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

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

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

This (U.S.) federal report is based on an August 2023 expert panel concerning faith leader training, mental health, self-care, community partnership, and theological education.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; clergy burnout; conference proceedings; faith leaders; mental health; resource compendium; self-care; seminary training; theological education; well-being

Six-wave longitudinal study of 574 seminary students explores reciprocal links among humility, life purpose, horizontal transcendence, and social justice activism using cross-lagged panel modeling.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; activism; humility; longitudinal; transcendence; well-being

This research spotlight links humility and compassion with commitments to diversity, social justice, and intercultural competence among seminary faculty and students.

KEYWORDS:Colloquy article; intercultural competence; seminary faculty; seminary students; social justice; spiritual formation; compassion; humility; theological education

Structural equation modeling applies the Biobehavioral Family Model to seminarians, finding higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general population and supporting systemic clinical care.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; anxiety; Biobehavioral Family Model; depression; family; health; relationships; seminarians; seminary students

Handbook approved by the ATS Board of Commissioners in April 2020 and revised in 2023 and 2025 to guide member schools through the comprehensive self-study process for accreditation and reaffirmation.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Standards of Accreditation (2020); comprehensive visit for accreditation/reaffirmation; educational effectiveness; institutional evaluation; quality assurance; quality improvement; self-study report; theological schools

Current ATS Commission Standards, articulating principles and expectations for graduate theological education. This version embeds optional self-study ideas to help schools interpret accrediting requirements and demonstrate alignment.

KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Board of Commissioners; ATS Standards of Accreditation (2020); Commission on Accrediting of ATS (COAATS); comprehensive visit for accreditation/reaffirmation; educational mission and institutional effectiveness; graduate theological schools; mission and vision; planning, evaluation, and educational assessment; self-study ideas; student learning and formation; theological education