Academic Program Assessment

What is Assessment?

The ATS Commission on Standards and Accreditation requires all ATS accredited institutions to perform regular assessment of its degree programs. Educational Standard (ES) 6.1 states;

“The school shall maintain an ongoing process for assessing student learning outcomes and degree program goals. An effective plan of assessment should be as simple and sustainable as possible while adequate to answer fundamental questions about educational effectiveness. This plan should include

(1) a process for evaluating components of the full degree program in an ongoing manner;
(2) the identification of appropriate direct and indirect indicators of student learning;
(3) the routine involvement of faculty in the review and evaluation of the results of the assessment; and
(4) linking assessment results to curriculum and educational planning, institutional strategic planning and resource allocation.”

Assessment is a process whereby student learning, faculty, curriculum and support are regularly reviewed for their effectiveness. The goal of assessment is to improve the quality of degree programs and improve the efficiency of institutional processes.

Programmatic Assessment at New Brunswick Theological Seminary

The overall aim of programmatic assessment is twofold: 1) To assess what students learn and how well they are learning it; and 2) assess how well the knowledge acquired by students inculcate the institution’s overall mission and programmatic objectives. In essence, programmatic assessment addresses the question whether students are learning what the institution says it teaches. For an example of connecting learning outcomes with program assessment click here

At NBTS, we believe that theological education is comprised of distinct elements. These elements align with the institution’s mission statement such that

• There is a body of knowledge and set of skills that students must acquire for every discipline (theological, biblical, and ministerial).
• This accumulation of knowledge and skills is intimately connected with the student’s practice of ministry in diverse urban, rural, and global contexts.
• Spiritual and vocational formation is contextual and that learning the “what” and “how” of the Christian faith is essential to the student’s personal and professional development.

Programmatic Assessment at New Brunswick Theological Seminary entails collecting evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of our academic programs as they relate to student learning in the above areas. The information gathered during the assessment process is used to further enhance the effectiveness of our programs and student learning. At NBTS, direct and indirect data is collected for evaluation, implementation of changes based on the evaluation as well as reevaluation where changes are measured for their effectiveness. Assessment data is comprised of the following:

• Entering and Exiting Student Surveys
• Student and Administration Focus Groups
• Student Portfolios (assignments, presentations and projects)
• External data from key stakeholders and student field education site supervisors

Mission Statements and Learning Outcomes

NBTS academic programs have mission statements and goals. Each program has concrete and measurable student learning outcomes.

Master of Divinity

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• think critically and theologically, gaining basic literacy within the distinctives of the Christian faith and tradition through biblical studies, theological and historical studies, and ministry studies. In these fields, they can identify, locate, organize, critically analyze, compare, and utilize diverse sources of information for present and life-long learning.
• engage their own and other communities, traditions, structures, and cultures.  They put theological studies into practice in diverse vocational applications of ministry, seeking to understand the work of God.  They prepare for leadership and service responsive to varied social contexts.
• demonstrate personal development and spiritual formation, deepening their understanding and practice of faith.  This involves reflection and promotes application of theological education for spiritual and social transformation.
• analyze dynamics of power and privilege as these intersect the self, institutions (including the church), and society.  They formulate appropriate responses to injustices and violence across race, class, gender, and other oppressive structures.  They foster social engagement, ecumenical dialogue, and interfaith cooperation in pursuit of peace and justice.

Master of Arts (Pastoral Care and Counseling)

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• articulate the distinctives of the field of pastoral care and counseling from the fields of psychology and sociology.
• express a self- awareness as it relates to relationships between individuals in pastoral and family ministry, congregational and larger social systems.
• demonstrate the appropriate skills needed for ministering in Christian and multi-faith pastoral care settings using the appropriate spiritual resources and practices of the Christian tradition and contextual theological reflection.
• engage in research and critical reflection proper to the field of Pastoral Care and Counseling/Pastoral Theology.

Master of Arts (Theological Studies)

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• employ the basic competencies of the fields of biblical studies and theological studies.
• explain how cultural and social contexts impacts their understanding of a community
• identify, locate, organize, critically analyze, compare and utilize diverse sources of information for present and life-long learning.
• show evidence of their growth in spiritual, ethical and intellectual formation.
• analyze dynamics of power and privilege as these intersect the self, institutions (including the church), and society.

Dual Degree Programmatic Outcomes (Proposed)
M.Div. & M.A.P.C.C.

Graduates will be able to: 

• think critically and theologically, gaining basic literacy within the distinctives of the Christian faith and tradition through biblical studies, theological and historical studies, and ministry studies. In these fields, they can identify, locate, organize, critically analyze, compare and utilize diverse sources of information for present and life-long learning.
• engage their own and other communities, traditions, structures, and cultures.  They put theological studies into practice in diverse vocational applications of ministry, seeking to understand the work of God.  They prepare for leadership and service responsive to varied social contexts.
• demonstrate personal development and spiritual formation, deepening their understanding and practice of faith.  This involves reflection and promotes application of theological education for spiritual and social transformation.
• analyze dynamics of power and privilege as these intersect the self, institutions (including the church), and society.  They formulate appropriate responses to injustices and violence across race, class, gender, and other oppressive structures.  They foster social engagement, ecumenical dialogue and interfaith cooperation in pursuit of peace and justice.

M.Div. & M.A.T.S.

Doctor of Ministry

Mission Statement:

The Doctor of Ministry Program at New Brunswick Theological Seminary prepares faith leaders for a deeper engagement in ministry via a combination of practical theology and contextualized learning. Through intensive online and classroom experiences; guided projects in ministry; and supervision by seminary faculty, the D.Min Program provides students with a set of abilities, both theoretical and practical, that enables them to analyze and engage in transformative ministry in a changing church and world.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• critically reflect upon sources of advanced knowledge informing their understanding of the nature and purposes of ministry and their ministerial and spiritual practice.
• create sustained and coherent explanations and reflections derived from data collected through analytic and ministerial research.
• critically and reflectively plan, implement, and evaluate specialized ministry projects with awareness of challenges, trends and developments impacting ministerial practice.
• formulate appropriate responses to injustices and violence across race, class, gender, and other oppressive structures as these intersect the self, institutions (including the church), and society.
• demonstrate advanced competency in the practice of ministry specific to the concentration-specific outcomes of the concentration in which they are enrolled.

Assessment Cycle

The goals and affiliated programmatic learning outcomes are assessed according to the institution’s Assessment Plan which is conducted cyclically. Three areas were selected for curricular assessment for years 2016 thru 2019:

• Distinctives of the Christian Faith (Content and Information Literacy) (2016-2017)
• Ministerial Leadership and Training (Ministry Practice) (2017-2018)
• Spiritual Formation and Personal/Professional Development (2018-2019)

Assessment Rubrics

Rubrics were created to measure the learning outcomes established in each assessment cycle. (Refer to the Mission Statement and Learning Outcomes for each program to view individual rubrics). Baseline data for the previous three years was used to establish the benchmarks for ESQ and GSQs rubrics in 2016-2019. Specific surveys were developed to capture student, administrative, and external data resulting from focus group feedback.

The findings and recommendations on the effectiveness of degree program outcomes and student learning are compiled in an Assessment Report which is shared with faculty, administration, and key stakeholders for dissemination, use, and implementation at the end of each assessment cycle. Note: Institutional Strategic Planning and Resource allocation while a part of our on-going assessment process are reported out separately. Please contact tsmith@nbts.edu if you require access to any or all of these reports.