Corban University | Blog

The Goals of Christ-Centered Education, part I

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In the next four blogs our hope is to introduce or reintroduce you to the bold and audacious goals of Christian Higher Education.  This four-part series give are reason for existence as a Christ-centered university of the arts, sciences, professions and ministry. 

The Goals of Christ-Centered Education, part I 

Christ-centered education is about students – the passion of the Christian professor relates to her desire to teach students – and not courses – with the goal of taking recent high school graduates and propelling them toward adulthood and responsible life in church and society.  In addition, TIU’s mission also calls us to engage adult learners by strengthening existing commitments and aiding them in the development of greater and more significant capacities.  This notion of transformation is found in Harry Lewis’ Excellence without a Soul.  His meaning is that we take children – still very much dependent upon the authorities in their lives (maybe even desirous of breaking free of those authorities) and help them to grow up, to learn who they are, to search for a life purpose, and to graduate ready to make significant contributions to their world.  To that we can add the task of aiding adult learners and college graduates in the pursuit of a meaningful and transformational education.   Lewis is not describing Christ-centered Higher Education – he’s writing about Harvard.  But we really do have to ask – who is better prepared and capable of working with students to accomplish so great a transformation if not the Christian professor with a biblical worldview teaching within the context of a place like TIU? 

In discussing a Christian understanding of the liberal arts and professional studies David Dockery provides the following vision: 

“The concern of a Christian Liberal Arts education, then, is not just for equipping students with particular skills and knowledge necessary for engaging in some specific vocation or profession but for preparing all students to think – to think Christianly, to think critically, to think imaginatively – preparing them for leadership and preparing them for life.” (Renewing Minds, 20) 

So, what does preparing them for leadership and preparing them for life look like? 

They are biblically and theologically literate. 

Let’s start with the foundation.  Graduates of Christ-centered institutions of higher education should be biblically and theologically literate.  There are two components: 

1) Transformational Learning – The institution must be committed to helping these young women and men mature and learn who they are – beginning with spiritual transformation.  Central to this effort will be the relationships with faculty and staff through developmentally edifying student life programs.  While knowing the Bible and understanding theological ideas does not automatically result in spiritual growth, spiritual growth is not possible without that understanding of the Word of God. (II Timothy 3:16-17). You’re familiar with the axiom – “Expression without impression is meaningless.”  Passion, in many instances, has overwhelmed knowledge.  When it is not grounded in the authoritative teaching of Scripture, passion is often either misspent on things of little consequence or destructive to the cause of Christ. We also want students to graduate finding that larger purpose in life and having their commitment to Christ drive them to that purpose.    For us this means serving God’s purposes rather than our own.  How will that happen apart from knowledge which becomes the basis of knowing God? 

It is for this purpose that Corban University requires each new freshman to complete an 18-hour Bible core and an additional 3-hour Worldview seminar. 

The Christ-centered university is not an extended youth group. It is a place for thoughtful examination of the truths of Scripture where students might grapple with the faith they embraced and professed before their arrival and turn it into their faith, firmly held and possessed. 

2) True World-Changing Learning – In Conceiving the Christian College, Duane Litfin argues “the effort of looking both at and along one’s subject requires a certain depth of biblical and theological insight.  It is not enough merely to be a Christian and to know one’s discipline; genuinely Christian thinking requires depth on both sides of the ledger.”   

Care must be taken that this literacy does not end with mere creedal assent to a body of truth.  We must lead our students toward that experiential knowledge of God – knowing God not just knowing about Him. 

Encouragement for a Difficult 2020

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Welcome to pandemic politics in America with an impeachment, riots, COVID-19, Supreme Court confirmation, and an election—it hasn’t been pretty. The great thing about being governed by a rule of law, however, is that we can usually say, “we have a process for that.” Enter COVID-19 and we’ve had to scramble to reimagine what a free and fair election looks like. 

America has rich religious, ethnic, racial, ideological, and linguistic diversity requiring us to cleave together our many disparate wills—cleaving requires compromise. This is challenging because we are an increasingly individualistic, power-calculating, and rights-aware culture that has exceptionally high expectations of our laws and markets. Democrats and Republican’s half-hearted adherence to liberalism is sowing seeds of doubt that the other is negotiating in good faith, minimizing harms, and responding proportionally. Further, when mutually valued resources are perceived to be scarce, indivisible, and unfairly accessible, pitched zero-sum political battles emerge. Americans are increasingly asking themselves if they should risk dividing the union they have to forge the union they desire. 

How then should the church engage with American culture and politics: should it reflect popular cultural norms to attract the lost; bow loyally to the will of the state to curry political favor; erect a wall of separation to maintain purity; insist the state remain within its sphere of sovereignty; seek Christian interests through power politics; or be social justice warriors on behalf of the powerless? Our core democratic and capitalist values incentivize the church to seek comfort, prosperity, and power, but these should be of secondary importance to our Christian witness and can often be an obstacle to it. Indeed, we often envision using these resources in service of the Gospel but rarely employ them with sufficient expertise and integrity. The Apostle John (1 John 2:15-17) warns the church to love not the things of this world. We are to be stewards, rather than stockholders, of our national social contract, holding patriotism in subordination to our identity in Christ. When practicing domestic politics—which is categorically different from international politics—we are to consider the ramifications of our choices if the tables were turned and adhere to the rule of law unless it violates our Christian ethics, knowing that this may put us at a political disadvantage. We are called to daily surrender our individual wills to God, but by no means to our political opponents. The savvy Christian considers how to play the game of politics well and with love and integrity, counting the cost of the means they employ to obtain their desired ends and weighing the balance in favor of our Christian witness. 

It hurts to lose battles in the culture war; losses that produce real harms for the church and our families. We should lament these losses over the value of life, religious discrimination, redefining marriage, identity politics, and immoral education. Even so, the church must retain its integrity and identity in Christ alone, which gives it the courage to live faithfully and at peace in times of turmoil and deprivation. And it is incredibly freeing that we are only called to obedience, rather than results. Reinhold, Paul, and Christ offer us encouragement for such a time as this. Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer (1932) prompts the church to confidently, thoughtfully, and selflessly engage in culture-making while accepting defeat graciously when it invariably comes. The Apostle Paul reminds us (Phil. 4:6-7) to never be anxious because we have full access to God through Christ. Finally, Christ (Matt. 5:43) commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who cause us harm. Let’s live out these encouragements in the coming days. 

Dr. Tony Caito
Associate Professor of Political Science (& Pre-Law Advisor)
Director, Leadership & Political Engagement Program

How will faculty help me after I graduate?

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One of the benefits of attending a private college with small class sizes is that faculty become more than simply professors. You’ve probably heard this sentiment from other colleges as well, but what does it really mean?

Faculty members help you get a job.

This is real. When you develop relationships with your advisor and other faculty members, they become very important parts of your job search. Yes, faculty members spend most of their time teaching, but they also stay connected in their fields and are your biggest advocates in the workforce.

Corban’s faculty frequently communicate with influencers in the job market so when you are ready to graduate, they can point you in the right direction. I’m speaking from experience! My advisor gave me two phone numbers to call, and after I called the first one, I had an internship set up for my undergraduate work. When I was ready to graduate, my advisor was once again my advocate, and I had a job immediately after graduation.

Faculty members keep in touch.

A mentor of mine once told me that it was wise for me to have a career mentor, a spiritual mentor, and a family mentor. At Corban, you may find two or three of those in one faculty member! I know of many faculty members who are masters at career mentorship and who also do pre-marital counseling or Bible studies with recent graduates. My advisor from Corban still checks in on me when we run into each other, and I’ve been out of college for 10 years!

Faculty members are real people.

The last key to how faculty members can help you after graduation is that they have been in your shoes. At Corban, the faculty have put in years of work or service in their areas of study. Practically, they have been college graduates looking for jobs and vividly remember that experience.

When you understand the community and the culture of learning at Corban, you’ll realize you will not have to face the world alone. Ultimately, your advisor is a follower of Christ who has spent years in the same field you want to go into. Your advisor is dedicated to training and educating you on how to master that experience.

To meet with a faculty member and learn more, set up a campus visit!

“Transfer” is short for “credit transfer,” right?

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I have worked in Admissions for almost 10 years and have been working with transfer students for almost five years. The most important question is, “How will my credits transfer?”

You need to know how those credits you’ve earned will transfer and that all you went through to get them – late night cram sessions, and running from work to college and back to work – was not a waste of time. At Corban, you will get concrete answers!

Here’s how you know if your credits will transfer to Corban. Can you say yes to these three statements?

– My credits are from an accredited university or college.

– My credits are from “100” or “freshman” level courses or higher.

– I earned a “C-“ or better.

If you can answer “yes” to all three, then rejoice! Your credits will transfer to Corban!

As you know though, that isn’t the end of the story. The next question is, “How long will it take me to finish my degree?” This question is much more difficult but not impossible to answer.

If we receive an official transcript from you, it’s amazing what we can do with it! If you send me a screenshot of your classes, I can give you a pretty good idea, but the official transcript is where it’s at. Once we have that transcript, we can get it evaluated within 48 hours. That is a crazy fast turnaround!

If you know what you want to study, then we can plug your evaluation into the degree and give you a very good idea of how long it will take you to finish. In fact, we can even connect with an advisor in that discipline and get their feedback.

The worst thing for a transfer student is a “surprise” when it comes to credit transferring. We try to limit surprises to birthdays and such. This also means it’s very important to connect with me, Jordan, as soon as you can about transferring. Every college has slightly different general education requirements, and you want to make sure as many of your gen. ed. courses as possible will transfer to Corban’s gen. ed. requirements, rather than one more “elective credit.”

The Advising Side of Life

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No two transfer students are alike. That means that each of you have received different levels of care on the “advising” side of college. You may just have finished an all-you-can-eat buffet with your advisor one hour ago. Or you may know for a fact that you have an advisor, but you’ve never actually seen him or her.

At Corban, we do things a little different. You can expect to get exactly what you need from your advisor at Corban.

Corban’s academic advisors have an “open door” policy. It’s true! All advisors are expected to be available for students. Some advisors will share their cell phone number and encourage you to text with questions. Some will prefer weekly face-to-face conversations. Other advisors will serve as the gatekeeper to getting you into the right classes for graduation. Some will be all of those things.

At Corban, your advisor is there to advise and help you every step of the way to graduation.

I want to tell you a story. I, Jordan, am a graduate of Corban University (“Go Warriors!”), and I was not excited to meet with my advisor. I thought it was a formality that I didn’t really need. But then, I started to get really confused in one of my main classes for my degree. “Not to worry,” I thought. “I just need to spend more time studying.” Well I studied….hard. Still, I wasn’t getting anywhere!

Sheepishly, I decided to seek help and knocked on my professor’s door. He pushed his things aside and asked how he could help. As I was talking…the water works began. It was so humbling! But my professor stopped me, prayed with me, encouraged me, and then explained the processes I was hung up on.

Your advisor at Corban is not just there to get you to graduation. Although that is ultimately very important, your advisor at Corban is going to understand your faith, push you to advance, and walk alongside you.

Did you know at Corban, your academic advisor schedules your first semester at the college to ensure you’re in the right classes? None of this “lone wolf” business that gets so many transfers into courses they do not need. Your advisor will see what you need and get you into the right classes.

When new students deposit and confirm their enrollment at Corban, they are assigned an academic advisor who schedules their classes. Transfer students will not need to worry about registering. Also, advisors prefer that when you are on campus, the two of you meet in person to talk about your educational goals, life goals, and all facets of getting you to the finish line.

Corban’s advisors make it very difficult to not succeed in college or after graduation.

Reach out with any questions or comments here:

Jordan Lindsey | Director of Admissions
jlindsey@corban.edu | 503.375.7156 (PH) | 971.599.1028 (TEXT)

Where am I supposed to live?!

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Living in the dorms is one of the best ways to get connected on campus and participate in the full college experience. But we know not every transfer student wants or can afford to live in the dorms. Before you become envious of those who have family conveniently in the city of Salem, let’s talk about your housing options.

Dorm Life

I legitimately have never come across anyone who lived in the dorms that didn’t talk about it with a sense of wonder and nostalgia. Why is that? It’s because there is something very unique, encouraging, challenging, and cool that happens when you live with your best friends, friends, acquaintances, and even those you can only handle in one-minute increments. Living in a community of believers also intensifies all those emotions and feelings.

Before you dismiss dorm life for “freshman” or “students whose parents are probably paying for their tuition,” take a good look at what you need to succeed. Yes, dorm life can be “expensive,” but what you gain is not searching for an apartment, not searching for a roommate, not paying every month, not paying all of your utilities, never wondering what you’re going to eat, and not having to commute to school.

There is some convenience and affordability that exists with dorm life, along with the unique and undeniable bonding that happens in the dorms. For some, living in the dorms eliminates the right amount of stress needed to focus on their studies. Is that you?

Apartments Near By or Rooms to Rent

Perhaps you’re in a situation where the dorms just aren’t the best option for you. Where do you turn? So glad you hypothetically asked! First, I recommend taking a look online at apartment complexes closest to campus. Here are three right around the corner from Corban:

  • Saddle Club Apartments
  • Triple Crown Apartments
  • The Reserve at Hawks Ridge

Call for the latest rates, but most will be around $1,000 monthly. You can split that cost with roommates to make it more affordable. There are about 15 apartment complexes within 10 miles of campus, so there should be some good options out there. Or check out the Corban Housing Board, where you could even find a roommate.

Wherever you decide to live, make sure it will be a location that will support you in your studies rather than hinder you.

Reach out with any questions or comments here:

Jordan Lindsey | Director of Admissions
jlindsey@corban.edu | 503.375.7156 (PH) | 971.599.1028 (TEXT)