Covenant College Unanimously Updates Core Curriculum for First Time Since 1990s

# What changed Covenant College's faculty and board unanimously approved an updated core curriculum that starts rolling out this fall. It replaces a core that dated to the 1990s and had grown unwieldy with many low-credit courses and 18 learning objectives spread across 58 credit hours.

# Why the revision happened Faculty leaders saw three problems: courses that felt outdated, many one- and two-credit offerings students dismissed as inconsequential, and a long list of learning objectives that crowded students' schedules. The revision was led by Carole Yue, a psychology professor, and Collin Messer, vice president for academic affairs.

# What the new core requires The reworked core narrows and clarifies. It is structured around four primary student outcomes:

• Narrate the content and form of the Bible and its doctrines.
• Develop research skills applicable to scholarship and problem solving.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills.
• Exhibit faithful cultural empathy and stewardship.

All core classes are now a minimum of three credits. Depending on major and transfer credits, the core totals about 50 to 52 credits. The college committed to staffing these courses by hiring or retaining faculty to teach them.

# What stays the same A substantial portion of the core remains Bible and theology: Introduction to Old Testament, Introduction to New Testament, Doctrine 1, and Doctrine 2 are retained. The core also keeps contemporary world history and introductory inquiry courses in social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and culture.

# Shared-experience courses every student will take The new core introduces several required shared courses designed to give all students common touchpoints across their college years:

• Cornerstone (first semester): Welcomes new students, helps them develop college skills, explores vocational and spiritual calling, and introduces the Reformed tradition. It frames college as a kind of pilgrimage and encourages students to examine how they spend their time.
• First-year fine-arts course: Exposes students to music, art, theater, and literature and encourages creative experimentation regardless of prior skill.
• Narrating the West (second year): Guides students to examine cultural assumptions and biases in literature and compare those perspectives with Scripture.
• Year Three social-sciences course: Focuses on how the church is engaged in the world and how students might participate in both church and civic life as they prepare for post-college roles.

# Governance and implementation Both the faculty and the college board approved the new curriculum unanimously. The committee that designed the core was led by Yue and Messer. Changes begin this fall with incoming classes.

# How leadership frames the change College leadership positions the revision as a way to serve current students—described as digital natives living in a more globalized world—while maintaining longstanding outcomes tied to Covenant's Reformed, Christ-centered mission. Leadership acknowledges the subject raises strong opinions about formation and identity, but asserts the college remains committed to the same fundamental outcomes for graduates.

# Practical impact for students Students will face a slightly smaller, more credit-concentrated core that preserves theological depth while adding shared experiences to build common skills and perspectives. The shift eliminates many low-credit items and aims to make core requirements feel more substantive and integrated into students' professional and spiritual development.