Anecdotal “evidence” has its place, but to make sound decisions, your board and administration alike need sound data. You need to hear not just the success story of one star alumna, but the trends among all your graduates. You need to hear not just an assertion that your school is providing the best seminary education in your denomination, but you need some facts about how you are performing with respect to your peer schools.

Much of this data is readily available — either at no charge or at a very small charge to your school. If your seminary is a member of the Association of Theological Schools, you can ask for a variety of reports. Without knowing the data, you are flying blind.

For details about the reports available from ATS, see the article in the Autumn 2013 issue of In Trust magazine. You can read the whole article here.