Benedictine 2020 - Students

Strategic Priority 2: Enroll, engage and educate students capable of transforming the world through intellectual, personal, and spiritual greatness.

As a reflection of our Benedictine charism, we believe that our student life and residential nature are integral to our mission of community, faith and scholarship.

Community: To continually improve our dynamic community, we need to provide students with opportunities and guidance to grow personally; to develop deep and lasting friendships; and to develop their leadership skills in service to others. We will provide ample opportunities for students to work collegially with a wide variety of others; opportunities for students to develop relationships with staff members; and both formal and informal opportunities for extensive student-faculty engagement outside the classroom. We will help our students form their consciences and develop personal ethical standards to live by. We will provide the facilities that support a vibrant community life, including appropriate recreation and leisure accommodations.

Faith: We need to provide students with opportunities and guidance to grow spiritually. As an academic community rooted in Christian charity, Benedictine College seeks to promote the welfare and dignity of all of its constituents. Our community is enhanced by our student life programs, outreach beyond the campus, and participation in international experiences that enrich their Catholic identity. We will support students as they discern their vocations in life. We will also provide them with guidance as we encourage them to link the lessons they learn in the classroom with their plans for the future. We will structure our student life programming to prepare students to effectively carry out their Christian responsibilities after they graduate.

Scholarship: We need to provide students with opportunities and guidance to grow intellectually. It is important that we attract and retain a student body who will benefit from a Benedictine education, and that we provide them with a challenging and enriching academic experience. We will recruit students who are interested in and capable of benefitting from a rigorous and relevant education, and surround them with peers who will enhance their experience. We will ensure that students are engaged in significant educational endeavors throughout their course of study, and we will provide the support necessary for motivated students to meet the challenges that we present to them.

Initiatives

1. Develop targeted recruiting initiatives that focus on academic talent, leadership ability, faith and character activities, and other attributes that will contribute to a vibrant and engaged student body.
2. Provide a broad range of international programs and experiential and service learning options. Foster student-faculty collaboration through the Discovery program and other collaborative learning opportunities. Regularly evaluate and assess the effectiveness of these programs.
3. Implement the Benedictine Family Model to provide a framework for student life programming. Regularly assess and evaluate campus programming to ensure that it is meeting the needs of the student body and fostering campus unity. Provide multiple venues for leadership development that attract students from a wide range of backgrounds and interests.
4. Support the athletic department in initiatives designed to build character and sportsmanship in student-athletes and fans, including programs that foster the integration of faith and athletics.
5. Institute programs that train students to be disciples in the modern world and advance the mission of the Church in the world through the study and implementation of the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the call for a New Evangelization. Train students to effectively develop and lead projects that advance the Gospel.
6. Provide effective career, graduate school, and fellowship/scholarship preparation and counseling to place Benedictine graduates into leadership positions where they can transform the world.

Strategic Plan: