Student Data and Resources

ATS Student Data Services offers useful tools for schools to understand and track their students and alumni/ae, benchmark their findings in the context of trends in theological education, and inform the work of educational and institutional assessment. Student data-related programming and services are guided by the Association’s Student Data and Resources Advisory Committee.

Questionnaires

The Entering Student Questionnaire (ESQ), Graduating Student Questionnaire (GSQ), and Alumni/ae Questionnaire (AQ) track demographics, levels of debt, motivations for entering seminary, satisfaction with the effectiveness of the education received, and professional plans and experiences. Webinars, an annual workshop, and an online community for those administering and interpreting data from the student questionnaires are available.

About Questionnaires

Data Calendar

Total School Profiles

Total School Profile reports summarize the student data collected by more than 175 schools who choose to use the Entering and Graduating Student and Alumni/ae Questionnaires.

Christopher M. The

412-788-6505, ext. 253

the@ats.edu

Christopher M. The (pronounced ‘tay’) equips ATS member schools to improve and enhance their educational missions by gathering, analyzing, and disseminating insights from student data. As director of student research and initiative management, he also oversees the virtual infrastructure for ATS grant-funded initiatives and liaises with coordination program personnel for the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative of the Lilly Endowment Inc. He came to ATS in 2017, having served multivocational roles in student services (Fuller Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University) and student/young adult ministry at an Indonesian American congregation in the American Baptist tradition. Prior to 2022, he served the ATS Commission on Accrediting as director of commission information services.

A former English Ministry pastor at two Asian American churches in Southern California, The was raised in a Chinese-Indonesian immigrant congregation in the Reformed tradition and later ordained to ministry by a Chinese/Taiwanese church in the Pentecostal tradition. A selected participant in the 2014 Summit for Future Theological Educators of Color and Summit on Christian Leadership (Forum for Theological Exploration), he was named a 2016 fellow of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) and represents the Religious Liberty Council on the BJC board of directors. He has published refereed articles and contributed to book chapters on resourcing immigrant churches for civic engagement, leveraging evaluative principles for character formation in theological education, understanding the unique mentorship needs of doctoral students of color, and surveying the placement of diasporic Indonesian communities among world Christianities. His dissertation involved qualitative research on the congregational formation of Indonesian American emerging adults at two Los Angeles-area churches.

A co-editor and contributing author for the anthology Kristianitas-Kristianitas di Asia Tenggara (Christianities in Southeast Asia, 2022), The also serves on the editorial board for the SINTA-accredited Indonesian Journal of Theology. He holds BA (music) and MA (religion) degrees from Azusa Pacific University, and MDiv and PhD (theology) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Elise Sutter

412-788-6505, ext. 263

sutter@ats.edu

Elise W. Sutter joined the ATS team in January 2023 as a part-time administrative assistant for student data. She coordinates the Entering, Graduating, and Alumni Questionnaires for member schools—producing and distributing reports from the data.

With more than a decade of experience in social work and mental health counseling, she was most recently the human resources coordinator for an early childhood education organization in Pittsburgh, and she led an adoption team to provide services for youth in foster care. Strengthened by her passion for helping others, she does volunteer work in children and family ministries, and she is the leadership counsel chair for an organization supporting families in crisis.

Sutter earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Chatham University and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and religious studies from Westminster College.

Mary Boyle

412-788-6505, ext. 221

boyle@ats.edu

Mary Boyle joined The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) as a part-time business assistant in October 2019. She handled routine accounting functions and payroll timekeeping, provided clerical and administrative support for different departments as needed, and helped with meetings held at the ATS office.

Boyle currently assists with the Entering, Graduating, and Alumni Questionnaires for member schools—producing and distributing reports from the data.

Theological School Students Needed to Participate in Health-Related Research Study
University of Alaska's Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services seeks students attending ATS member schools to participate in a research study about health, behaviors, and health-related needs. Learn more!