Educational Evaluation of the Ordination and Master of Divinity Programs

Kenrick School of Theology is committed to evaluation at every level of its programs. In accordance with ATS standards (A.5.1 and A.5.2), specific sub-programs are deployed to evaluate both student progress in a degree program and the institutional effectiveness of the degree program itself.

Student Evaluation

In the Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs, students are evaluated at the completion of each course, at the completion of their supervised ministry experiences, in the annual student evaluation process and in a summative evaluation exercise that takes the form of a written and oral comprehensive evaluation. The latter three in particular are designed to show the extent to which a student has realized both mastery and integration of the various components of the program. The annual student evaluation involves input from each of the three formation programs, a written self-evaluation, and an evaluation session with members of the administration and faculty. When evaluation is positive, the student is advanced in the program and, as appropriate, may be either admitted to candidacy for the priesthood, instituted in the ministry of reader or acolyte, or ordained as deacon or priest.

Student evaluations are confidential in nature, with communication of results confined to participants and to students’ ecclesiastical sponsors. In the nature of things, the content of these evaluations is not available for outside review. To measure the extent to which students as a group have met the goals of its various programs, Kenrick School of Theology employs a process of educational outcomes assessment described below.

Students in the Ordination Program are required to participate in a summative evaluation exercise prior to completing the program. The purpose of this exercise is to allow the candidate to demonstrate his competence in the theological disciplines as related to pastoral ministry. The Ordination Program itself offers a comprehensive examination in fulfillment of this requirement. For Ordination Program students who are also students in the M.A. Program, either of the summative evaluation exercises of the M.A. Program may satisfy this requirement. The format and procedures for the Ordination Program comprehensive examination, written and oral, are the same as those for the M.A. Program. No additional course work, however, is required.

Outcomes-Based Assessment of the Credential Programs

Kenrick School of Theology continuously monitors its programs to assess the extent to which they fulfill their stated purposes, meet the needs of constituents, and conform to canonical, legal, and accreditation requirements. Such assessment is conceived as part of a cycle of institutional effectiveness, in four phases: (1) educational outcomes are proposed as goals; (2) an educational program is implemented to bring about the outcomes; (3) the collective student achievement of the outcomes is assessed; and (4) the results of assessment lead to either a reformulation of goals or a revision or development of the educational program.

The Program of Priestly Formation (4th ed., 1992) provides a comprehensive set of normative criteria for the training of priests; consequently, for Roman Catholic seminaries a criterion-referenced means of assessment is ready at hand. The outcomes proposed for the Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs at Kenrick School of Theology are based on the criteria of the PPF, specifically on the triad of priestly identity, ministry, and spirituality (48, 58). This criterion-triad is further broken out into the items: a priestly identity in Christ and in the Church; a priestly ministry comprised of teaching, sanctifying, and leading; and a priestly spirituality embracing celibacy, simplicity, obedience, and prayer. Thus a total of nine goals for the credential programs are derived from PPF criteria.

Outcomes-based assessment is a method of evaluating the effectiveness of a program. Means of assessment are devised to demonstrate in varying ways that the students have or have not achieved the intended outcomes of the program. Since this method of assessment is still a relatively new educational tool, and thus an inexact one, multiple means of assessment are employed in which the weaknesses of any one means are offset by the advantages of others.

The following chart displays the intended outcomes of the Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs, against which multiple means of assessment are deployed. An explanation follows the chart.

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