Outcomes and Assessment of the Master of Arts Program

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 requirements. Such an educational evaluation is conceived as part of a cycle of institutional effectiveness, in four phases: (1) educational outcomes are proposed as goals; (2) a program is implemented to bring about the outcomes; (3) the 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 program.

Kenrick School of Theology employs an outcomes-based assessment method of evaluating the effectiveness of its 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 Master of Arts Degree Program, against which multiple means of assessment are deployed.

Some of these means of assessment already exist, such as the summative evaluation. Other means have been devised for the sole purpose of assessment. The most extensive means of assessment is a series of three instruments by which respondent self-report and employer survey take place. The first instrument is addressed to candidates completing the M.A. program and is administered in the form of an exit interview. The second is addressed to alumni having completed the program in the previous two to five years. The third is addressed to “employers" such as bishops, vocation directors, personnel directors, and local pastors of dioceses in which Kenrick alumni serve. The first instrument is administered on an annual basis, as applicable; the second and third on a triennial basis.

The Outcomes Assessment Program is administered by a standing committee of the Faculty, the Assessment Committee, whose chair acts as Director of Assessment. The data produced in the assessment process are kept on file in the Office of the Registrar. The Assessment Committee works in cooperation with the Faculty and reports to the Faculty. Its membership includes a representative of the students.

In the event that assessment indicates a deficiency in the program, a joint committee consisting of members of the Board of Trustees and members of the Faculty review the assessment data and make recommendations to the Faculty for reformulating the goals or revising the program. Revision itself is principally the work of the Faculty, through appropriate committees which include student representation. Final approval of such changes rests with the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors. By no later than the fifth year after the adoption of a new or revised program, that program is reviewed by the Faculty, making use of assessment data and addressing deficiencies in the manner described above. In the process of this five-year review, the Assessment Program itself and the work of the Assessment Committee are also evaluated.