Introduction to Covenant College

Important Dates

*If the deadline falls on a weekend, materials will be accepted through 8:00 AM Monday morning.

Academic Year Definition

Covenant schedules with a semester calendar system, where each semester is a minimum of 15 weeks for purposes of billing and payment periods, based on the credit hours registered for each term. The academic year for all undergraduate programs includes the fall and spring semesters running from August - May.

Academic Calendar

Fall Semester 2023

Spring Semester 2024

The Purpose Statement of Covenant College

Covenant College is a Christ-centered institution of higher education, emphasizing liberal arts, operated by a Board of Trustees elected by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, and exists to provide post-secondary educational services to the denomination and the wider public.

The College is committed to the Bible as the Word of God written, and accepts as its most adequate and comprehensive interpretation the summary contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms.

The focus of Covenant College is found in its motto, based on Colossians 1:18 “In All Things…Christ Preeminent.” Acknowledging Christ preeminent as the creator of all things, as the redeemer of people fallen into sin, as the touchstone of all truth, and as the sovereign ruler over all areas of life, the College strives to discern and to unfold the implications of His preeminence in all things. To serve this end, we seek to appropriate the mind of Christ as the biblical perspective from which we characterize and respond to reality. In attempting to make such a biblically-grounded frame of reference explicit and operative, we are committed to excellence in academic inquiry, and we seek to define all areas of the College’s structure and program according to this understanding of our purpose.

We seek to implement our purpose in view of our belief that all human beings are created in the image of God and are, therefore, spiritual, moral, social beings who think, act, value, and exercise dominion. Because we are called to reflect in finite ways what God is infinitely, we attempt to institute programs designed to offer all students the opportunity to discover and give expression to their potential in each facet of their redeemed humanness.

With these commitments in mind, we seek to work together as a college community, responsibly striving, corporately and personally, to accomplish the following general aims in every area of life:

1. to see creation as the handiwork of God and to study it with wonder and respect;
2. to acknowledge the fallen nature of ourselves and of the rest of creation and to respond, in view of the renewal that begins with Christ’s redemption, by seeking to bring every thought and act into obedience to Him;
3. to reclaim the creation for God and to redirect it to the service of God and humankind, receiving the many valuable insights into the structure of reality provided by the good hand of God through thinkers in every age, and seeking to interpret and re-form such insights according to the Scriptures;
4. to see learning as a continuous process and vocation;
5. to endeavor to think scripturally about culture so as to glorify God and promote true human advancement.

As an educational institution, Covenant College specifically seeks to provide educational services from a Reformed perspective to the students who enroll. While the traditional undergraduate, on-campus programs remain the primary focus of the College, we recognize that the College has a significant role to fulfill in the education of students in non-traditional categories.

Students

Students are expected to become active participants in fulfilling the general aims just outlined. It is the College’s purpose to help these students make significant progress toward maturity in the following areas:

1. Identity in Christ
   A Covenant student should be a person who is united with Christ and committed to Him. This union and commitment should lead to an understanding both of one’s sin and of one’s significance as a person redeemed by Christ, resulting in a growing awareness of purpose. This awareness of purpose should facilitate the development of goals, priorities, and practices that foster spiritual effectiveness and well-being, including the emotional, social, physical, and intellectual aspects of the individual students.

2. Biblical frame of reference
   Students should be acquiring the ability to orient their lives by a perspective based on scriptural revelation. For realization of this goal the following are important:
   1. Scriptural knowledge
      Students should be acquiring a working knowledge of the Scriptures, rejoicing in their promises and allowing them to direct their thoughts and actions in every area of life.
   2. Academic inquiry
      Students should be acquiring a broad appreciation of the various aspects of creation, becoming familiar with valid methods of inquiry into each area of study. Each student should be acquiring some depth in one or two academic disciplines.
   3. Analytical skills
      Students should be acquiring the capacity for incisive, critical and logical thinking.
   4. Communication skills
      Students should be acquiring the ability to communicate ideas clearly in both speaking and writing.
3. Service that is Christ-like
   1. Students should be assuming responsibilities within a local congregation as well as in the community of all believers. This implies demonstrating a positive influence on others while at the same time accepting their loving concern.
   2. Students should be assuming responsibilities in society as servants of God. This involves a total life-calling to fulfill one’s covenantal responsibilities as succinctly summarized in Genesis 1:28 and Matthew 28:18-20, including not only the student’s specific vocation, but all other activities as well.

Core Learning Outcomes

The Core Learning Outcomes below express the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students are to demonstrate as a result of completing our core curriculum. The Purpose Statement of Covenant College serves as the organizing framework for these learning outcomes. Each Core Learning Outcome may fit under more than one category of the Statement of Purpose, but for clarity and assessment, it will be listed here under its primary area.

Identity in Christ

CLO 1: Develop a sense of self as a multi-dimensional person created in the image of God.

1a. Develop a sense of significance rooted in one’s identity in Christ and His church, both local and universal
1b. Value the physical body as integral to our identity as image bearers
1c. Demonstrate self-reflection, acknowledging personal limitations and practicing intellectual humility

Biblical Frame of Reference

CLO 2: Understand the basic content and form of the Old and New Testaments and the doctrines taught in them.

2a.Explain the Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation narrative, including its implications for academic work
2b. Describe our Reformed perspective through exposure to significant doctrines, texts and thinkers
2c. Read and interpret the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments
2d. Apply Scripture’s principles and promises to thoughts, actions, and loves

CLO 3: Understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines necessary for academic inquiry

3a. Explore the development and complexity of the human experience over time using historical inquiry and analysis
3b. Apply the skills of thoughtfully observing, creating, and appreciating the arts
3c. Comprehend and apply the results of scientific investigation in the physical or biological sciences
3d. Investigate human behavior at the individual, group, or institutional levels using a variety of theories and methods
3e. Recognize the nature of knowledge as unified in Christ, applying inter-disciplinary concepts when solving complex problems

CLO 4: Develop skills of inquiry, reasoning, and analysis to support scholarship and solve problems

4a. Apply quantitative reasoning through the use of mathematical, statistical, logical, or algorithmic approaches to interpret, analyze, and evaluate quantitative data
4b. Identify, retrieve, evaluate, and ethically disseminate information from reliable sources
4c. Evaluate texts across genres and read for the purposes of comprehension, analysis, and interpretation with appropriate attention to original contexts
4d. Describe, critically evaluate, and appreciate historically significant texts and other cultural products that have shaped western civilization
4e. Recognize and critically evaluate significant historic and contemporary interpretive frameworks.

CLO 5: Demonstrate effective communication skills

5a. Communicate effectively using written, oral, and multi-media formats in ways that are mindful of audience, purpose, and content
5b. Acquire a foreign language at an elementary level

Service that is Christ-like

CLO 6: Practice faithful cultural empathy and engagement using ethical principles grounded in Scripture

6a. Describe the interconnectedness of our contemporary world and consider its implications for faithful living
6b. Experience multiple ways that Christian faithfulness can be expressed in divergent cultural and socio-economic contexts

General Information

Covenant College is the Christian, liberal arts college of the Presbyterian Church in America and is committed to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. Covenant seeks to help its students understand more fully the scriptural implications of Christ’s preeminence as they study the natural creation, cultivate the arts and produce sound societal relationships in business, home, school and state. To accomplish these ends, Covenant bases its academic program on the Bible, the written Word of God.

Accreditation and State Authorization

Covenant College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate and masters degrees. Degree-granting institutions also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Covenant College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness is administratively responsible for matters pertaining to Covenant College’s accreditation and may be contacted at institutional.research@covenant.edu.

Formal complaints to address possible non-compliance with the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation: Foundations of Quality Enhancement, as well as to address possible violations of Covenant College’s own policies and procedures, if related to the Principles, can be made using the SACSCOC complaint form. For more information about the complaint process and what kinds of complaints will be considered for review, please see the SACSCOC complaint policy. Both the form and the policy can be found on the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.org).

Covenant College is authorized by the state of Georgia to operate in Georgia and grant degrees as a post-secondary institution. Complaints may be filed with the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC) via gnpec.georgia.gov/student-resources/student-complaints.

Policy on Nondiscrimination

Covenant College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or disability in its educational programs or activities, including admission and employment. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender in the educational programs or activities it operates, including admission and employment, except as required by the ordination policies of the Presbyterian Church in America (a corporation).

Disclaimer

The College reserves the right to add and withdraw courses and major programs, and otherwise alter the content of the curriculum announced here. Many courses listed in the catalog are offered on alternate years. The schedule of classes in any given semester will be available on Banner prior to registration. Students are aided in their academic pursuits by a variety of resources including faculty advisors, the Banner Web Degree Evaluation system, and the Office of Records. Students are encouraged to work with their faculty advisor and other resources to outline a curricular schedule, by term, that will plan the completion of the core, major and elective hours required to earn the minimum of 126 hours required for a bachelor’s degree. Students are ultimately responsible for following academic policies and procedures, meeting college deadlines, monitoring progress to meet degree requirements, and knowing and completing all the requirements of the program in which they are enrolled (see department sections ).

Although most administrative information in this catalog applies to all programs of Covenant College, the majority of the content in this undergraduate catalog applies to the traditional undergraduate programs. The non-traditional Master of Arts in Teaching and the Master of Education handbooks and the Graduate Catalog contain the policies and procedures of these two graduate programs.

Costs and Payment Options

It is the desire of Covenant College, within the limits of its available funds, to offer its Christian educational opportunities to all who qualify for admission, regardless of individual economic circumstances. Over ninety-percent of the student body receive financial aid-either in scholarships, grants, loans or work study.

The cost of an education at Covenant is only partly covered by tuition charges; the balance is paid from contributions made by friends and alumni of the College. Because of increasing costs, the Covenant College Board of Trustees reserves the right to make changes at any time in the tuition charges and other general and special fees.

Covenant College offers three options for payment of student account charges. For any payment option, accounts must be fully paid each semester before a student can register for a subsequent semester, view grades or receive a transcript.

Option #1: Payment in full. Fall balance due in full by 4:00 p.m. on 8/31/2023. Spring balance due in full by 4:00 p.m. on 1/31/2024. No initial fee or monthly finance charges will be assessed. Additional charges posted during the semester will have to be paid by the end of the month following the charge in order to avoid a finance charge on the additional charges posted.

Option #2: Payment plan.  The account balance is paid in four equal payments. The fall deadline to enroll is 8/25/2023, and the spring deadline to enroll is 1/10/2024. If you enroll in the fall you will be automatically enrolled in the spring. However, you must re-enroll in the plan during the next academic school year. If you do not enroll in the fall, you will be allowed to enroll in the spring so long as you do so by the deadline detailed above. There is a $45 annual fee charged to enroll in the plan. This fee covers both the fall and spring semesters. However, the full $45 must be paid even if you only enroll in the spring. Further details for enrolling in the payment plan are included in the initial fall and spring bills that are emailed to student accounts in early August and January.

Payment Plan Installment Dates:

Additional charges posted during the semester or changes in the amount of aid received after the first installment has been paid will impact the amount due with each future installment. Therefore, the amount due at each payment due date noted above is your current outstanding account balance divided by the number of installments remaining in the semester. There are a total of four installments due each semester in accordance with the due dates detailed above.

No finance charges will be applied as long as each installment during the semester is received by the due dates detailed above. However, if at any point during the semester a deadline is not met, the student’s account will be removed from the payment plan and automatically enrolled in payment option #3 described below. The $45 enrollment fee will not be refunded and the student’s unpaid balance will be subject to the finance charges described below. Furthermore, you will not be allowed to participate in the payment plan if you have a balance due from prior semesters.

Option #3: Open account payments. This will be the default payment plan if Option #1 or Option #2 is not selected before the deadline for each semester. Payments may be made at any time, and in any amount. Monthly finance charges will be applied to any unpaid balance on the last business day of the month at the rate of 1.17% (14.04% APR). There is no initial fee for this option. In accordance to the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018, section 3679 of title 38, any student using VA educational benefits will not be assessed this finance charge due to the delayed disbursement of funding from the VA under chapter 31 or 33. (This finance charge will be removed from the student account once a VA educational payment is received.) For more information regarding this policy and additional action required for an individual to receive these educational benefits, please see the Veterans Benefits section of the catalog.

Students with prior semester account balances on January 2nd and August 1st may be removed from their residence hall assignment and their class schedule for the subsequent semester.

A specific listing of fees and expenses is printed on the following page and posted on the Covenant website.

Room and Board

All freshmen, sophomores, and juniors must live in the residence halls unless specifically excused by the Housing Committee. Seniors in good standing with the College may live off-campus. Questions about off-campus privileges should be directed to the Office of Student Development.

Meals are served beginning the day residence halls open through final examinations, with the exception of the official college breaks as noted with the college calendar. Board provides resident students access to the dining facilities through their ScotsCard (college ID) during open hours.

Students will be notified prior to move-in of the earliest date in which they can occupy their rooms. Students enrolled in EDU 488 Clinical Practice  or cooperative programs with other higher education institutions will follow the calendar of the school to which they are assigned for their student teaching or enrolled, and may be eligible for a Room and Board credit through the ScotsCard Services Office. Students will provide their own meals during dates when food service is not scheduled with the campus dining plans.