Previous reports
The mission of NOBTS and Leavell College is "to prepare servants to walk with Christ, proclaim His truth, and fulfill His mission." Since our institutional mission is to prepare skilled ministry leaders, student success is of great importance to NOBTS. We desire our graduates to exemplify the wisdom, knowledge, and skills to be effective in ministry. In addition to grades, NOBTS utilizes three means to gauge student success: student graduation and persistence rates, employment rates, and licensure rates. For a more complex rationale for the thresholds for performance designated by NOBTS and the relationship of these targets to our mission, see Rationale for Student Success . The following charts indicate how NOBTS students have performed in the student graduation and persistence rates, employment, and licensure testing.
Graduation Rates by Degree and Ecclesial Family
* Source: 2020-2021 ATS Strategic Information Report for NOBTS and figured at 200%
** Source: At NOBTS, the ThM is typically taken within the PhD program, rather than as a free-standing degree.
Results in Student Achievement in Graduation Rates (2020-2021)
(based on IPEDS Outcomes Measures 200% Completion Rate)
Graduation Rates by Program, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
(based on IPEDS Outcomes Measures 200% Completion Rate)
Results in Student Achievement in Retention/Persistence Threshold Rates
*The DEdMin persistence rate is misleading because many students who initially enrolled in the DEdMin degree subsequently transferred to the new EdD or the PhD Christian Education major. The PhD persistence rate is low because of its high graduation rate.
Retention and Persistence Rates by Program, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
(based on IPEDS Outcomes Measures 200% Completion Rate)
*These two programs' data was void of specific ethnic or racial categories, so "Not Specified" is used in place of "Minority" for comparison.
Results in Student Achievement in Student Academic Success Rates
Student Academic Success Rates by Program, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
(based on IPEDS Outcomes Measures 200% Completion Rate)
*These two programs' data was void of specific ethnic or racial categories, so "Not Specified" is used in place of "Minority" for comparison.
Results of Student Success in Paid Employment in Ministry at Graduation
*Data is drawn from a Graduating Student Questionnaire taken at each graduation.
Results of Student Success in Paid Employment in Ministry among Recent Graduate Program Alumni*
*Data is drawn from a report to ATS about our alumni each year.
Employment of PhD Graduates from 2011 to 2021*
*This chart represents a longitudinal study of PhD program graduates over 10 years, from 2011–2021.
Results of NOBTS Student Success in Counseling Licensure
*To predict our licensure pass rate, we use the results of the comprehensive exam, the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Exam (CPCE©), a comprehensive multiple-choice examination that covers the eight core CACREP areas. Students must pass the CPCE prior to graduation. Passing is calculated as 1 Standard Deviation above or below the national mean.
**The NCE is the National Counselor Examination, which is required nationwide for Professional Counselor licensure. NCE passage rates are self-reported in an annual counseling graduate survey. Percentages represent voluntary respondents and those who had taken the exam at the time of the survey. Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, the Counseling department no longer reports the NOBTS passing rate for the NCE because students take the test after graduation. Any data would be self-reported in alumni surveys and would not provide accurate data of passing rates. Additionally, CACREP, national accreditors for counseling programs, requires only CPCE passing rates as a predictor of student success on the NCE.