The advice and resources on this page are specific to the assessment of NetVUE grant programs; you can navigate to each section by choosing a grant below. These grants are assessed through a combination of NetVUE designed assessment surveys and on-campus efforts for program assessment.
Professional Development Awards
NetVUE Grant Assessment
All institutions receiving a NetVUE Professional Development Award are expected to participate in surveys created by NetVUE to assess the overall goals and progress of grant efforts. Responses to this survey will have no impact (either positively or negatively) on an institution’s participation in future NetVUE/CIC grants and activities. This data is used solely for assessing the grant process at an institutional level. This grant program is assessed at the end of the funding period before the final report is due. The assessment is taken by the entire grant team as well as any program participants from whom the grant team would like feedback. Participating institutions will receive a report of assessment results specific to their institution.
The survey will most likely include questions for the grant team such as:
- Which of the following goals do you see as most important for the programming funded by this grant?
- Building capacity for faculty members and/or staff to understand vocation
- Building capacity to support students in their vocational exploration and discernment
- Linking vocation more intentionally to the institutional mission and/or strategic plans
- Developing a common understanding of vocation across campus
- Improving student advising
- Including vocational reflection in the curriculum
- Providing vocation-related opportunities for underrepresented students
- Providing opportunities for staff and faculty members to explore their own vocations
- Other (please list)
- Consider the goals you identified in the previous question when responding to the following prompt. We achieved the primary goal of our NetVUE grant. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
Questions specific for participants may include:
- We have a common understanding on our campus of the language we use to discuss vocation. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- How do you define vocation at your institution? (open-ended response)
- Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements:
- Vocational exploration is an important aspect of the student experience
- Vocational reflection is important for faculty and staff
- We have a clear understanding of what vocation means on our campus
- There is agreement about what the institution should be doing to promote vocational reflection among students
- There is support for vocation-related efforts on campus
- Indicate your overall evaluation for the program that you participated in. (Response options: did not participate, excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor).
- The programs funded by this NetVUE grant have positively impacted my own work at my institution. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree, did not participate).
- What would you like your institution to do to build upon what you are learning about vocation through this grant and the programming it supported?
Recommendations for Institution Specific Assessment
As you are considering assessments specific to the programming you ran on your campus, consider whether any of the following ideas would support your assessment of your program:
- Pre/post surveys of knowledge/skills gained
- Feedback about events
- Collecting information about working definitions of vocation on campus
- Faculty syllabi and teaching materials for courses
- Survey for plans for next steps
- Focus groups from participants and stakeholders
You can find resources for planning these types of assessments and example questions on the main assessment resource page. You may also want to consider this example of a survey about a cohort experience during a NetVUE professional development award.
Program Development Grants
NetVUE Grant Assessment
All institutions receiving a NetVUE Program Development Grant are expected to participate in surveys created by NetVUE to assess the overall goals and progress of grant efforts. Responses to this survey will have no impact (either positively or negatively) on an institution’s participation in future NetVUE/CIC grants and activities. This data is used solely for assessing the grant process at an institutional level. This grant program is assessed at the mid-point of the grant before the interim report is due and at the end of the funding period before the final report is due. The assessment is taken by the entire grant team as well as any program participants from whom the grant team would like feedback. Participating institutions will receive a report of assessment results specific to their institution.
The survey will most likely include questions for the grant team such as:
- We successfully created a new program that includes vocation or refined an existing program to focus on vocation as part of this grant-funded project. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- In what area(s) of campus was your program involved? Check all that apply:
- Curricular
- General Education Curriculum
- Advising
- Career Services
- Athletics
- Campus Ministry
- Other (please list)
- The work we did for the grant is likely to be sustained beyond the grant period. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- Which of the following best describes how the work you did for the grant will be sustained?
- My institution will take over fiscal responsibility for the project.
- We incorporated vocation into learning outcomes or shared course requirements.
- We restructured programs around vocation so that the changes will persist.
- Other (please describe)
- What are the barriers to sustaining the programming?
- What are 1-2 key things you learned from your assessment that led (or could lead) to action? This action could be the continuation of something that you learned was working or a revision to something that did not work as you anticipated.
Questions specific for participants may include:
- We have a common understanding on our campus of the language we use to discuss vocation. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- How do you define vocation at your institution? (open-ended response)
- Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements:
- Vocational exploration is an important aspect of the student experience
- Vocational reflection is important for faculty and staff
- We have a clear understanding of what vocation means on our campus
- There is agreement about what the institution should be doing to promote vocational reflection among students
- There is support for vocation-related efforts on campus
- Indicate your overall evaluation for the program that you participated in. (Response options: did not participate, excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor).
- The programs funded by this NetVUE grant have positively impacted my own work at my institution. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree, did not participate).
- What would you like your institution to do to build upon what you are learning about vocation through this grant and the programming it supported?
Recommendations for Institution Specific Assessment
As you are considering assessments specific to the programming you ran on your campus, consider whether any of the following ideas would support your assessment of your program:
- Pre/post surveys of knowledge/skills gained
- Feedback about events
- Collecting information about working definitions of vocation on campus
- Faculty syllabi and teaching materials for courses
- Survey for plans for next steps
- Focus groups from participants and stakeholders
You can find resources for planning these types of assessments and example questions on the main assessment resource page.
Vocation Across the Academy Grants
NetVUE Grant Assessment
All institutions receiving a NetVUE Vocation Across the Academy are expected to participate in surveys created by NetVUE to assess the overall goals and progress of grant efforts. Responses to this survey will have no impact (either positively or negatively) on an institution’s participation in future NetVUE/CIC grants and activities. This data is used solely for assessing the grant process at an institutional level. This grant program is assessed each year before the interim reports are due and at the end of the funding period before the final report is due. The assessment is taken by the entire grant team as well as any program participants from whom the grant team would like feedback. Participating institutions will receive a report of assessment results specific to their institution.
The survey will most likely include questions for the grant team such as:
- As a result of this grant, we have increased the coordination or collaboration for our vocation work with students across campus. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- How many areas of campus is the programming touching (select all that apply)
- Academic Division
- Student Life (Admissions, Student Affairs, Athletics, Counseling)
- Career and Employment Services
- Administrative Division (Alumni, Advancement, Facilities, Finance, Marketing)
- The work we did for the grant is likely to be sustained beyond the grant period. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- Which of the following best describes how the work you did for the grant will be sustained?
- My institution will take over fiscal responsibility for the project.
- We incorporated vocation into learning outcomes or shared course requirements.
- We restructured programs around vocation so that the changes will persist.
- Other (please describe)
- What are 1-2 key things you learned from your assessment that led (or could lead) to action? This action could be the continuation of something that you learned was working or a revision of something that did not work as you anticipated.
- Which of the following best describes your efforts to obtain matching funds from external donors?
- We were not able to obtain the matching funds we planned at the beginning of the grant.
- We met our goal for matching funds with a single donor.
- We met our goal for matching funds using a series of donors.
Questions specific for participants may include:
- We have a common understanding on our campus of the language we use to discuss vocation. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- How do you define vocation at your institution? (open-ended response)
- Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements:
- Vocational exploration is an important aspect of the student experience
- Vocational reflection is important for faculty and staff
- We have a clear understanding of what vocation means on our campus
- There is agreement about what the institution should be doing to promote vocational reflection among students
- There is support for vocation-related efforts on campus
- Indicate your overall evaluation for the program that you participated in. (Response options: did not participate, excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor).
- The programs funded by this NetVUE grant have positively impacted my own work at my institution. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree, did not participate).
- What would you like your institution to do to build upon what you are learning about vocation through this grant and the programming it supported?
Recommendations for Institution Specific Assessment
As you are considering assessments specific to the programming you ran on your campus, consider whether any of the following ideas would support your assessment of your program:
- Pre/post surveys of knowledge/skills gained
- Feedback about events
- Collecting information about working definitions of vocation on campus
- Faculty syllabi and teaching materials for courses
- Survey for plans for next steps
- Focus groups from participants and stakeholders
You can find resources for planning these types of assessments and example questions on the main assessment resource page.
Grants for Fostering Leadership for Communities of Faith
NetVUE Grant Assessment
All institutions receiving a NetVUE Fostering Leadership for Communities of Faith grant are expected to participate in surveys created by NetVUE to assess the overall goals and progress of grant efforts. Responses to this survey will have no impact (either positively or negatively) on an institution’s participation in future NetVUE/CIC grants and activities. This data is used solely for assessing the grant process at an institutional level. This grant program is assessed at the mid-point of the grant before the interim report is due and at the end of the funding period before the final report is due. The assessment is taken by the grant team, but includes a requirement to report on results from a survey of participating students. Participating institutions will receive a report of assessment results specific to their institution.
Grant-specific assessment requirement: Institutions are asked to take the following questions and give them to the students in their program. They will report on the results of their assessment of students when they take the final NetVUE grant survey. Download the Assessment of Students for NetVUE Fostering Leadership for Communities of Faith document for instructions and the required questions.
Recommendations for Institution Specific Assessment
It is important to develop a clear assessment plan as part of your grant. Please note that your assessment plan should include an external assessor that will talk to your students and community partners to help develop a more complete picture of the strengths and possible challenges of your project. Here are some example assessment plans to help you with your own planning.
Example 1: Organized by Timeline of Assessment
Year 1
After year one, interns will complete an end-of-the-year reflection articulating the following:
- Identify their faith and share how their faith has evolved during the year
- Share the 10 pillars of servant leadership and their sense of call as a servant leader.
- Describe three experiences of teaching, preaching, or service.
- Share what they have learned about three other communities of faith
After year one, intern mentors will complete an end-of-the-year summary about the Intern’s experience, articulating the following:
- How they have experienced the intern’s growth in faith and how it has evolved
- Are there examples that the Intern understands the 10 pillars of a servant leadership?
- Describe three experiences of teaching, preaching, or service including strengths and weaknesses from each experience.
- How has the Intern responded to learning about other communities of faith?
Year 2
At the completion of the program, interns will complete a final reflection articulating the following:
- Interns will provide reflection on their current sense of call for lay or ordained ministry.
- Interns will describe an experience in each area of teaching, preaching and service (total of 3 experiences)
- Interns will have a final reflective meeting with the university chaplain and mentor.
At the completion of the program, intern mentors will complete a final summary about the intern’s experience, articulating the following:
- The mentor will be required to note the student’s progress to include their successes, challenges, and potential for future growth as a servant leader.
- The mentor will be required to indicate if they would like to request that the Intern return to their site.
Example 2: Organized by Project Goals
Project Goal #1: Students will engage in intentional discernment activities that encourage spiritual, emotional, and vocational exploration and growth.
Project Goal #2: Students will deepen knowledge of relevant topics in contemporary faith-based leadership.
We will assess project goals 1 & 2 through several means, including through collecting student reflective writing throughout the year and coding these artifacts for evidence of learning and growth. Indicators for goal #1 include the consistent inclusion in student writing of language and reflection that points to growth and development related to spirituality, emotional awareness & resilience, and engagement with key concepts of vocation. Indicators for goal #2 include language and reflective evidence of increased knowledge of faith-based leadership. We will also engage students in a pre/post survey where students will evaluate their own growth in knowledge and vocational discernment related to goals #1 & #2. Our indicator for success for the surveys will be an increased rating (on a Likert scale) of evaluative items on the survey in at least 75% of students participating in the program. Finally, we will conduct exit interviews with students to qualitatively evaluate vocational growth and deepened knowledge of faith-based leadership.
Project Goal #3: Students and Ministry Site Partners will develop mutually edifying and collaborative learning and working relationships.
We will assess project goal #3 through two checkpoints for both students and site partners during the spring internship programs each year. In both the midterm evaluation and the final evaluation, students and site partners will engage in a qualitative interview focused on assessing the quality of the collaborative learning relationship, as well as complete a brief anonymous survey to assess this goal quantitatively. The primary indicators for this goal will be the use and the percentage of participants that rate survey items related to the quality of the collaborative learning and working relationships as positive (or above neutral).
Project Goal #4: Students will develop, execute, and reflect upon a ministry site project of their choosing, which will be an in-depth exploration of a skill for ministry leadership.
We will assess project goal #4 through collecting artifacts of student reflection, as well as through the midterm and final checkpoints with both students and site supervisors that we describe above. We will use as evaluative perspectives from student/site partner interviews, as well as the percentage of positively (above neutral) rated survey items among participants as assessment indicators for project goal #4.
Beyond the required questions for student assessment, here are additional questions you could include in your surveys or conversations:
- My commitment to serving the church has increased because of my involvement in [name of exploration project] programs. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- I am committed to making a positive contribution to the church both now and in the future. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- [Name of program/class] encouraged me to both see and serve the needs of others. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- [Name of program/class] encouraged me to consider full-time ministry as a potential option for my future. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- Has discussion, reflection, or reading about vocation [or calling, purpose] been helpful to you? (Response options: very helpful, helpful, neither helpful nor unhelpful, unhelpful, very unhelpful).
- Share an example of how participation in this program has contributed to your discernment of a possible calling to leadership in a faith community. (open ended, write in response).
- How are you discerning your calling right now? What forces and realizations are influencing your reflections? (open ended, write in response).
- What, if any, changes would you recommend for [name of program/class]? (open ended, write in response).
If you are interested in surveying your community partner, you may consider including questions such as:
- Mentoring the student intern(s) has been worthwhile for me. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- Hosting the student intern(s) has positively impacted our community. (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- I believe the work with our organization has helped the student intern discern a possible call to leadership (Response options: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).
- What is one thing that has contributed to the success of your mentoring relationship with the student intern(s)?
- What, if any, changes would you recommend for similar programs in the future?
- Are you interested in maintaining an ongoing relationship with your partner institution at the conclusion of this grant program? (Response options: yes, maybe, no)
- Is there anything else you would like us to know about how the program is going?
Grants for Reframing the Institutional Saga
NetVUE Grant Assessment
All institutions receiving a NetVUE Grant for Reframing the Institutional Saga are expected to participate in surveys created by NetVUE to assess the overall goals and progress of grant efforts. Responses to this survey will have no impact (either positively or negatively) on an institution’s participation in future NetVUE/CIC grants and activities. This data is used solely for assessing the grant process at an institutional level. This grant program is assessed at the mid-point of the grant before the interim report is due and at the end of the funding period before the final report is due. The assessment is taken by the grant team but includes a requirement to report on results from an external assessment of the product. Participating institutions will receive a report of assessment results specific to their institution.
Grant-specific assessment requirement: Institutions are asked to work with an external assessment to develop a rubric or other similar means of assessing whether the product they develop as a part of their grant efforts meets their goals for the grant and the project. take the following questions and give them to the students in their program. They will report on the results of their assessment of students when they take the final NetVUE grant survey.
Questions that may be asked on the final NetVUE assessment include:
- Indicate your agreement with the following statements. As a result of our NetVUE Grant for Reframing the Institutional Saga… (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- We better understand our institution’s religious, philosophical, or cultural identity and heritage more clearly.
- We explored the ways that our institution’s religious, philosophical, or cultural identity and heritage informs the institution’s current mission and circumstances.
- We reframed our institution’s history, giving fresh consideration to the thread of institutional vocation from its founding to the current time.
- We broadened conversations to include faculty members, administrators, and trustees about the institution’s identity and purpose.
- We incorporated the project’s outcomes into the strategic plan.
- We assembled information that will inform the institution’s future identity, institutional vocation and mission, and vocation-related programming.
- Based on rubric or evaluation criteria established for this project, we successfully created an enduring product that captures our institutional history and understanding of vocation. (response options: agree/neutral/disagree/not sure)
- What is the plan for maintenance and continued use of the product you developed (or engagement with it on campus)?
Recommendations for Institution Specific Assessment
The development of assessment measures for this grant program is often highly specific to the particulars of the grant program. NetVUE consultants are happy to work with any team (or the external assessor that they choose) on the rubric for the assessment of the final product. Contact Rachael Baker (rbaker@cic.edu) for more information.
The following questions may be helpful for the survey of participants in the grant team or any associated programming related to the grant:
- Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements (response options: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree, not sure):
- Our institutional vocation has largely been retained over the course of the institution’s history.
- Our institution’s religious traditions shape institutional efforts.
- Our institution seems to be experiencing the unfolding of a new saga.
- General agreement exists among faculty, staff, and students regarding our institution’s vocation.
- Maintaining and strengthening our institutional vocation over the last decade has been challenging.
- Our institution is receptive to change.
- Our institutional vocation has changed significantly in the last 20 years.
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