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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
ADA and Accessibility Services
Covenant College offers students reasonable accommodations for disabilities in accordance with the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students may provide one or more of the following to establish considerations for accommodations: psychological evaluation, a 504 or IEP plan utilized during high school, and/or an official letter of diagnosis and recommendation for accommodation from the diagnosing or treating licensed provider. All documentation and questions should be directed to disabilityservices@covenant.edu.
Students who are receiving disability accommodations are encouraged to establish a relationship with the Director of Student Success to receive additional training and assistance in working with disabilities as a college student.
Academic Accommodations
Reasonable academic accommodations will be granted on a case-by-case basis at the recommendation of the Director of Student Success following receiving official documentation. The Director of Student Success can also make recommendations for additional accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Students who provide verification that their primary language is not English may also be granted extended time on assessments on a case-by-case basis. Any student who qualifies and may need academic accommodations should contact the Center for Student Success 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. If the professor cannot make arrangements to provide the additional proctoring, the Director of Student Success should be contacted for assistance.
Housing Accommodations
Any housing accommodation request must be made through the Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life. Requests for information regarding Emotional Support Animals should be directed to the Director of Student Success.
Dining Accommodations
In Dining Services, we take our guests’ food allergies and special diet needs seriously. If you have a food allergy, intolerance, or physician ordered diet, please contact covenantdining@covenant.edu to fill out the Allergenic and Dietary Need form. Documentation from the student’s treating physician will be required for consideration of changes to meal plan requirements.
Center for Student Success
The Center for Student Success was established to provide academic support, personal coaching, and tailored resources aimed at helping students succeed during their time at Covenant. The Center works toward these goals by providing:
- Academic support for students struggling to manage their time or who need assistance in cultivating positive study habits in order to keep up with the fast pace of college academics.
- Accessibility and Disability Services. Those with questions about attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, or with any diagnosis that impacts performance in the classroom are strongly encouraged to contact the Director of Student Success.
- Student Care for those who are struggling with mental health, adjusting to life in college, or under difficult life circumstances.
At Covenant, we believe that every student is created in the image of God, has unique gifts and aptitudes, and that this is a place where students of all abilities can grow, learn, and thrive. Our Center for Student Success works toward that end with each and every student who walks through their doors.
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:
- Exploring their personality, values, interests and abilities within the context of a biblical framework while expanding their awareness of the world of work
- 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 College cares a great deal about the safety and well-being of its students, and considers these to be one of its highest priorities. Students are encouraged to prioritize their health and safety and take action towards wholeness and recovery, even if that delays academic progress. At times, a student may experience an inability to function successfully and safely in an academic and/or a residential setting. In such circumstances, a student’s continued presence in the Covenant community may present a direct threat and/or significant risk to him or herself and/or others, or it may present a substantial disruption to the educational process. In these situations, 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.
The Involuntary Withdrawal Policy is not a disciplinary policy or process. It is not intended to be applied to situations where a student violates the Standards of Conduct. There may be situations in which both the Involuntary Withdrawal Policy and the Standards of Conduct policy apply.
Student situations that may be reviewed and evaluated include, but are not limited to:
- Behavior that poses a danger to the life, health, or safety of the student or other members of the college community, to the college property, or to the property of another member of the college community. This may also include behavior that requires intensive monitoring to prevent danger such as: suicidal threat, intent and/or behavior, or self-injurious behavior.
- Disruptive behavior that impedes or aggressively disrupts the educational process or the legitimate activities of other members of the college community.
- An acute decline in physical health
- An eating disorder that is not responding to treatment and/or is posing safety concerns
- The student refuses and/or is unable to cooperate with a recommended evaluation or treatment procedure
If necessary, the Dean of Students or his designee will convene an Evaluation Team to review the case and make appropriate recommendations. The Team will normally consist of:
- The Dean of Students and/or his designee
- Director of Counseling Services and/or her designee
- The Associate Deans of Students for Residence Life and/or Student Life
- Director of Student Success
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 and/or his designee. In doing so, it will consider both the welfare of the individual student and the Covenant community.
The college may do one or all of the following:
- Notify the student’s listed emergency contacts, which may include parents and appropriate college officials (e.g. the Student’s professors, Registrar’s Office, etc.) about a mental or physical health impairment, and/or safety emergency.
- Encourage a Voluntary Withdrawal or invoke an Involuntary Withdrawal.
- Allow the student to remain in school, but require a specific physical health or mental health evaluation within a certain period of time. The student may be referred to Priesthill Center counseling and/or to off campus health providers (e.g. licensed mental health or physical health care provider, eating disorder or substance abuse programs/hospital). The student will be responsible for any cost incurred by the evaluation and/or treatment. In the interest of gaining a better understanding of the student’s ability to function in the Covenant community, the college may require the student to sign appropriate release forms allowing designated Covenant staff to consult with the evaluating and/or treating clinician(s) serving the student. Based on the evaluation results, the college will determine appropriate next steps, including the possibility of allowing the student to remain on campus if a commitment is made to the recommended treatment plan.
The Dean of Students and/or his designee will then make the final determination as to whether the student should remain at the college, and if so, under what conditions. 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 or an Involuntary Withdrawal may be invoked.
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