In a recent Alumni Survey*, our alumni reported the following involvement in ministry and employment:
*We received 20 responses to the Alumni Survey taken in February, 2022.
Another key objective is for students to “articulate a Biblical worldview as it applies to historical events, contemporary issues, and a worldwide penetration of the gospel” (Comprehensive Objective for undergraduate programs). It is so important for Christian to have a biblical perspective of all elements in our culture.
To assess this objective, we utilize the PEERS Test, designed by the Nehemiah Institute, a leader in worldview testing and instruction for many years. This test provides an objective means for measuring the understanding of how biblical principles apply to all areas of life: politics, education, economics, religion, and social issues. PEERS is a professionally validated test.
The graduate degree programs of Global Awakening Theological Seminary have a special focus on Continuationism: the belief that God continues to speak and act in miraculous ways in the present age. One of the Seminary Goals states, “Courses will be taught from this perspective and students will be well-versed in and able to articulate and defend this distinctive based on biblical, systematic, and historical theology with awareness of other approaches to this perspective.” This translates into a specific program objective in every GATS program for students to be able to gain a foundational knowledge of the historical and theological elements of church history and their impact on the church today.
There are three GATS courses in the curriculum that are designed to accomplish the historical elements of these goals and objectives:
MDiv Programs require students to complete all three of these courses. MA programs require students to complete two of these courses. The MMin program requires students to complete one of these courses. Courses may be completed in any order.
The faculty worked to design a pre and post-test to use in all REVL courses. A test bank was created for each course, and the pre- and post-tests were required in the 20-21 year with plans to determine a benchmark for these tests. After those results were examined, it was determined to set the following benchmarks in this area:
*In 2020-2021, 50 students completed were enrolled in these courses.
*In 2021-2022, 86 students completed these tests.
The standard formulas for tracking bachelor degree retention and graduation rates will track full-time, first-time students from year to year, and measure graduation at 100%, 150% and 200% of normal program time. Since most of the new students enrolling in FFCU bachelor degree programs are transfer students (not first-time students) and since most are part-time students, the suggested tracking formulas do not present a realistic view of what happens in FFCU baccalaureate programs.
The following information includes the definitions and outcomes that FFCU feels are important for graduation rates and retention rates. We have included the information for both undergraduate and graduate programs in a way that both meets the federal regulations and helps our readers better understand the data.
In compliance with the Student-Right-to-Know Act of 1991, FFCU reports the following graduation and retention rates.
Retention Rates for First-Time Students Pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees – Retention rates measure the percentage of first-time students who are seeking bachelor’s degrees who return to the institution to continue their studies the following fall. In fact, FFCU very few first-time undergraduate students, since most of our students transfer-in to complete their BA degree. Students who have already attended another postsecondary institution or who began their studies on a part-time basis, are not tracked for this rate. At FFCU, 8% of entering students were counted as full-time first-time in 2021.
67% of first-time part-time students who began their studies in Fall 2020, returned in Fall 2021.
Overall Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates – Known as the “Student Right to Know” or IPEDS graduation rate, this rate tracks the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking students to see if they complete an academic program within 150% of “normal time.” These rates are determined in the IPEDS collection by looking at all students who began their studies in Fall 2012 and then completed their degree by 2018. As mentioned above, these rates are calculated on first-time, full-time students and most of FFCU entering students are not first-time students.
4-year average Student Right to Know completion or graduation rate = 17%
FFCU also reports a transfer-out rate, which is the percentage of the full-time, first-time students who transferred to another institution.
4-year average Student Right to Know transfer-out rate = 0%
