Student Development

The Office of Student Development provides essential services to the achievement of Covenant’s educational goals. Student Development is responsible to build a co-curricular community that enhances academic inquiry, provides a safe campus environment in which to live and study and designs co-curricular opportunities that seek to educate students personally, socially, physically, vocationally and intellectually - all of which are areas of spiritual growth.

Student Development provides the following services: New Student Orientation, Student Life, Residence Life, Intercollegiate and Intramural Athletics, Housing, Academic Support,  Student Success, Student Government, Multicultural Program, Priesthill Center (Health and Counseling Services), Standards of Conduct enforcement, Practical Service, Safety and Security, and works in association with the Chapel, and the Center for Calling & Career.

Please refer to the Student Handbook on the Covenant Website at www.covenant.edu/studenthandbook for information regarding student Standards of Conduct and other Student Development program details. Questions can also be directed to the Office of Student Development at 706.419.1107. or email studentdevelopment@covenant.edu.

Covenant College and Diversity

Covenant College acknowledges the need, in a fallen world, for joyful diligence in service for the Gospel and the Kingdom of Christ, and, consequently, for the obedient pursuit of justice and righteousness throughout human society. Our commitment to diversity, therefore, is not grounded in any concept of “political correctness,” any mandates of accreditation bodies, or even by the need to reflect the composition of the society in which our graduates will live. Rather, our commitment to diversity at Covenant College is grounded in an understanding of biblical mandates regarding the nature of the Kingdom of God. This commitment is summarized by the following four statements.

1. The Covenant College community should reflect, as far as possible, the diversity of God’s kingdom within the United States and around the world. We work actively to become a more culturally diverse community.
2. Covenant College recognizes the participation of men and women from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds within the body of Christ. We encourage, therefore, the study of diversity in human cultural traditions, and encourage appropriate appreciation and demonstration of diversity in all areas of college life.
3. Covenant College actively seeks to strengthen the bond of Christian unity across cultures, ethnic heritages, social classes, and genders, while subjecting all beliefs and practices to careful biblical scrutiny.
4. Covenant College exercises its responsibility as a Christian institution of higher learning to model educational practice that eschews personal and institutional racism, and is just and non-discriminatory.

In order to implement practices consistent with these commitments, Covenant College is committed to multicultural education that is rooted in the best of the Reformed and evangelical traditions. Our goal is to help students become global Christians who possess the skills, knowledge, dispositions, and values that will enable them to serve effectively in a rapidly changing and pluralistic world.

A core requirement for graduation is that each student participates in and reflects on an intercultural experience. Many students fulfill this requirement and enrich their lives in other ways by participating in semester-long study-abroad programs, or May term overseas programs. Others engage in mission trips and other experiences during the summer months. Still others participate in Break on Impact, a variety of spring break opportunities for students to cross cultures, both inside and outside the United States. Many students take the opportunity to connect cross-culturally locally in Chattanooga and the surrounding area during the semester.

Cultural Diversity Scholarships appropriately recognize the contribution of culturally diverse students to our campus. An active on-campus program also provides support and services to our culturally diverse students, many of them children of missionaries. The goal of the diversity program is to serve students in order to enable them to succeed academically, socially, and spiritually at Covenant, so that they will be prepared to act as reforming influences in whatever culture they are called to serve Christ and His Kingdom.

In addition, chapel programs and other special activities, many of them student-led, encourage us to dismantle walls of separation between believers today, just as the gospel broke down the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles in the first century (Ephesians 2:14-18).

Center for Student Success and Disability Services

The mission of the Center for Student Success is to support and advocate for students in need.

Disability Accommodations

Covenant College provides reasonable accommodations to students with diagnosed disabilities or medical conditions that might affect their academic performance. Any student with a disability who may need accommodations in a course should contact the Center for Student Success; students should contact the office at disabilityservices@covenant.edu to establish eligibility for accommodations as early in the semester as possible. For students to receive appropriate accommodations, the course instructor must receive official notification of eligibility from the Center for Student Success, and students must speak directly to their instructor concerning their specific accommodations BEFORE a due date for an assignment or BEFORE the day of an exam

Extended Time for Testing 

Students who have on file in the Center for Student Success a psychological evaluation completed within the last three years that recommends extended time for testing shall be granted that accommodation on a case-by-case basis at the recommendation of the Coordinator of Student Success. Students who provide verification that their primary language is not English may also be granted that accommodation on a case-by-case basis when the Director of Academic Support determines that extended time for testing is warranted. Typically, extended time for testing would apply to all in-class assessments including tests and quizzes, and will entail 1.5 times the normal test period. The Coordinator of Student Success can make recommendations for additional accommodations on a case-by-case basis. If the professor cannot make arrangements to provide the additional proctoring, the Coordinator of Student Success should be contacted for assistance. Despite the accommodation regarding the administration of tests and quizzes, all other assignments to be completed outside of class and during labs will be due according to the announced dates.

Students who are receiving disability accommodations are encouraged to establish a relationship with the Coordinator of Student Success to receive additional training and assistance in working with disabilities as a college student.

Reasonable accommodations are provided under ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Academic Support 

Academic resources are available for all Covenant students to ensure a positive transition for students into a highly rigorous academic environment. These resources exist to enhance students’ understanding of their callings while enrolled at Covenant. 

The specific objectives are to:

• Provide academic support to students who are on academic probation.
• Provide support for students to successfully transition to Covenant College.
• Connect students to necessary campus resources.
• Equip students to pursue success in all aspects of the student experience.

Typically, these resources are available free of charge to all Covenant students.

All students who have been placed on academic probation are required to meet regularly with a student success advisor for accountability, assistance and advocacy when needed. These meetings should be used as a resource for learning to be a better student and gaining insight into areas of improvement. Students who are on probation will be held accountable to the expectations outlined in their probation agreements. Failure to adhere to these expectations may result in the loss of campus privileges, parental contact or suspension.

Career Development Services/Academic Internships

The mission of the Center for Calling & Career is to ‘Equip Students in their Pursuit of Meaningful Work.’ Comprehensive career services are available to Covenant College students and alumni. The major aim of the programs and services is two-fold – to assist constituents in:

1. Exploring their personality, values, interests and abilities within the context of a biblical framework while expanding their awareness of the world of work
2. Pursuing meaningful callings (occupations or programs of further study) that most effectively utilize their God-given abilities in service to Christ and his coming kingdom

This center works directly with students by:

• Facilitating career assessment and Christian Mind course discussion - This includes administering PathwayU, coaching students on individual results, and helping identify options for targeted field exploration.
• Providing support services in writing resumes, CVs, targeted cover letters, graduate school applications and essays, interviews and employer interaction.
• Hosting a professional development event series on pressing career-related topics, such as selecting a major, budgeting, design thinking, tool acquisition that increases employment marketability, networking and professional communication.
• Facilitating networking opportunities with established alumni interested in helping current students make informed decisions and increase their understanding of career trends. 
• Assisting students in securing internship opportunities, exploring career trajectories, and communicating these valuable experiences through highly competitive resumes.

Involuntary Withdrawal

Covenant may initiate an involuntary withdrawal when a student exhibits behavior that could disrupt the academic process or present a danger to the student or other members of the College community. This policy may also apply to any student returning from a hospital confinement who needs extended observation or supervision. The following are some situations in which such action would be appropriate:

1. The student’s behavior appears to pose a danger to the life, health, or safety of the student or other members of the College community, or to the College, its property, or to the property of another member of the College community.
2. The student’s disruptive behavior impedes or aggressively disrupts the educational process or the legitimate activities of other members of the College community.
3. The student refuses or is unable to cooperate with a recommended evaluation or treatment procedure, and/or the student acts or threatens to act in a manner that would interfere with or disrupt the educational process or the legitimate activities of other members of the College community.

If necessary, the Dean of Students will convene an Evaluation Team to review the case and make appropriate recommendations. The Team will normally consist of:

• A member of Priesthill Services (Counseling Services or College Health Services) staff;
• The student’s academic advisor;
• The Associate Dean of Students or the Director of Student Life
• The Dean of Students or his/her designee or both.

Following the review of all relevant information, the evaluation team will report its findings and recommendations on continuing the enrollment status of the student to the Dean of Students. The Dean will then make the final determination as to whether the student should remain at the College, and if so, under what conditions. In the event that a student is suspended or dismissed, the Dean may also elect to impose conditions for the student’s re-enrollment.

A student who fails to cooperate with either the evaluation process or with the conditions set for his/her continuance at the College may be suspended on a summary basis as noted above.

In cases where it is believed that the student’s behavior poses a danger of causing imminent harm to self or others, the student may be summarily suspended or dismissed from the College immediately. Typically, in such cases, appropriate medical and law enforcement agencies, as well as family members, will be notified. The evaluation process should then take place following the student’s suspension and removal from campus.