Formation Resources for Theological Education

The definitive introduction to the Seminary Formation Assessment (SFA)—a 50-item suite of assessments measuring spiritual dwelling, seeking, struggle, and emotion regulation in seminarians.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; assessment instrument; Colloquy article; emotion regulation; psychometrics; Relational Spirituality Model (RSM); Seminary Formation Assessment (SFA); seminary students; sense of community; spiritual dwelling; spiritual formation; spiritual seeking; theological education; training resources; virtues

A 2026 ATS Colloquy research spotlight that offers the most comprehensive overview to date of the ways that seminaries, theology departments, and divinity schools assess student formation.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; assessment practices; Colloquy article; institutional mission; personal and spiritual formation; student formation; theological education; seminary; spirituality

Person-centered analysis using the Relational Spirituality Model (RSM) identifies four seminary student subgroups, with "regulated seekers" showing mature alterity, flourishing, and stable balanced spirituality over time.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; flourishing; mature alterity; mixture modeling; relational spirituality; spiritual formation

The SEM Study is the first major longitudinal study examining divinity school education, aiming to identify promising, data-informed policies that promote clergy well-being.

KEYWORDS: empirical research; formation; longitudinal; mixed-methods research; seminary; theological education

Nonprofit organizations, Healthy Seminarians – Healthy Church, shared about cultivating well-being in theological institutions, emphasizing pastoral health and student support.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); congregational health; ministerial formation; pastoral health; seminaries; slide deck; student well-being; theological education

Initial findings from the North American Study of Theological School Student Health and Health Behavior (n = 430 respondents).

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); health behaviors; health needs; mental health; quantitative research; slide deck; student health; theological education; wellness

Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology's dean shares about their approach to spiritual formation, including mission, community, and assessment practices.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; assessment of student development; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); Black church; case study; ministry training; slide deck; spiritual formation; theological education

An overview of the approach to clergy formation at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR), detailing its four core realms and methods for assessment.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); case study; clergy formation; online / distance / distributed modality; pluralist Jewish context; slide deck; spiritual development; theological education

Presentation on how Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology assesses spiritual, human, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions of formation.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Standards of Accreditation (2020); ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); clergy formation; MDiv outcomes; Program of Priestly Formation (6th); seminarian assessment; slide deck; spiritual formation

Jo Ann Deasy, ATS Director of Institutional Initiatives, revisits the 2018 Formation Assessment Survey on how member schools understand formation and put assessment into practice.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; theological education; ATS Formation Assessment Survey (2018); definitions of formation; formation assessments and tools; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); presentation (transcribed); newsletter article; study report