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Student Life
An implication for all of the above will be a strategic bringing together of the implicit curriculum of growth, maturity, wisdom, integrity, confidence, and practical skills with the overt curriculum of academic studies.
This will become a priority for the newly appointed Dean of Student Life, who will take a leadership role in planning strategies for the spiritual and character development of
students in their lives here.
Issues to be addressed include:
• Need for better orientation and transition into theological study
• Cross-cultural component of seminary experience and need to prepare students to fill ministerial posts in multicultural situations (eg. teaching Spanish)
• Need for emphasis on placing students upon graduation, whether in congregations or in other contexts
• Need for community building across the ‘4-mile divide’ between the main campus and CRW, and the gap between single and married students
• Holistic student development concerns—beyond the classroom, including food service, physical wellness, childcare, etc.
• Academic advisement
• Re-think pedagogical practices and student assessment; collaboration instead of competition
• Online registration; course schedules made available well in advance
• Spiritual formation and faith development
Another important issue is the question of student indebtedness and financial aid:
• A bicentennial goal has been to reduce student debt levels.
• Lately we have decreased the amount of aid offered to our M.Div. students, and the percentage of M.Div. and M.A. students borrowing federal loans increased from 42% in 2000–01 to 58% in 2004–5. Average debt per student increased by 32% over that period.
Relating to the financial aid question is the issue of PCUSA student enrollment:
• We are committed to the board-mandated goal of enrolling a significant majority of PCUSA students into the M.Div. class each year.
• Recently, we have noted a substantial decline in the number of PCUSA applicants to theM.Div. program.
• Should we fund PCUSA students at 100% of need and non-PCUSA students at 90%?
• Should we expand the PTS Presbyterian Loan Program to include junior year instead of only middler and senior years, and increase the maximum per student per year from $2,500 to $3,000?
• Should we expand the EFN (Exceptional Financial Need) Grant program to include junior year instead of only middler and senior years and increase maximums per year?
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