Introduction to Covenant College

Important Dates

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

Calendar

Fall Semester 2015

Spring Semester 2016

May Term 2016

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.

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 to award associate, baccalaureate, and masters degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Covenant College.

NOTICE: Covenant College operates in compliance with the official complaint policy of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges as revised in June 2013. All written complaints from students concerning the status of the College with respect to its standing with the Commission on Colleges or allegations of significant non-compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation may be forwarded to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, at the above address.

Since Covenant College operates under the authority of the State of Georgia, complaints may be filed with the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission via http://gnpec.org/consumer-resources/gnpec-authorized-school-complainant-form/. The Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission may also be reached at 2082 East Exchange Place, Suite 220, Tucker, Georgia 30084-5305, or by calling 770-414-3300.

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

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 of fall balance in full by the last business day in August. Payment of the spring balance in full by the last business day in January. 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.

Option #2: 10 month payment plan. An estimated balance due will be calculated by the financial aid office in the summer and that balance will be divided into 10 equal payments, due August 1 through May 1. There will be a $40 annual fee charged to use this program. No finance charges will be applied as long as the scheduled payments are received no later than the 10th of the month (August 1 payment must be received by August 10, etc.). Additional charges posted during the semester or differences between the summer estimated balance and the actual balance will have to be included in the December and May payments, respectively. Should a payment be more than 10 days late, the balance will be reverted to the open account option and finance charges will be retroactively applied. The account can be put back on the 10 payment plan by paying the finance charges and any late payments.

Option #3: Open account payments. This will be the default payment plan if Option #2 is not selected before the due date of each semester, and the account is not paid in full before the semester due date. 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 1.117%. There is no initial fee for this option.

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.