Defiance College's Mission, Values, & Strategies
MISSION STATEMENT:
Defiance College graduates students to lead distinctive lives in their chosen professions through a spirit of service by preparing them To Know, To Understand, To Lead, and To Serve.
- TO KNOW
We believe that the liberal arts form a broad basis for all learning. We affirm that academic excellence demands a committed search for truth, competency in research and other problem-solving methods, the ability to synthesize knowledge from many sources, and a capacity for self-directed learning. - TO UNDERSTAND
We provide opportunities for students to perceive and make connections between the intellectual realm and the world. We strive to develop awareness of and sensitivity to global interdependence and diverse cultures. - TO LEAD
We are committed to the betterment of the community, the nation, and the world through the development of leadership skills and abilities. We create opportunities for students to initiate and facilitate beneficial action in and out of the classroom and encourage self-reflection on the role of the dedicated leader. - TO SERVE
We encourage our students to be of service to their fellow students, their chosen fields of study, their communities and the world. We provide opportunities for students to transform society through civic engagement along with application of their knowledge and understanding to service.
VISION:
Holistic Learning and Adaptability for Life.
Prepared Professionals.
Community Leaders.
Civic Stewards.
CORE VALUES:
At Defiance College, we go together:
Inclusive.
Excellence.
Innovative.
Engaging.
Influential.
Soulful.
Intentional.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT:
Defiance College recognizes the value and worth of all individuals. We strive to create a culture in which every community member may discover their intellectual and personal potential. As an institution of higher education, we believe in embracing the worth, dignity, and safety of all people, especially those who have been historically marginalized. We believe that when individuals are valued, they are also empowered to express themselves fully, thereby elevating their engagement and sense of belonging. As a college community, we are working to create, sustain, and develop a diverse and inclusive environment that embraces and welcomes differences and offers respect in words and actions. The campus community is expected and emboldened to foster a vibrant environment that values diverse perspectives, experiences, and ways of producing knowledge where all people can thrive in and out of the classroom.
PURPOSE, OUR "WHY?":
Transformative Learning
AFFILIATION:
Defiance College has been affiliated with the Christian Church, now United Church of Christ, since 1902. http://www.ucc.org/
HISTORY:
The common threads that run through today’s Defiance College – academics based in the liberal arts, preparation for successful careers, a sensitivity to the world and its diverse cultures, and a commitment to service – all have more than a century of tradition. Chartered in 1850 by the state legislature as the Defiance Female Seminary, trustees sold canal lands granted to them to start a college. By the mid-1880s, the doors of Defiance Hall were opened to the first students.
In 1902, the Christian Church assumed leadership of the college and changed its name to The Defiance College. The next two decades were years of significant growth of the campus and student body, and it was during this period that the college’s mission of service to humanity took root.
The College carried on through the external forces of two world wars, and after World War II saw the arrival of many veterans earning their college education through the GI Bill. Numerous programs were revived and expanded, and the physical campus grew with construction of several buildings. In 1967, the Schauffler College of Cleveland and Oberlin merged with Defiance College with a focus on social work and religious education studies.
In August 2020, Defiance College launched Jacket Journey, a readiness program designed to prepare students for careers or graduate school by ensuring they can articulate their knowledge, skills, and dispositions for success in their careers. Originally conceptualized by Defiance College 19th President and expounded by the faculty and staff, Jacket Journey is designed to address three key problems facing higher education and the 21st century workforce. First, the false belief that a liberal arts-based education does not prepare students for work and life that creates a disconnect between what employers think liberal-arts colleges do and what they actually do. Second, students often do not know how to properly articulate what they have learned. Too often, students fail to recognize and espouse all of the soft skills they have learned both inside and outside of the classroom. Finally, every college has a career development office, but its activities are voluntary. Jacket Journey, housed in the Institute for Career Readiness and Lifelong Learning, is unique in that it is a required, four-year program with one academic credit hour for each of those four years.
Throughout its history, Defiance College maintains its commitment to making a difference in the lives of others.
CAMPUS COVENANT*:
Defiance College is a community of learned dedicated to nurturing the whole person of each of its members. We week to inspire a commitment to know the truth, to understand our world and the diverse cultures within it, to lead within our professions, and to serve our families, our communities, and our world as responsible citizens.
As a member of the Defiance College community...
- I will respect the dignity and worth of each person.
- I will recognize the importance of interpersonal relationships and of a caring community.
- I will strongly advocate honest and open intellectual inquiry and academic freedom.
- I will trust that truths, in all their complexities, are ultimately interrelated.
- I will move beyond tolerance and acceptance to understanding and appreciation of religious, cultural, and individual diversity.
- I will recognize the privilege and responsibility of my stewardship for individuals, institutions, and for the resources of the natural world.
- I will commit myself to serving others as an expression of faith and a way of life
enrichment and fulfillment.
This statement is intended as a reflection of the central values of Defiance College. It is designed to be discussed and supported by the entire Defiance College community with the understanding that it is always a "work in progress." This covenant is recited by all incoming students at fall convocation.
*Adapted from the University of South Carolina's The Carolinian Creed and from the Defiance College statement covenantal status as a United Church of Christ related college.
GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
9 learning objectives which complement our Mission & Vision
- Sense of community: demonstrate an ability to understand the complexity and diversity of the world in order to make informed, socially-responsible actions.
- Powerful communication: demonstrate thoughtful, critical communication practices for a range of audiences and subjects.
- Individual empowerment: understand the methods and benefits of intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical self-reflection, and self-direction for positioning the self in the larger public world in culturally-aware ways.
- Creative and expressive arts: ability to describe cultural production using an established aesthetic theory. (elective courses)
- Historical, political, and multicultural perspectives: ability to describe historical, political, or multicultural issues, concepts, or theories. (elective courses)
- Quantitative reasoning: ability to utilize quantitative data to obtain and apply an appropriate conclusion when addressing a selected problem. (elective courses)
- Scientific knowledge: ability to comprehensively and objectively analyze and evaluate appropriate data (e.g., issues, texts, artifacts, and events) and develop an informed conclusion. (elective courses)
- Social and behavioral sciences 1: ability to describe findings and theories in at least one area of social or behavioral science. (elective courses)
- Social and behavioral sciences 2: ability to describe the scientific method and how it can be used to assess human behavior and/or interaction. (elective courses)
OVERARCHING STRATEGIES
- Career Readiness undergirded by Liberal Arts-based Learning (Jacket Journey)
a. Assess for continuous improvement updates
b. Placement rate of 90% or higher (first professional position; graduate school)
c. Measure impact on employers/graduate schools where DC graduates have been placed
d. DEFI: Discover Engage Formulate Initiate
e. Competencies:- Oral & Written Communication
- Teamwork & Collaboration
- Teamwork & Collaboration
- Critical & Creative Thinking
- Digital Technology
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Financial Literacy
- Holistic and Transformative Learning: Extent to which students connect their out-of-class experiences with in-class learning.
Nurturing the mind, body, and soul as part of a well-rounded education.
a. Realize the College’s stated purpose: Transformative Learning by assisting students to seek and find their potential and aptitude for vocation and avocation
b. Continue our decades-long commitment to support students who have both the desire and capacity to succeed in college despite a lack of academic success as demonstrated by the high school academic record (GPA, ACT/SAT, Personal Statement)
c. Continue to Nurture the "soul" of Defiance College - Resource Management
Suggested Actions:
a. Redefine our financial situation in a post-COVID-19 world and manage/lead accordingly
b. Continue to diversify revenue streams (integrated with number 5 below)
c. Balance athletics and academics.
i. Grow enrollment through recruitment and retention as built into annual operating budget
ii. Build retention by at least 1% annually
iii. Build persistence (4 year and 6-year rates) by 1-2% annually.
d. Monitor and advocate appropriately for legislation affecting higher education – both as a whole and for the independent sector.
e. To better manage effectively and efficiently, consider all policies and what changes need to be made – added, deleted, amended – and seek approval through appropriate pathways.
f. Continuous assessment and adjustments for effective fundraising including major gifts. - Quality Programs
Suggested actions:
a. Build and continue to enhance DC's value proposition.
b. Fully develop and implement the DC Academy student track with data from the 2024 “pilot.”
c. Continue to diversify modalities of learning, and the academic program offerings solely or in conjunction with educational and economic partners.
d. Continue to improve assessment and data-informed decision-making.
e. Participate in Economic Development activities regularly to continue to develop program offerings that will benefit the region, state, nation, world. - Vibrant Campus Environment
Suggested actions:
a. Develop students’ ability to synthesize and articulate classroom learning with out-of-classroom learning.
b. Continue to improve facilities for academic, residential, and athletic/recreational activities.
c. Continue facilities improvements through donations, grants, CDS, and other forms of non-operating funds.
Engage with the campus DEI Advisory Council to continue non-discriminatory practices as provided for by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for all colleges receiving Title IV funds and to meet our mission by continuing to seek to create a culture of belongingness.
Affirmed new language and Board Metrics May 10, 2024
Updated for language August 2022
Accepted by Defiance College Board of Trustees, February 19, 2021
