Student Assesment I

INT 510: Assessment I

What is INT 510: Assessment I?
Am I required to complete Assessment I?
How do I take part in Assessment I?
Do I attend both the Testing Session and the Feedback Session?
When am I required to complete Assessment I?

INT 510: Assessment I
Purpose:
Assessment I begins the process of discerning one�s own call to ministry. Through the use of skills and gifts indicators and a personality inventory, students see how their own callings are reflected in their preferences. In addition, students get a chance to demonstrate their writing ability. Together these tools identify strengths and weaknesses in ministry and academic potential.

Nature:
Assessment I is the first step (beyond Admissions) in Palmer Seminary's M.Div. assessment program. It includes testing, using carefully selected evaluative tools, and a half-hour session for testing feedback, at which time recommendations may be made for future growth.

Registration and Timetable:
All entering M.Div. degree students and students pursuing a MTS in Christian Counseling are automatically admitted into Assessment I. All evaluative testing must be completed during the student's first semester of classes. Students cannot register for the second semester until they have satisfied all Assessment I requirements.

Evaluative Testing:
At the beginning of each term, sessions are made available to all students to complete their assessment inventories. Students must attend a testing session administered by the Assessment Chairperson. Evaluative inventories include the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Tool); MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator); and the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior).

Feedback:
An Assessment I team member meets one on one with the student to review the outcomes of the inventories. Feedback sessions are 30 minutes long. Students must sign up for and attend a feedback session.

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Requirements
INT 510 requires that students attend a testing session and a feedback session with a qualified interpreter. All evaluative testing must be completed during the student's first semester of classes (part-time students, total of five courses). Students cannot register for the following term (beyond fifth course) until they have satisfied all Assessment I requirements.

Procedure:
The Assessment I chairperson:

1. administers the above inventories;
2. scores the answer sheets;
3. compiles students profiles; and
4. assigns students to Assessment I Team members for evaluation.

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Assessment I Team: The Team is comprised of faculty trained to interpret the evaluative instruments. Team members:

1. review the profiles of students assigned to them;
2. meet with each student to interpret her/his profile;
3. recommend or require appropriate remedial measures to the student, when deemed advisable;
4. recommend to the Assessment Team a student's satisfactory completion of Assessment I, conditional completions of Assessment I, or termination from the degree program; and
5. monitor students given remedial assignments.

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The Chairperson also:

1. reports Assessment I results to the Registrar's Office before registration for the second semester;
2. enlists faculty support for students who need monitoring and/or assistance; and
3. reports to the full faculty students who are having difficulties. If termination is recommended by the Assessment Team and approved by the full faculty, the student will be asked to withdraw from the Seminary.

Note: Students who have not completed Assessment I will not be permitted to register for the second semester.

Confidentiality: Strict confidentiality will be maintained in the Assessment processes. Refer to the Institutional Policy Concerning Confidentiality for details (page 28). The following guidelines apply to "Retention of Records."

Assessment I: The MMPI-2 Interpretive Summary will be available to the Faculty Assessment Team and Review and Guidance/Awards Committee. The MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) results and the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior) results will be available to the student, Assessment I Team, faculty advisor, and faculty members with responsibility to evaluate students.

The Seminary will maintain all documentation, evaluations and assessment tools for five years from a student's graduation date, or five years from a student�s date of leave for other reasons such as a transfer (see page 30 for information on �leave of absence�).
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