Statement of Educational Effectiveness



Carey Theological College is committed to offering quality theological education that meets the highest standards of academic excellence and effectively prepares students for ministry. To ensure that these goals are met, faculty regularly review all curricula, proposing adjustments and upgrades for continual improvement. Student input is gathered through Entering and Graduating Student Questionnaires, along with evaluations of instruction and the learning experience submitted at the completion of each course. Carey monitors graduation and placement rates for our programs to confirm that students are succeeding in their studies and in the ministries for which they are preparing. A thorough assessment of student performance in achieving program outcomes is also made each year. Summary data on these reviews is provided below.


A. GRADUATION AND PLACEMENT RATES

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

DMIN GRADUATION RATES

Year of AdmissionStudents AdmittedStudents GraduatedGraduation Rate (%)
201047175%
20118675%
20126350%
201312542%
20146583%
20157686%
201628400%
20176467%
201866100%
201960-

DMIN VOCATIONAL PLACEMENT

Year of GraduationGraduates in Relevant Vocational Placement
(%) (within 1 year)
2010100%
2011100%
2012100%
2013100%
2014100%
2015100%
2016100%
2017100%
2018100%
2019N/A

MASTER OF DIVINITY

During the course of the Master of Divinity program, the growth of the student is reviewed in all dimensions of life: academic, spiritual, personal, social, and vocational. This process involves faculty, mentors and persons involved with the student in the Supervised Ministry program, and the student’s own continued discernment. The student’s readiness and suitability for ministry are recognized by the granting of the Affirmation for Ministry, and through this process the faculty are also informed of the effectiveness of the program as a whole in preparing students for ministry. For the students graduating with the MDiv since 2010, over 95% of students achieved the Affirmation for Ministry designation.

MDIV GRADUATION RATES

Year of AdmissionStudents AdmittedStudents GraduatedGraduation Rate (%)
201020420%
201124729%
201267117%
201310440%
2014141179%
201557140%
201699100%
20178450%
201822627%
201926415%

MDIV VOCATIONAL PLACEMENT

Year of GraduationGraduates in Relevant Vocational Placement
(%) (within 1 year)
2010100%
201154%
2012100%
2013100%
2014100%
201580%
2016100%
2017100%
2018100%
2019100%

MASTER OF ARTS / MASTER OF PASTORAL MINISTRY

MA / MPM GRADUATION RATES

Year of AdmissionStudents AdmittedStudents GraduatedGraduation Rate (%)
201019-n/a
20119-n/a
201211764%
20139222%
201412867%
2015612200%
201611545%
201715533%
201811873%
2019812150%

Note: 2010 was the first intake year for Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation, so the first graduating class was in 2012.

MA / MPM VOCATIONAL PLACEMENT

Year of GraduationGraduates in Relevant Vocational Placement
(%) (within 1 year)
2010n/a
2011n/a
2012100%
2013100%
201475%
201560%
201660%
201780%
201875%
201970%

B. OUTCOME ASSESSMENT - MASTER'S PROGRAMS

Carey’s masters-level curriculum has been designed around 7 groups of learning outcomes. These involve:

  1. Interpreting and applying Scripture
  2. Reflecting theologically and historically on the work of God in history and the world
  3. Developing sustainable spiritual practices that lead to Kingdom virtues
  4. Analyzing cultural and contextual variables in ministry
  5. Maturing in self-understanding and interpersonal skills
  6. Recognizing & developing relevant ministry skills
  7. Participating in God’s work in the world

Each year, faculty and staff review the performance of sample groups of students at multiple points in our programs, assessing how well these outcomes are being achieved, and what kind of growth is taking place between the start and completion of those programs. To help us track results, these assessments are scored numerically, reflecting both success in the outcome and consistency across the group. Scores range from 5.0 at the top, indicating that the whole student group performed with excellence, exceeding our expectations on the outcome in question, down to a minimum of 0.5, which would signal serious deficiencies across the sample.

Overall assessment scores across all Carey Masters programs for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 years are as follows:

Averages by outcome area2017-182018-19
A. Interpreting, applying Scripture3.833.61
B. Reflecting Theologically and Historically on the work of God in history and the world4.143.71
C. Developing sustainable spiritual practices that lead to Kingdom virtues4.333.56
D. Analyzing cultural and contextual variables in ministry4.503.69
E. Maturing in self-understanding & interpersonal skills4.303.93
F. Recognizing & developing relevant ministry skills4.503.29
G. Participating in God's work in the world4.494.35
H. Non-curricular indicators3.333.50
Overall4.15

3.67

A score of 4.15 (out of 5.0) indicates that all the students in the sample demonstrated good skills/abilities/qualities, fully meeting the expectations we have for the relevant learning outcome(s). A score of 3.67 suggests that most of the students in the sample met expectations very well, though a few were satisfactory but not as strong.