Curriculum Change

A Town Hall Update on the New CTS Curriculum

by Kristin Palacios

September 18, 2008
In a Town Hall meeting on the New CTS Curriculum, Allen Kleine Deters served as moderator. The panelists were Dr. Bierma, Dr. Rylaarsdam, and Joan Beelen. Here is a summary of important points made by the panelists:

Bierma: Changes in the MA and MTS will be coming soon, but this Town Hall concerned the changes that have already been effected in the M.Div.

Bierma: The Formation For Ministry (FFM) program is the leaven in our curriculum. The new curriculum integrates FFM with the curriculum itself.

Rylaarsdam: One highlight of this new curriculum is its developmental pedagogy; that is, you get to practice the theory along the way. For example, students will received 3 credits for completing a required 120 hours of Service-Learning throughout their seminary education.

Rylaarsdam: Under the new curriculum, incoming students will be able to have Advanced Standing; this will exempt them from certain classes. For example, the Bible Knowledge Exam will be taken before students start their first year. If the student passes, they are exempt from the Bible Survey course scheduled for the fall quarter of the student's first year. Students can receive Advanced Standing in six different areas, and the final number of credits required for graduation with no Advanced Standing (94 credits) is reduced with each Advanced Standing exemption. The six areas include the areas of Bible knowledge, Reformed creeds and confessions, Hebrew/Greek (both first and second semester exemptions possible), world religions, and church history.

Rylaarsdam: The oral comprehensive requirement will now be part of a substantially expanded 902 course. As has traditionally been the case, the panel of examiners will include professors, but that panel may be expanded to include pastors. The intent is to prepare students for classical exams.

Joan: For current students, the number of hours required to graduate will be flexible, but each student must have covered all the required content at some point in their education.

Other notable facts

• There are several new courses that will be included under the new curriculum. In addition to the 3-credit Service-Learning course mentioned above, new courses include the following:
• Gateway to Seminary (2 credits): This course is an introduction to basic hermeneutics and homiletics; this course happens during the two weeks preceding the start of the fall quarter.
• Language Tools (1 credit): First-year students will take this course during the January term.
• Pastoral Identity Retreat (2 credits): Also during the January term of the first year, students will participate in this course which includes classes on pastoral identity as well as a retreat.
• World Religions and Global Christianity (3 credits)
• Internship preparation courses (2 credits: Cross-Cultural Internship; 1 credit: Congregational Internship): Both summer internships will be introduced with a classroom component to help prepare students for their internships.

Two final notable changes are that Hebrew will now be taught in the classroom rather than online; in addition, CRC History and Polity is now one course (3 credits).

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