Kerux: a portfolio of Calvin Theological Seminary - Volume 41.7 - 4 December 2006

Oral comp committees no longer a mystery

Committees encouraged to meet with students in advance of comps

by Christian Bell, Editor in Chief

Students sitting for their oral comprehensive examinations this year will not have to worry about walking into roomful of strangers. Beginning this year, students will be informed who the members of their review committee are well in advance of the actual examination.

The oral comprehensive examinations – which are required for graduation – involve students answering a sustained series of questions from a panel of four faculty members. In previous years, students did not know who the four faculty members would be until they walked into the room for the exam. This led to anxiety and confusion among some students.

In response to this, Vice President for Academic Affairs Henry De Moor suggested to faculty members that the names of faculty on the committees be made known to students in advance of the exams.

“We started thinking, ‘Why is it that we play this game of keeping the schedule confidential’?” De Moor said. “Given the choice, I thought, why not try to ease some anxieties the other way and say to the students, ‘Here are the people that you’re going to be with. You know in advance who the panel will be. You’re welcome to stop by a particular professor’s office.’”

De Moor said that he was encouraging the chairs of each examination committee to meet with the students on an informal basis in advance of the examination, to allow the committee a chance to get to know the student better and ease anxiety on the part of the students.

“The chairs could get people together and sit around a lunch table in the student center and chat about this," De Moor said. "I’m not forcing them to do it, but I’m suggesting it as a possibility. I’m not making it a rule at this point, but I am suggesting it as an option to the chairs.”

Some faculty members have already begun to convene meetings with students several weeks in advance of the M.Div. examinations on January 3rd. Some students said that they have already been contacted for a meeting, while others expressed interest in them.

"The chair hasn't contact me yet, but I hope he does," said Senior M.Div. student Samuel Perry.

De Moor made the suggestion to change the publication policy at the November 3 faculty meeting.

“It wasn’t discussed very long,” De Moor said. “It certainly wasn’t something that was argued at great length. I just announced that I was contemplating changing it, and believed it to be more hospitable, and they [the faculty] didn’t protest.”

The change was announced to students at a November 8 preparatory meeting for the examinations. Student response in the meeting was positive, and students expressed satisfaction with the decision.

"I love it; I think it's awesome," said Rick Pinckney, senior M.Div. student.

De Moor said that he has received no direct student feedback on the matter since the meeting, but thinks it will be a positive change overall.

“We’ll try it,” De Moor said. “I think that was the faculty’s opinion. If it’s a major disaster for some reason that we can’t foresee, then we’ll deal with it later.”