The senior dual credit theology course, Biblical Literature, will now be a night class at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, for the 2017-2018 school year. The class will take place on Wednesday nights from 7-9:30pm at Calumet College with Fr. Kevin Scalf as instructor.
The class will focus on discussing the literary techniques and historical context, as well as tying it in with current events and issues.

Many students who took the class for the 2016-2017 school year believe that the class has impacted their level of college-readiness.
According to Valedictorian and current senior Megan Whelan, she believes that it gave her an excellent idea of what college will be like. “His [Fr. Scalf’s] class was challenging yet enjoyable, and I believe I learned so much from him,” Whelan said.
For students, the opportunity to take this class both frees up a class period during the school day and allows students to delve into a more college-like experience, as well as drastically reducing the cost for when it comes time to attend college.
Bishop Noll teacher and priest, Fr. Kevin Scalf referred to this, saying, “Part of the mission of Calumet College of St. Joseph is to serve the Diocese of Gary and all of Northwest Indiana in specific ways. Dual credit courses allow high school students to simultaneously take college level courses, and earn high school credit for graduation. What most high school students don’t realize is that one college course costs between $3,000 and $4,000 dollars. Most college students take four courses per semester. That’s expensive! The State of Indiana stipulates that colleges offering dual credit can only charge $75.00. That’s quite a bargain and we want to make that available”.
Whelan, while noting the monetary cost, also says that she would recommend the class but cautions them of the expectations for the class, saying, “I definitely recommend this class to other people, but it was not easy and required a lot of time so other students need to be prepared to work hard. My advice for students taking this class is to work hard and stay on top of the syllabus that he hands out at the beginning of the class. The syllabus contains all of the due dates, and it explains what Father Kevin expects from each assignment. Again, his is very college like which will help prepare the students that take his class”.
Whelan also supports the class being offered after school on Wednesday nights, saying, “It might even prepare students better for college because of the college like timing and setting.”
The urge for the class to be offered was due to a large influx of students from all three Diocesan high schools, with Scalf saying, “Since the Noll courses were not filled to capacity, this became an opportunity to widen our audience, to bring together serious students from all over our metropolitan area and talk about scripture and faith more intentionally — and — by offering the class at night, students can then choose a study hall in place of their theology class during the day, or take another dual credit class, or honors, or AP course instead”.
The class will be offered to students from Bishop Noll, Andrean, and even Marquette. The class will be capped at forty students, so it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Students that plan to take the class for this coming 2017-2018 school year must have submitted an application from Calumet College of Saint Joseph as well as the required Dual Credit form from the Guidance department. The dual credits will be transferable to accepting colleges by them being listed as either a history, English, or humanities credit.