Introduction to the Assessment Report Every family has a self-proclaimed “official photographer.” At holiday celebrations and sporting events, during yearly vacations, on the first day of school and at graduation, this person faithfully insists that we pause to pose for “just one more” picture. Though we might complain about the inconvenience at the time, later on we are likely to be grateful for the photographer’s persistence, and for the visual history that accumulates over the years. We can understand this history most fully, and enjoy it most completely, when someone takes the time to group the photos by theme or by year. Stacks of photos that are filling up cabinets, boxes, and drawers take on a whole new meaning when seen in the context of a well-designed photo album. These become our treasure chests of cherished memories, books that we return to again and again in order to see and share who we are, where we have been, and where we would like to go. The 2003 Institutional Assessment Report is a photo album of sorts – not a visual history, but a verbal one. This series of verbal snapshots captures the essence of Covenant Theological Seminary during its 47th year of ministry, covering each of its five major departments: Academics and Instruction, Student Services, Advancement, Business Administration, and Information Technology. The final section of the report addresses issues concerning Governance, and the Appendix indicates the performance of Covenant Seminary in light of the 2002 Strategic Plan. The aim of this report is simple, yet comprehensive. Throughout its pages, we seek to portray the institution as it stood in 2003, highlighting any significant changes from previous years or any areas in which change was expected but did not occur. We also seek to account for the reason(s) these changes did/did not occur. Family photos depict both our glory and our imperfections; likewise, this report depicts both our successes and our shortcomings over the past calendar year. We hope that readers will reflect on and respond to the contents of this report, because by reflecting on the past, we can best consider the future. Potential readers include the administrators, faculty, staff, and students of Covenant Theological Seminary, the Board of Trustees, accrediting institutions such as the Association of Theological Schools and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and any additional parties with a vested interest in this institution. The data for this report was gathered through a variety of means. Employees in every department were interviewed or surveyed regarding their work during 2003. Publications such as Covenant Magazine, the Seminary Catalog, the Faculty Manual, the Student Handbook, the Strategic Plan of 2002, and the Self-Study Report of 1997 also served as valuable resources, as did internal documents such as the Enrollment Data report and Financial Trends spreadsheet. In order to ensure the report’s accuracy and completeness, each of the major sections has been reviewed by members of the Executive Committee. Any questions regarding the origin or interpretation of a specific item in this report should be directed to Rebecca Rine, coordinator of the assessment project. 2003 Institutional Assessment Report COVENANT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY This 2003 Institutional Assessment Report portrays the institutional health of Covenant Theological Seminary during its 47th year of ministry, covering each of its five major departments: Academics and Instruction, Student Services, Advancement, Business Administration, and Information Technology. The final section of the report addresses issues concerning Governance, and the Appendix indicates the performance of Covenant Seminary in light of the 2002 Strategic Plan. The aim of this report is simple, yet comprehensive. Throughout its pages, we seek to portray the institution as it stood in 2003, highlighting any significant changes from previous years or any areas in which change was expected but did not occur. We also seek to account for the reason(s) these changes did/did not occur. We hope that readers will reflect on and respond to the contents of this report, because by reflecting on the past, we can best consider the future. Potential readers include the administrators, faculty, staff, and students of Covenant Theological Seminary, the Board of Trustees, accrediting institutions such as the Association of Theological Schools and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and any additional parties with a vested interest in this institution. The data for this report was gathered through a variety of means. Employees in every department were interviewed or surveyed regarding their work during 2003. Publications such as Covenant Magazine, the Seminary Catalog, the Faculty Manual, the Student Handbook, the Strategic Plan of 2002, and the Self-Study Report of 1997 also served as valuable resources, as did internal documents such as the Enrollment Data report and Financial Trends spreadsheet. In order to ensure the report’s accuracy and completeness, each of the major sections has been reviewed by members of the Executive Committee. Any questions regarding the origin or interpretation of a specific item in this report should be directed to Rebecca Rine, coordinator of the assessment project. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS STUDENT PROFILE 3 ACADEMICS AND INSTRUCTION Faculty Profile 7 Academic Departments 9 Programs of Study 10 Curricular Assessment and Revision 14 Academic Support Services 15 Access 17 Francis Schaeffer Institute 18 Youth in Ministry Institute 19 STUDENT SERVICES Campus Community 19 Special Events 24 Graduate Placement 25 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information Technology Services 26 Audio Visual Services 27 Instructional Design and Technology 28 Institutional Statistics 29 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Budget Performance 29 Endowment 30 Business Office and Human Resource Management 31 Physical Plant Department 31 ADVANCEMENT Admissions and Enrollment 34 Marketing and Creative Services 37 Development 40 GOVERNANCE Denominational Affiliation 42 Board of Trustees 42 Institutional Planning 42 APPENDIX 44 3 STUDENT PROFILE Paper and ink, sentences and paragraphs, charts and graphs – none of these media is sufficient for getting to know the individuals and families who comprise the student body of Covenant Theological Seminary. Though nothing can replace first-hand knowledge of the people in the Covenant community, this Student Profile provides a useful sketch of the student body, capturing its general features and identifying current trends regarding enrollment, demographics, financial affairs, and distribution by degree. This section of the Assessment Report seeks to describe the student body of 2003 chiefly in quantitative terms, with subsequent evaluation of these statistics. Figures are based on the Covenant Seminary Enrollment Data report, last revised on December 8, 2003. Enrollment To understand the enrollment trends for 2003 and preceding years, we will consider statistics in five categories: Head Count, Full Time Equivalent, New Student Head Count, New Student Full Time Equivalent, and Unduplicated Annual Head Count. Within each category, we will highlight enrollment figures in the Seminary as a whole as well as in the M.Div. program, our flagship degree. Head Count The Head Count, taken after Fall registration, indicates the number of students that attend Covenant Theological Seminary during the Summer and Fall semesters of a given year. Included here are the Fall 2003 Head Counts for credit students, non-credit students, and the composite total (“all programs”). Head Count Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Credit 862 860 Non-credit 82 90 All Programs 944 950 With a total of 950 students, we see a 1% increase in enrollment since 2002 and a cumulative 3% increase over the past five years. This continues a 15-year trend of increased enrollment and solidifies our standing as the 12th largest seminary in the U.S. and Canada. Of the 950 students listed, 344 are enrolled in the M.Div. program, compared with 330 in 2002. This represents a 4% increase both over the past year and over the past five years. Full Time Equivalent More important for assessing Covenant’s educational outreach and for tracking enrollment is the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) count. How is FTE different from the Head Count? The FTE is based on our definition of a “full-time student.” Within each academic program, ATS requires that a school specify a certain number of hours that equals “full-time” status. For instance, at Covenant, M.A. and Th.M. students must be enrolled for 14 hours a semester to be considered “full-time,” M.Div. students must be enrolled for 15 hours, while D.Min. students need enroll for only 9. For any given semester, we determine the FTE for a program by adding 5 up all the credit hours taken by Covenant students in that program and dividing this number by our set standard for full time status in that program. Since the FTE differs across programs, we must total the FTE’s in each program before obtaining a total for the Seminary at large. The FTE statistics give us a common method of comparison with other graduate institutions in terms of our credit hours sold and the health of the various programs. The FTE total for the Seminary in 2003 is 445, a number that reflects no significant change from our 2002 total of 443. However, this number does reflect an overall increase of 30% over the past five years (from 343 in 2002). The M.Div. program exhibits a 4% increase since 2002 and a 25% increase during the past five years. New Student Head Count Two hundred and forty-six new students entered Covenant Theological Seminary in 2003. This number is down 8% from 2002, and down 19% over the past five years. The M.Div. new student enrollment dropped from 88 in 2002 to 83 in 2003, a decrease of 6%. This represents a 16% decrease over the past five years. New Student Full Time Equivalent Although the New Student Head Count has decreased over the past few years, the New Student FTE has actually increased.