Core Theme One: Testimony | BYU-Idaho

# Core Theme One: Testimony

BYU-Idaho's first core theme is "Building testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and fostering its principles in a wholesome academic, cultural, and social environment."

Objective 1 - Strengthen Testimony

Help students to strengthen their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and more faithfully live in harmony with its teachings. 
 
Key indicators for Objective 1: 
- I read or study the scriptures daily. 
- I have daily personal prayer.

Objective 2 - Wholesome Environment

Help Maintain a wholesome environment. 
 
Key indicators for Objective 2: 
- I feel the Spirit in my apartment. 
- Administrative personnel show concern for students.

Rationale for Selection of Indicators: Most of the Core Theme indicators were selected after a robust discussion in University Council on February 28, 2017. Although there have been some minor changes and modifications to those indicators following regular and ongoing discussions in President's Council and University Council meetings, the overall set of indicators has served us well. All of the key indicators were selected from a larger list of metrics included on the Institutional Dashboard.

## Key Indicators for Objective 1: Strengthen Testimony

****Data Source:**** Religious Beliefs and Behaviors Survey 
****Expectation:**** At least 70 percent of students strongly or somewhat agree that they read or study the scriptures daily. 
****Status:**** Meeting expectation. 
****Notes:**** 2008-2013 surveys only included single students in the sample, so only showing results for students with a reported marital status of "Single" in the 2017-2019 results as well. The numbers exclude "Not applicable" responses.

****Data Source:****Religious Beliefs and Behaviors Survey 
****Expectation:**** At least 75 percent of students strongly or somewhat agree that they have daily personal prayer. 
****Status:****Meeting expectation. 
****Notes:**** 2008-2013 surveys only included single students in the sample, so only showing results for students with a reported marital status of "Single" in the 2017-2019 results as well. The numbers exclude; "Not applicable" responses.

## Key Indicators for Objective 2: Wholesome Environment

****Data Source:****Religious Beliefs and Behaviors Survey 
****Expectation:**** At least 70 percent of students strongly or somewhat agree that they feel the Spirit in their apartment. 
****Status:****Meeting expectation. 
****Notes:**** 2008-2013 surveys only included single students in the sample, so only showing results for students with a reported marital status of "Single" in the 2017-2019 results as well. The numbers exclude "Not applicable" responses.

****Data Source:****Satisfaction Survey 
****Expectation:**** At least 75 percent of students strongly or somewhat agree that administrative personnel show concern for students. 
****Status:****Meeting expectation. 
****Notes:**** The numbers exclude "No experience" responses. This indicator has been below the expected value in recent years. During the most recent Core Theme One review, the President's Executive Group assigned the office of Institutional Research and Assessment to work with areas across campus to better understand this metric.

## Summary

Overall, data suggests that BYU-Idaho is successfully meeting the testimony and wholesome environment objectives for the first core theme.