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Providence Christian College is a Reformed Christian college whose mission is to equip students to be firmly grounded in biblical truth, thoroughly educated in the liberal arts, and fully engaged in their church, their community and the world for the glory of God and for service to humanity.
The vision of Providence Christian College flows from its mission and core values.
In order to fulfill this mission the college seeks first and foremost to create a culture of learning where the Bible and the Reformed confessions that summarize its teachings provide the essential principles that direct its educational philosophy. The foundational character of Scripture is articulated in the theological purpose statement of the college. Courses are taught from a biblical perspective emphasizing the creation, fall and redemption of humanity. This perspective shapes the core curriculum which is organized around knowing God, knowing creation and knowing ourselves. This foundational commitment also shapes the majors and their development.
Providence Christian College is committed to a rigorous, holistic and interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum designed to enable students to think critically, to evaluate a variety of world views, to see clearly from a Christian perspective, to demonstrate creativity, and to engage the world around them. In order to accomplish this goal Providence seeks to integrate faith and learning, to promote collaborative student-faculty interaction, to build academic community, and to help students to “author” their own education. In considering long term growth the college seeks to maintain a student body that allows for genuine academic community and the benefits of a learning environment possible in a small residential liberal arts college. The college intends to continue to maintain a low student/teacher ratio.
Providence Christian College seeks to enroll Christian students as it strives to be an institution that promotes a covenant community on campus where students care for each other and are accountable to each other. At the same time the college seeks to welcome and engage the broader world by building a college community that is not only unified in its Christian commitment but also culturally and ethnically diverse. Diversity also includes an enrollment plan which allows students with non-traditional high school preparation or achievement to enroll in the college and to have the opportunity to pursue a college education.
The educational goal of the college is to equip and encourage members of the college community, particularly students, to serve God and neighbor as the Bible directs with a clear sense of their calling in the world. The education at Providence is designed to link knowledge to action, to encourage service, to foster a knowledge of and concern for the local and global community. Students will be encouraged to develop an understanding of how race, class, ethnicity, culture and gender affect society in both past and present. This commitment requires experiences and service opportunities in the wider community. Experiential learning must continue to characterize a Providence education.
As the college develops, it will continue to encourage the practice of responsible stewardship in all programs and departments of the college and to help students to develop wisdom and discernment in fulfilling God’s mandate for faithful stewardship over the creation and in service to humanity. This includes an understanding of sacrifice, concern for the interests of others and a deep environmental consciousness among other commitments. Stewardship also includes the responsible allocation of resources by faculty and staff and a commitment by the board and the constituency of the college to provide the resources needed to support the program envisioned by the founders.
As the college develops, Providence seeks to maintain a nurturing educational environment that prepares Christian students who are firmly grounded in biblical truth and who grow into those who are fully prepared to engage the wider world. Strategic planning, which must be forward looking and consider needs and resources must always remain firmly rooted in the vision of the college from its founding and for its future.
Providence looks to the future with the confidence that God will bless the efforts of the college as it is faithful to its mission. The college seeks to be faithful to the Lord and his word as it lives out its core values “for the glory of God and for service to humanity.”
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