Resources

This study reports the results of the first-ever survey of graduates of theological and rabbinical schools in North America. The survey was sent to graduates from Protestant, Catholic and Jewish institutions who earned M.Div., M.A., Rabbinical or comparable degrees in 1995 and 2000. In addition, the Association of Theological Schools, the accrediting body for schools in the U.S. and Canada, provided data from their Entering and Graduating Student Questionnaires (ESQ and GSQ). In combination, these data provide answers to two crucial questions: 1) What do graduates do in the years after they complete their education and 2) How well do they think their theological training prepared them for their work? Generally, the news from this study is good. Large percentages of graduates assume the primary professional role for which their education prepares: leadership in a congregation or other religious organization. Attrition is fairly low. There are, however, causes for concern. Women graduates do not fare as well as men, and interest in congregational ministry is decreasing among recent graduates, especially among the growing population of younger students. Other positive findings include high ratings by graduates of their theological education, though practical training is not as highly rated as academic preparation. (From the Publisher)

The University of Washington’s Study of Undergraduate Learning (UW SOUL) tracked 304 entering freshmen and transfer students as they moved through their college experience from fall 1999 to spring 2003. Unparalleled in its scope, this longitudinal study focused on six areas of learning: writing, critical thinking/problem solving, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, understanding and appreciating diversity, and personal growth. This book provides faculty, staff, and administrators at two- and four-year institutions with a model of assessment that both captures the complexity of the undergraduate experience and offers practical information about how to improve teaching and learning. Data from surveys, open-ended email questions, interviews, focus groups, and portfolios make it possible for the authors to create case studies of individual learning paths over time, as well as to report the group’s aggregate experience. Honoring the authenticity of student voices, this book illuminates the central roles played by the academic disciplines and by faculty in undergraduate learning, offering powerful evidence for the argument that assessment of student learning is most complete and most useful when conducted at the department level. (From the Publisher)

This volume allows both those teachers immersed in WAC programs and those still contemplating increasing the use of writing in their courses to peer into classrooms of those that have participated in such programs for years. Walvoord et al. report the long-term impact upon faculty of writing-across-the-curriculum programs, collecting interviews, questionnaires, classroom observations, student evaluations, and course documents from more than 700 faculty, one to fifteen years after their first WAC experiences. (From the Publisher)