Abstract
Much has been written on how the Christian worldview causes Christian universities to be different from secular ones. A number of discipline-specific works help Christian scholars show us how to think biblically about biology, economics, psychology, and so on. Faith integration scholars have also recognized that in addition to re-examining what is taught in the classroom, the co-curricular aspects of a Christian university should be informed by our faith. For example, we may ask, How does Christianity impact grading, admissions, or dorm life? Jensen and Visser's Reimagining the student experience assembles the voices of administrators at faith-based schools, as they describe how faith impacts areas like student affairs and service-learning. The text continues a project that David Guthrie began in 1997 with his book Student Affairs Reconsidered: A Christian view of the profession and its contexts.
Drew Moser, dean of student engagement at Taylor University, writes on vocation: The Christian college should not be a place that merely emphasizes Return on Investment; nor should it leave “emerging adults” to flounder in their career paths. Instead, we should let students” time at the university be a disruption- a crisis of sorts. This crisis should cause students to critically reflect on their career plans, and to develop a sense of vocation. In fact, Moser argues, this is not only something students should do during college- we should continually work out our sense of vocation throughout our lives (32). Vocation, in contrast to work, includes our connection to church, family, community, and God.
Irene Kraegel, director of the Center for Counseling and Wellness at Calvin College, says that instead of asking what is wrong with students these days, we should ask how we can promote students” health. The answer comes in modeling self-care and making mental health a campus-wide priority. Kraegel argues that mental health is the concern of all faculty and staff because it is critical to the other goals of the university. After developing the parable of the sower, she says, “If we want healthy crops, we must tend to our soil” (48). She gives specific examples of ways to foster mental health, including: meditation, limitations on screen time, and the provision of digital alternatives for students who are timid about seeking traditional avenues for mental health support.
The issue of racism in Christian higher education is taken on by Jason Cha (director of intercultural programs at Westmont College) and Alexander Jun (professor of higher education at Azusa Pacific University). The authors believe that for white students to have an effective witness, they must “interrogate whiteness” (61, 65) by examining issues of privilege and “racial consciousness” (64). Reimagining the student experience would mean adopting a critical view of race in the student affairs curriculum. CCCU schools are compositionally diverse, but not structurally diverse; so while many schools are no longer Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), they may continue to be Dominant White Institutions (DWIs) (72). This chapter introduces dozens of conceptual pieces on critical race theory but could be strengthened with empirical evidence showing what effect critical race theory has on improving race relations or on diversifying the power structure of a university.
Donald Opitz, campus pastor and professor at Messiah College, confesses that readers may not like his chapter on sexuality (84). Actually, Opitz may have underestimated the value of his chapter. It spends a good deal of time working out how a Christian campus can reclaim “deep discourse” (90) (in contrast to toxic debate) in a cancel culture age, where political correctness has “chilled” higher education, and where “hateful contempt” has ignited it (88). Opitz does not develop a biblical approach to human sexuality in the chapter, but he does argue that the Christian college's job is to tear down idols and point students to Jesus Christ.
Jeffrey Bouman, director of the service-learning center at Calvin College, critiques issues such as power differentials and unsustainability (e.g., when the service-learning program lives and dies depending on what current social issues are in focus at the college campus). He gives a history of how Calvin college built long-term relationships with the local communities. The chapter focuses on the phrase “knowing requires heartbreak” (106); that is, when education is functioning correctly, we will be in tune with the heartbreak around us.
Dorm life is undertaken by the enrollment management coordinator at Baylor University, Erin Stample. She suggests that Living Learning Programs (LLPs) should be about integrating the Christian faith with “daily relationships, habits and rhythms” (127). The chapter draws from several studies on LLPs, and from a case study from Baylor. Though, it is unclear how the chapter's metaphor of “redemptive liturgy” can be put into practice.
Christina Edmonson, dean of the Intercultural Development Center at Calvin College, argues that success, in the Christian education context, would be reimagined as stewardship of “gifts, energy, opportunities and struggles toward the aim of the greater good” (145). She notes that in an age of “lower college readiness” (147) success involves mentoring students before they get into college, and means ensuring that students have the finances to continue their enrollment. It is not clear how this approach differs from the office of student success at secular campuses.
Last, Jeffrey Cole suggests that we break down stereotypes that cause barriers between academic affairs staff and faculty. Cole, professor of history and humanities at Geneva College, describes a living and learning project (LLP) in Rome where faculty and academic affairs staff were involved with students” lives outside of the classroom.
To tie the volume together, it would be best to have a sort of checklist of items that the authors deem necessary for reimagining the student experience: 1) Do not give in to the secular pressure to make college all about securing a job; 2) Place a higher priority than our secular colleges do on mental health; 3) Help white students address white privilege; 4) Move from contemptuous debates about human sexuality towards “deep discussions” about sexuality, biases, idols, and Jesus Christ; 5) Engage in service-learning that not only logs hours but teaches our hearts to break for the world's pain; 6) Ensure that the dorms are more than “in loco parentis”- instead, community life should foster faith integration; 7) Rather than perpetuate the secular idols of high salaries and power as marks of success, encourage students to steward their talents; and 8) Foster a community where professors, academic affairs, and students can collaborate.
There is much more room for reimagining the student experience at Christian colleges: How does the Christian worldview impact policies about late work? How would our sports programs look different than secular universities? How should fundraising differ, and should Christian colleges be under construction indefinitely, as secular schools are?
The editors envisioned the book would be studied by groups of faculty and staff. Each chapter ends with a benediction and study questions. Reimagining the student experience is a valuable resource for professors and staff to discuss how faith impacts their various roles at a Christian school.