Kerux: a portfolio of Calvin Theological Seminary - Volume 44.1 - 26 Oct 2009

CTS Curriculum Undergoes Massive Overhaul

Changes abound in the 2009-2010 academic year

by Kory Plockmeyer

When professors passed out syllabi at the beginning of this semester, students noticed an important new feature: course goals were now centered around four categories: person, message, context, goal. These four areas of proficiency form the basis of the new curriculum and provide clear benchmarks for tracking the progress of students’ preparation for ministry.

The impact of these changes goes far beyond the goals of a given course. Recognizing the disparity of student backgrounds, Calvin Seminary restructured the course path taken by students. Under the new curriculum, each year brings the student to new depths of the material, focusing on literacy in the first year, analysis in the second, and integration in the third. This year also saw the implementation of advanced standing exams, allowing those students who have already achieved proficiency in literacy courses to move to analysis courses more quickly.

The implementation of the new curriculum also brought a significant change to the way students learn Hebrew. In place of the online course previously in use, students now take the introductory sequence in one semester. Scott Page, a first year M.Div student, was pleased to note that Professor Williams is paying careful attention to the needs of students during this adjustment period, including a willingness to slow down the course’s pace at the request of several students.

One of the largest adjustments in this near school year has come in the transition to a semester schedule in lieu of the quarter system. The new schedule has brought with it a new pace and changes to old courses. Some courses have been combined into one semester-long course and other new courses have been created. While the semester system brings with it many perks, including a homework-free Christmas break, it also creates some consternation over the adjustment of professors to the new pace: “I am curious how professors are going to work with the 2-credit courses that some think should be 3-credit courses. Will they continue to teach at a 3-credit pace or will they adjust?” wondered third year M.Div student Scott Elgersma. The shift in schedules brings with it a new set of breaks. While these breaks are certainly a welcome relief from the stress of coursework, they do have their drawbacks. As Matt Borst, a third year M.Div student pointed out, “The hard part is going to be coming back right after Thanksgiving when we’re used to starting over and it’s just going to be more of the same.”

Although some first year students are concerned about a perceived sacrifice of intellectual rigor in the new curriculum, Elgersma encouraged them to be patient: “The first quarter that I had here wasn’t as intellectually rigorous as I was anticipating. By the second and third quarter it’s ramped up and by the second year you’re really into it. The concerns may be fair, but be patient, because you’re still coming into things that are much more difficult.”

For those students who entered under the old curriculum and now face the adjustment to the new, unanswered questions and unclear expectations can cause frustration and anxiety. Thankfully, the administration has gone out of their way to help students during this period. In particular, the Registrar’s office has provided upper level students with detailed schedules of their coursework and required coursework. As Matt Borst phrased it, “Joan Beelen is the bomb.”

Most students seem to have adopted a “wait and see” attitude to the new curriculum. Second year M.Div student Ruth Lemmen hopes that this is a positive change for the school: “For the institution as a whole, the curriculum seems much better thought out and much better pedagogically, especially for people who were not religion majors in college. It’s laid out much better.” As Ben Schaefer, a third year M.Div student, pointed out, “This is the first year. We need to wait at least three years before we can make a judgment.”