CDU Blog

CDU’s Continuing Education courses help adults learn the Truth through on-demand, independent study.  Students enroll for a variety of reasons, including to earn certificates and continuing education credits required for their employment in dioceses, parishes, or Catholic schools.  CDU offers 12 basic and advanced certificate programs and more than 60 courses to learn more about the Catholic Faith.

Student Karen Greiber was raised Catholic, but her religious education classes did not teach her much about the Faith.  Hungry to learn in college, she spent the next 10 years of her life studying. “I was so afraid to believe the wrong thing, that I would believe nothing unless it could be proven,” she says.  Today, Karen continues her faithful journey by taking CDU continuing education courses. 

 Members of CDU’s partner dioceses can take courses for as low as $30.  If your diocese is not a continuing education partner, encourage a diocesan contact to join today.

CDU welcomes three new members to our Board of Trustees. These reputable leaders will bring new talent and ideas to guide CDU, the first and only fully online Catholic university, boldly into the future to communicate the mind and heart of the Catholic Church across the globe.

The Most Reverend Michael Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington

 Bishop Burbidge holds a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo, an M.A. in Education Administration from Villanova University, and a doctorate in Education from Immaculata College. After serving as a parish priest, faculty member and dean of students at St. Charles Borromeo, he was named Honorary Prelate to His Holiness Pope John Paul II, with the title of Monsignor, and later appointed Rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

 In 2002, he was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. Pope Benedict XVI then named Bishop Burbidge the fifth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh in 2006. Ten years later, Pope Francis announced him as the fourth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington.

Bishop Burbidge courageously advocates for human dignity and rights issues. He serves as the Chair of the USCCB’s Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, and is a member of the Administrative and Communications Committees. He has been an advisor for the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors. Bishop Burbidge is a current member of the Board of Trustees for Catholic University and previously served on the Board of Trustees for St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. The Bishop recently fulfilled his role of Co-Chair of the Pontifical Council’s International Catholic Pentecostal Dialogue and managed the development of a new Cathedral dedicated in 2017.

Theodore Musco

Secretary of the Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis, Ted serves as both the Executive Director of the School for Evangelization and Director of the Office of Faith Formation for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Ted is a proven innovator in Catholic education. With experience managing a range of Catholic educational programs from Youth and Spanish Language to RCIA and online leadership, Ted’s administrative knowledge and entrepreneurial execution are assets to CDU. Previously, he was the Associate Superintendent of Schools and Vicariate Representative in New York. Ted is a graduate of Fairfield University.

Stephen Pryor

 Before his appointment in 2008 as president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Stephen was president of ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company and president of ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties Company. He also served as Vice President of Exxon Mobil Corporation from 2004 until his retirement. Before the 1999 merger, Mr. Pryor was Executive Vice President of Mobil International Marketing and Refining and president of Mobil Asia Pacific. He joined Mobil Corporation in 1971 in the U.S. Marketing Division and went on to lead marketing / refining and chemical business units in Cyprus, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 He was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and a Director of the International Council of Chemical Associations. He received ACC’s Distinguished Leadership Award in 2014, SCI’s 2015 Chemical Industry Medal and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers 2016 Petrochemical Heritage Award. He chaired the Downstream Committee of the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Committee of the National Association of Manufacturers.

He is a Trustee of Lafayette College and former Vice Chair of the Board, and a Trustee of the Immokalee Foundation. He and his wife Kathy are active in Catholic charities. He earned a BA in biology from Lafayette College in 1971 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1975.

Bishop Michael Burbidge, Mr. Theodore Musco and Mr. Stephen Pryor join an experienced CDU Board of Trustees that includes Board Chairman Dr. Charles Wasaff; Vice-Chair and Chancellor Archbishop Timothy Broglio; CDU President Dr. Marianne Evans Mount; Ms. Jean Halle; Dr. Joseph Braddock; The Most Reverend Michael Bransfield; Mr. Daniel Curtin; Reverend Paul deLadurantaye; Reverend Thomas Ferguson; Dr. Angelo Giardino; Reverend Mr. David Galvin; Ms. Barbara Keebler; The Most Reverend Paul Loverde; The Hon. Susan Malone; Mr. John McCabe; Dr. Margaret Melady; Mrs. Barbara Murphy; Mr. Robert J. Smith; Mr. Michael Warsaw; and Sister Mary Brendon Zajac.

Catholic Distance University has launched a new, mobile-friendly website that features fresh and original content and is easy to navigate. The site has a new look and is optimized for viewing on any platform or screen size.

We have simplified our content and made it easier to access information about our academic programs. This exciting new communications tool will enable students and prospects alike to find the information they need quickly and efficiently, helping CDU to further its mission to communicate the mind and heart of the Church in a digital world.

 Visit our new website today at cdu.edu.

The online library has joined the Odilo Consortia, a network of 13 theological libraries that developed a marketplace for sharing eBooks among members.  The ten Protestant and three Catholic libraries in the partnership currently share more than 1,000 religious titles, a number that rapidly continues to grow.  This new resource augments CDU’s on-demand library services and content, supporting students across the world.

 Many of our students without local library resources are able to access eBooks immediately on their digital and mobile devices through CDU’s online library. CDU’s librarian efficiently acquires the eBooks and resources faculty and students want and need.

 Digital libraries are the future, and CDU is leading the way to provide materials and education to communicate the mind and heart of the Church in a digital world.  If you would like to sponsor new ebooks for our library, please contact Annie at ahager@cdu.edu.

Sharing your knowledge with others, introducing CDU to your friends and supporting us with generous donations enables us to “Teach all nations.” CDU communicates the mind and heart of the Church in a digital world across the globe.  We are grateful because we cannot fulfill His plan without you!

Catholic Distance University (CDU) has been nationally accredited continuously since 1986 by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, an accrediting agency recognized by the US Dept. of Education as the premier accreditor for distance education. With CDU’s growth and expansion of academic programs, its strategic goals include the pursuit of full regional and programmatic accreditation, in addition to DEAC accreditation.   As a result, the Board of Trustees has initiated the process of seeking candidate status with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), based in Chicago, which has oversight of regional accreditation in West Virginia.

HLC will conduct a comprehensive evaluation for candidacy on April 23-24, 2018 to determine whether CDU should be awarded candidacy. The team’s recommendation is subject to additional levels of HLC review and decision-making. Therefore, no further information will be provided until HLC’s Board of Trustees makes a final decision on the award of candidacy. The award of candidacy does not assure the eventual award of accreditation. 

As part of the accreditation process, the public is invited to submit comments regarding CDU to the following address:

Public Comment on Catholic Distance University
Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604-1411

The public may also submit comments on HLC's website at www.hlcommission.org/comment
Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution and/or its academic programs.

Comments must be in writing. All comments must be received by March 19, 2018.

Catholic Distance University’s friends, supporters, trustees, faculty members, and recent graduates gathered for the annual gala on November 4, 2017, at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel in Arlington, VA. Father Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, PhD, was awarded the Founders Award, CDU’s greatest honor, “for his great heart and zeal as a scientist and for helping all of God’s children find their path to God through science.”

 In today’s increasingly secular world, Father Spitzer explained, many young people are leaving religion behind. Many cannot reconcile faith with fact-based science, which is increasingly--though wrongly--seen as contradicting religion. Father Spitzer spoke about misperceptions of the dichotomy between faith and science. “Faith and science are in no way contradictory,” he explained.

 The Bishop Thomas J. Welsh Award was awarded to two parishes for the continuing support of their pastors and the enrichment of the parish community through CDU: St James the Greater Church of Charles Town, WV, and St. Veronica’s Church of Chantilly, VA.

 Most Rev. Paul S. Loverde, Bishop Emeritus of Arlington and a member of the CDU Board of Trustees, hosted the event. Catherine Szeltner, host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly, served as Master of Ceremonies, and Most Rev. Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington, delivered welcome remarks. The evening began with an Academic Convocation Mass recognizing CDU’s 2017 undergraduate and graduate degree recipients, a number of whom travelled from across the country to attend the event. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA, Chancellor of the university, served as principal celebrant and homilist. Bishop Paul S. Loverde served as principal concelebrant, and Rev. Msgr. Dennis Kuruppaserry, First Counselor of the Apostolic Nunciature, delivered the Invocation.

 Save November 3 on your calendar so that you do not miss CDU’s 2018 Gala!

MA graduate Kathy Vestermark now serves as Director of Student Life and Retention at Catholic Distance University.  She is also an undergraduate Professor teaching The Four Constitutions of Vatican II and The Catechism of the Catholic Church I & II.

Cecile Kasberg, a recent MA graduate, is teaching Theology to freshmen and sophomores at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis.  She loves sharing our Faith with teenagers. She says, “I would never have the confidence to evangelize and catechize if I hadn’t gone to CDU.” I in addition to teaching, she is a core team member for RCIA at her parish, St. Simon the Apostle.

Gayle DiNicola, who received a Bachelor's in Theology from CDU, shares her faithful knowledge with others.  She became a certified Catechist in the Archdiocese of New York and served as a sixth grade Catechist, eventually accepting the RCIA Coordinator position.  While caring for her aging parents, she transitioned to an Adult Confirmation Instructor role for the northern counties of the Archdiocese of New York.

Joe Wetterling, a graduate of the Catechetical Diploma program, is in his second year as the President of the Catholic Writers Guild, an international non-profit organization that supports Catholic writers, illustrators, and editors. He created a natural Theology class for Holy Apostles College and is part of the Catholic Scholar program at the Dominican Institute.

Adele Huculak, an MA graduate, is studying for an MS in Mental Health Clinical Counseling at Divine Mercy University.

The Spring Holy Land Pilgrimage will be held April 16-26, 2018.  Led by renowned faculty member Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, participants will travel to the land of the Bible and visit Jerselum, Bethlehem, The Via Dolorosa, Jericho, Cana, Galilee, and more!  To learn more about the pilgrimage and to register for the trip, email info@crossreadsinitiative.com

Students who wish to participate in the pilgrimage and earn academic credit should rgister for course THEO 598 in the Winter II 2018 term.  Classes begin on March 5.  Email registrar@cdu.edu to enroll in the course today!

Church of Pastor Noster. Our Father prayer in hundreds of languages.

There is no better place to study the four canonical gospels than where the drama of salvation took place.  The holy places in the land where the Savior walked speak so powerfully of the work of redemption that the land is rightly called “the fifth gospel.”  The learning in this course will primarily take place over ten days in the Holy Land.  Prior to and subsequent to the trip, there will be fascinating readings and online discussion that will be the basis for a term paper to be submitted at the end of the 8-week class.  The primary goal of this interdisciplinary course is to give students insight into the Bible that can only be captured by being in the land.  Secondarily, students will learn about the Fathers of the Church, including Origen, Eusebius, Justin, Jerome, and Cyril of Jerusalem, who lived and wrote in the Holy Land.  Because travel in the Holy Land will bring students face-to-face with the Crusades and Muslim-Christian relations, they will learn about Church history and interreligious dialogue.  The course will count as a theology, scripture, or church history elective, based on the topic a student selects for his or her course paper.

According to the College Board’s most-recent trend analysis, tuition and fees at private, nonprofit four-year institutions rose by 3.6% to $34,740 on average from 2017 to 2018.  In contrast, CDU continues to freeze tuition to serve and support future leaders of the Church.  While costs continue to rise, generous supporters help make it possible to hold down tuition rates for our students.  Unlike traditional brick and mortar colleges, all donations directly impact our students’ education rather than underwriting real estate, maintenance, or campus costs.

 Perhaps CDU’s focus on delivering a faithful, convenient, comprehensive and affordable  Catholic education online, anytime, anywhere, and on any device is why enrollment continues to boom in every category.

In the 2017 academic year, graduate enrollments grew 12% and undergraduate enrollments grew 11% over the previous year.  Likewise, continuing education course enrollments were up 16%, webinar participation increased 54%, and prison course enrollments exploded 47%.   Thanks to God’s blessing and your help, CDU continues to reach more Catholics and “Teach all nations.”