Dear Ministry Training Program Leaders
Over the last few years, our division has been working together with Wesleyan Ministerial Development Leaders (professors and DBMDs) to articulate new outcomes and goals for what it means to be a pastor in The Wesleyan Church. Most if not all of you have participated in this process one way or another.
In addition to participating in this process of change you have been instrumental to the training of hundreds of Wesleyan ministerial students through the programs you lead. As God continues to call men and women into service in the Kingdom, it is a privilege to serve alongside you as together we seek to provide the best educational and formational journey for these emerging ministers.
We are also working to bring alignment to our Ministry Training Programs (FLAMA, Kingswood Extended, Cross Training, District Ministry Training Programs, etc.). A first step is to revise our policies for how each program ensures they are meeting the basic requirements for classes that the denomination requires.
The input and guidance received from each district, church and school, has helped us develop the attached Ministry Training Program – Annual Report. This will help all of us track basic information related to ensuring a quality academic experience for our ministerial students.
Thank you so much for helping us continue training ministerial students!
Gratefully,
Johanna Rugh
Executive Director
Education & Clergy Development
The Wesleyan Church
Coordinators Overview
Each Ministry Training Program should have an identified Coordinator. The coordinators are responsible for effective operation of Ministry Training Programs. Coordinators are often DBMD Chairs, District Admins, a pastor or a person gifted administratively.
Typical Coordinator Responsibilities include:
- Finances such as budget, tuition, fees, payments, etc.
- Scheduling and publishing of classes
- Managing registration
- Instructor recruitment, scheduling and communication
- Host site scheduling and communication
- Management of all student records
- Annual Report to ECD
- Other operational duties as needed
Ministry Training Policies can be found HERE
Ministry Training Program Approval Application/Annual Report
The Ministry Training Annual Report must be submitted initially when applying to become an MTP. Thereafter, it must be submitted annually before April 15th to reconfirm your current status as an MTP.
As you complete this form, please let us know if 1) you have any questions 2) you need any help or 3) have suggestions on how we can improve this form to be simple yet effective at ensuring academic quality. Our goal is to minimize work while ensuring our students learn what they need to learn.
Grades
To expedite the process of grade submission, we have developed a template in which all grades must be submitted. This template ensures we have the appropriate information needed to manage accurate records for students as they progress. Please complete this template and e-mail to: Grades@wesleyan.org
Instructor & Course Evaluation
Each Ministry Training Program must have a mechanism for reviewing the quality and effectiveness of each course as well as the instructors teaching. Ministry Training Programs may utilize their own evaluation system or they may utilize the sample template (downloadable below).
Ministry Training Program Instructor Approval Application
Instructor Application
Below we provide information on your next steps as well as the form for submitting your application. Ministry Training Programs are approved by Wesleyan HQ to provide classes which are approved for academic coursework for credentialing in The Wesleyan Church. These programs include FLAMA, and approved local church and District Ministry Training programs. For more information on approved Ministry Training Programs or how classes can be approved for credit, email education@wesleyan.org.Instructors are approved to teach particular classes in two ways:
1) Certification based on hiring by a Wesleyan University for teaching classes. If you are currently teaching at one of our Wesleyan Universities, or Wesley Seminary, you would qualify to use this application. (Complete Application #1: College or Seminary based Approval)
1) Possess a graduate degree in their area of expertise,
2) Possess commensurate professional experience in their area of expertise,
3) Demonstrate quality teaching & communication skills and the ability to connect with adult learners.
-A cover letter explaining why you should be considered as an instructor. Include the courses you think you are prepared to teach as well as indicate your passion and purpose for teaching.
-An updated CV
-A current photo of yourself
-A sample syllabus from a course you have taught
-Unofficial transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate studies
-A reference from someone who can vouch for your teaching & communication skills and your ability to connect with adult learners (this could be: Student Evaluations, Peer review evaluations, Dean/DS/Supervisor Evaluation/Recommendation, a video, or a student reference letter)Once you submit your completed application, your request will be considered. Typically, the application process takes 1-2 weeks. Please note that instructors are approved to teach only particular classes. Approval does not constitute approval to teach any and/or all courses. Questions? Email education@wesleyan.org
Aplicación de Instructor
Nuestro programa busca capacitar con excelencia a nuestros futuros ministros en la Iglesia Wesleyana. Acontinuación encontrará un listado con los requerimientos para formar parte de nuestros extraordinarios instructores. Al final de este correo también encontrará el listado oficial de los cursos que ofrece FLAMA. Por favor junto a la información personal y académica incluya a que cursos desea ser acreditado como instructor.
Nuestra facultad actual debe:
Poseer una licenciatura en su área de especialización
Poseer una experiencia profesional proporcional en su área de especialización
Demostrar habilidades de enseñanza y comunicación de calidad y la capacidad de conectarse con los estudiantes adultos.
Facultad puede solicitar por:
Enviar solicitud a:
Qué debe incluir el profesorado al presentar una solicitud:
Una carta de presentación explicando por qué deben ser considerados como profesor. Incluir los cursos que piensan que están preparados para enseñar, así como indicar su pasión y el propósito de la enseñanza.
Un CV actualizado
Una foto actual
Un ejemplo de programa de un curso que han enseñado
Transcripciones no oficiales para todos los estudios de pregrado y posgrado
Una referencia de alguien que puede atestiguar por sus habilidades de enseñanza y comunicación y su capacidad de conectarse con los estudiantes adultos (esto podría ser: Evaluaciones de Estudiantes, Evaluaciones de Evaluación de Pares, Evaluación / Recomendación de Dean / DS / Supervisor, un video o una carta de referencia de estudiante)
Aprobación de la facultad Los profesores son aprobados para enseñar con base en los criterios establecidos por la División de Educación y Desarrollo del Clero y procesados y admitidos por nuestro Decano de Profesores, Rodrigo Azofeifa
Estado de la Facultad
Todos los profesores en FLAMA son actualmente adjuntos.
Compensación de la Facultad
Los profesores son compensados por honorarios. En FLAMA, cada localización individual determina el profesor honorarium.
Ministry Training Program Syllabus Approval Process
Education and Clergy Development (ECD) exists to help promote and ensure the offering quality education and formation opportunities for ministry students. One way to do that is to support various Ministry Training Programs in the offering of coursework. For that coursework to count for academic credit for credentialing in The Wesleyan Church, one requirement is for the syllabus to be approved by ECD. This form allows you to submit a syllabus for review. See the instructions below.
How the Process Works:
1) Submit the syllabus in its complete form with the required elements (see below) with this form.
2) ECD will receive your submission, save it to their files, and begin tracking the process towards approval.
3) ECD will ensure your syllabus contains all the required elements (see below) and proper formatting. If it does, we will send it on to the appropriate academic dean for review and approval.
4) Typically, ECD does not reject syllabi. Rather, if the syllabus needs further work, we will usually provide feedback for the instructor to improve the syllabus as needed.
5) If/Once the syllabus meets the academic quality requirements, we will 1) Save the file for our records, 2) Notify the syllabus writer (or the person who submitted it) of approval. At this point, the syllabus can be used for teaching classes.
Note: any substantive changes to the syllabus (e.g. adapting assignments, changing textbooks, etc.) require a new approval by ECD.
Syllabi have a “shelf-life” of 3 years. After that, all syllabi must be re-submitted. As we learn and continue to develop our standards of quality based on feedback from instructors, students, churches, etc., we aim to engage in an on-going process of improvement. Thus, every three years, we want to review syllabi.
A new syllabus will need to be submitted EACH time a course is offered, regardless of prior approval. The syllabus submitted must contain any updates to instructors, or course offering dates.
Before you Submit!
All Syllabi must contain these basic elements:
-Course Title
-Professor with contact information (e.g. email, phone, etc.)
-Course Description
-Textbooks
-Course Outcomes/Objectives
-Grading scale
-Assignments
-Plagiarism Statement
-Course Bibliography and/or Recommended Resources
-Course Dates (pre-work, class dates/times, final due dates, etc.)
-Policies (attendance requirements, extension policies, paper requirements)
Academic Requirements
As you design your course, keep the following academic policies in mind: All Ministry Training Program classes should meet the standards and goals set out in the Manual of Ministerial Preparation which includes but is not limited to:
- Study/Class Time: Each course should be designed so that students’ complete 30 hours of pre- and post-class time (a combination of reading, writing, projects, and/or exams) plus 20 hours of “seat time.” This may vary for online and hybrid formats. Consult with ECD regarding questions.
- Syllabus: Each class must provide a printable syllabus outlining the requirements of the class, what will be studied, and the textbooks that the students are required to have. Each syllabus must be pre-approved prior to publishing by the Division of ECD and utilize the basic syllabus elements provided by ECD.
- Class Format: Classes may be held in several formats including, several weeknights, several Saturdays, a couple of weekends, a three-day intensive format, an all week class, online, etc.
- Class Load: Students should be encouraged not take more than two classes at any one time.
- Course Duration: Classes should not last longer than 6 months (from the publish pre-work start date to the final post-course work deadline).
- Grading: Grade conversion to ECD’s scale occurs automatically when utilizing the Grade Submission Template (the spreadsheet calculates ECD’s letter grade based on the percentage entered by the instructor).
- Credit for Credentialing: In order for students to receive credit for credentialing in The Wesleyan Church, they must receive a grade of a C or better.
- Instructor Variety: Any individual student may take no more than 8 courses from any one instructor. Any exceptions should be approved by ECD.
- Instructor Evaluation: Each Ministry Training Program should have a system for evaluating instructor performance (e.g. student evaluations). This website has a template for course and instructor evaluation
- Instructor Qualifications: All instructors must be approved by ECD.
Approved Instructors
The below instructors have been approved to teach courses for Ministry Training Programs.
NOTE: This list has missing information. If you believe any information is missing, please let us know by email