Although many private Christian liberal arts programs exist today that seek to foster servant-leader (SL) development within their students, there is a void of both literature and data that details how servant-leadership development occurs and what contexts may be appropriate or necessary for this development. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether or not an institution of higher education can develop SL qualities within its adult student population. Using an explanatory mixed-method design, the researcher surveyed both entering and graduating students. Quantitatively, the study utilized existing instruments: the Learning Activities Survey (LAS) to measure perspective transformation (PT; King, 1998) and the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) to measure servant-leadership (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006). Once the quantitative data was initially compiled, qualitative data was collected to clarify the quantitative results. Semistructured interviews with a select sample of volunteers were conducted. Results and conclusions were compiled to determine whether or not Geneva College's degree completion program is successfully meeting its mission statement by "developing servant-leaders transforming society for the kingdom of Christ" (Geneva College, 2003, ¶1). The following conclusions were made: (1) Quantitatively, exiting students had a minimal mean difference in SLQ scores and subscales scores when compared to entering students. However, qualitative discussions showed exiting students possess a better understanding of the SL terminologies as well as application of its ideas. (2) The LAS results showed 21/44 exiting students encountered a PT. Students suggested that the influence and interaction of instructors, fellow classmates, and the curriculum in a closed-cohort model of learning greatly impacted PT encounters. (3) A low correlational relationship was found between PT occurrences and SLQ scores. Qualitatively, exiting students suggested the relationship between SL development and PT encounters focused on three key aspects of the program: (a) acquiring the knowledge and ability of how to connect their personal beliefs/worldview to their profession, (b) the influence of instructors on their development, and (c) the impact of other students in a closed-cohort model.

Institutions and instructors alike might consider the value in promoting critical thinking and reflection, developing community in the classroom and using classroom, assignments strategically to encourage PT encounters and/or SL development.