Author: Emily Wagner
Assistant Director of Seminary Student Services
This week is VSFL interview week! Faculty, paired into teams, will interview students progressing through their MDiv Candidacy and Mid-Program Reviews.
We value rigorous academics here at North Park Theological Seminary (take a deep breath, you History 1 students!). We also care deeply about how those academics are forming you. How have you been stretched and shaped by your learning experiences?
Since we believe that reflection enriches both your life and academic career, it is intentionally built into every degree program. You can read about all the Vocational and Spiritual Formation for Leadership (VSFL) requirements for all degrees here on our website.
These MDiv Candidacy and Mid-Program Reviews are designed to create time and space to think critically about the coursework you have completed thus far and how your competences, identity, and vocational call have been impacted. How have your skills been sharpened? How do you plan to incorporate them into ministry? What else do you hope to learn while in this season of life?
NPTS recognizes the need for wholeness and health while serving in ministry. We desire to call students down that path during their seminary journey. The reviews are a place to check in with students about their overall well-being. Faculty identify areas requiring both attention and extra support, as well as those of strength and competence. We ask students, “What have you learned about yourself?”
VSFL interviews happen once each semester and anyone at the appropriate point in their Seminary career participates. In preparation, students submit all required artifacts into their portfolios, check in with the Contextual and Lifelong Learning office about field education requirements, and write a brief reflection paper. Each student then meets with a faculty team who has reviewed their portfolio for an interview. The faculty team evaluates the student’s progress toward the learning outcomes of their degree and readiness for ministry. The team reports to the Dean of Students and full faculty, and provides a few recommendations for each individual student.
Offer a word of encouragement to your colleagues completing their reviews this week, knowing that any evaluation process can evoke some level of stress. Celebrate with them as they mark this milestone in their Seminary career. Look at your progress through your own degree program and identify what semester you will need to complete each of your VSFL requirements. If you have questions, I am always happy to help.
Emily Wagner serves as Assistant Director of Seminary Student Services. Students will interact with her around their portfolios and VSFL requirements. She oversees the testing and evaluative processes for students. Emily also conducts the new student orientation program and facilitates Seminary communication and events.