offer quality catechist and faith formation courses via distance learning. By partnering a diocese joins the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives and other partnering dioceses sharing resources and expertise to have more opportunities for catechist and faith formation.

VLCFF Diocesan Partnerships enable the diocese to:

1. Expand and compliment their current course offerings.
2. Offer diocesan staff extra time to focus on courses that may require more immediate person-to-person encounters.
3. Benefit from the on-going research and development of e-learning for catechist and lay ecclesial ministry and adult faith formation.
4. Have a voice regarding the content of new online courses and refreshing of current courses.
5. Benefit from the design of special courses related to their interest and concerns. This is less expensive than hiring a course development service.
6. Benefit from the opportunity of select courses made available, or set up-for VLCFF Partner Dioceses alone, within one of the cycles. All courses are closed domain (password protected).
7. Benefit from the in-service online instruction to assist adults for effectively participating in VLCFF courses.
8. Offer on-going education of their diocesan staff regarding e-learning to support their ministry.
9. Not have to build their own technical infrastructure and staff to offer e-learning courses.
10. Not have to maintain e-learning courses and be concerned with regular technical upgrades to ensure operation of the system.
11. Participate in a network of dioceses for strengthening the offering of e-learning for ministry via annual VLCFF Diocesan Partners Convocation (January), conference calls and regular communication via the VLCFF Administrative Website.
12. Be regularly informed of all those from their diocese taking courses from the beginning of each of the cycles. Dioceses co-sign all certificates of completion and receive an annual report of all those who have completed or not completed VLCFF courses.
13. Be able to keep the course fees reasonable for participants from their diocese.
14. Be freed up from technical and administrative concerns while still advancing the ministry of the local Church into cyberspace.
15. Be a collaborative member a pioneering team exploring "New Ways of Being Church" in the 21st century.

Any diocese can become a VLCFF partner.

Partnership fee is $3,000 per year. Individuals from the partnering diocese who take a VLCFF course pay $50.00 per course/$40.00 per seminar. An individual from a non-VLCFF diocesan partner pays $105.00 per course/$80.00 per seminar.

We encourage our VLCFF Diocesan Partners to identify qualified persons within their diocese to join the network of VLCFF course facilitators. There are many professional benefits for facilitators to acquire first hand knowledge concerning distance learning and explain it to others in their diocese. Finally, facilitators do receive a stipend. Thus, additional funds can come back into the diocese.

Richard Drabik
Institute for Pastoral Initiatives / VLCFF
University of Dayton
300 College Park
Dayton, Ohio 45469-7013
Toll Free: 1-888-300-8436
RDrabik1@udayton.edu