New Saint Andrews College
Encyclopedia
New Saint Andrews College is a classical
Christian
college located in Moscow, Idaho
. It was founded in 1994 and modeled in part on the curriculum of Harvard College
of the seventeenth century. The college offers no undergraduate majors, but follows a single, integrated classical liberal arts
curriculum from a Christian worldview in its associate's and bachelor's degree programs. The college also offers master's degrees in theology & letters, and classical Christian studies. The New Saint Andrews board, faculty, and staff are confessionally Reformed (Calvinist). Board members are affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).
In 2005 New Saint Andrews became an accredited member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools
(TRACS), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA). TRACS authorized the college as a Category III Master's degree granting institution in April 2007. New Saint Andrews was nationally reaccredited in 2010. The college is a charter member of the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) and a member of the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education
(ARIHE).
The college was featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network
in March 2006. In August 2006 New Saint Andrews was named by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute
as one of the top 50 schools for "conservatives, old-fashioned liberals, and people of faith." The college was also featured in the September 30, 2007 edition of The New York Times Magazine
in an article entitled, "Onward Christian Scholars."
in its single, integrated undergraduate curriculum in liberal arts and culture. The curriculum stresses learning from Great Books
and developing the skills to be a lifelong learner. Rather than using textbooks, the college requires reading of primary works in the classical and Christian literature of Western civilization
. The college uses "Oxford-style" small group recitations, in which six to eight students meet with individual faculty members to discuss the assigned readings. Students have examinations every eight weeks, many of which are conducted orally. Seniors are required to write theses and defend them before a faculty panel. The college offers associate and bachelor degrees in liberal arts and culture, a Master of Arts in Trinitarian theology and culture, and a Master of Studies (and Graduate Certificate) in Classical Christian Studies.
The college limits new student enrollment to about 50-60 new undergraduates and 10-15 graduate students each year. The student body numbers about 160 students (150 full-time equivalent) from about 30 states, five foreign countries, and more than 20 Christian denominations. Approximately half of the college's students were home-schooled and a quarter attended Association of Classical and Christian Schools
(ACCS) affiliated high schools.
The college provides no dormitories or food services, by board policy. Instead, it encourages students to live as responsible members of the local community, and assists students and their families in arranging appropriate housing.
As of the May 2010 Commencement, the college had more than 200 alumni. Approximately one-third of the college's graduates pursue graduate school or advanced professional studies, one-third go on to teach at classical and Christian schools, and one-third pursue other callings or professions.
Classical education movement
The Classical education movement advocates a form of education based in the traditions of Western culture, with a particular focus on education as understood and taught in the Middle Ages. The curricula and pedagogy of classical education was first developed during the Middle Ages by Martianus...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
college located in Moscow, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
. It was founded in 1994 and modeled in part on the curriculum of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
of the seventeenth century. The college offers no undergraduate majors, but follows a single, integrated classical liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
curriculum from a Christian worldview in its associate's and bachelor's degree programs. The college also offers master's degrees in theology & letters, and classical Christian studies. The New Saint Andrews board, faculty, and staff are confessionally Reformed (Calvinist). Board members are affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).
History
New Saint Andrews began with four students in the fall of 1994. In 1998 the college graduated its first two students (the first graduating class was 50% African-American and 50% female). The college moved to its present downtown location in Moscow when it purchased the historic Skattaboe Block, 1891 in October 2002, the restoration of which garnered the college recognition from the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission.In 2005 New Saint Andrews became an accredited member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools
Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools
The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools is a U.S. national educational accreditation agency for Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries...
(TRACS), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
(CHEA). TRACS authorized the college as a Category III Master's degree granting institution in April 2007. New Saint Andrews was nationally reaccredited in 2010. The college is a charter member of the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) and a member of the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education
Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education
The Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education is an affiliate of the International Association for Promotion of Christian Higher Education, as the latter's North American Region...
(ARIHE).
The college was featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
in March 2006. In August 2006 New Saint Andrews was named by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Inc., or ', is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1953 as the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists...
as one of the top 50 schools for "conservatives, old-fashioned liberals, and people of faith." The college was also featured in the September 30, 2007 edition of The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
in an article entitled, "Onward Christian Scholars."
Academics and student life
The college's classical Christian program of studies follows the Trivium and QuadriviumQuadrivium
The quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval universities, after teaching the trivium. The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" , and its use for the 4 subjects has been attributed to Boethius or Cassiodorus in the 6th century...
in its single, integrated undergraduate curriculum in liberal arts and culture. The curriculum stresses learning from Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
and developing the skills to be a lifelong learner. Rather than using textbooks, the college requires reading of primary works in the classical and Christian literature of Western civilization
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
. The college uses "Oxford-style" small group recitations, in which six to eight students meet with individual faculty members to discuss the assigned readings. Students have examinations every eight weeks, many of which are conducted orally. Seniors are required to write theses and defend them before a faculty panel. The college offers associate and bachelor degrees in liberal arts and culture, a Master of Arts in Trinitarian theology and culture, and a Master of Studies (and Graduate Certificate) in Classical Christian Studies.
The college limits new student enrollment to about 50-60 new undergraduates and 10-15 graduate students each year. The student body numbers about 160 students (150 full-time equivalent) from about 30 states, five foreign countries, and more than 20 Christian denominations. Approximately half of the college's students were home-schooled and a quarter attended Association of Classical and Christian Schools
Association of Classical and Christian Schools
The Association of Classical & Christian Schools is an organization founded in 1994 to encourage the formation of Christian schools using a model of classical education...
(ACCS) affiliated high schools.
The college provides no dormitories or food services, by board policy. Instead, it encourages students to live as responsible members of the local community, and assists students and their families in arranging appropriate housing.
As of the May 2010 Commencement, the college had more than 200 alumni. Approximately one-third of the college's graduates pursue graduate school or advanced professional studies, one-third go on to teach at classical and Christian schools, and one-third pursue other callings or professions.
Notable faculty
- Roy Alden Atwood
- Peter LeithartPeter LeithartPeter J. Leithart is an American author, minister, theologian and Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature as well as Dean of Graduate Studies at New Saint Andrews College and holds a doctorate from Cambridge University. He was selected by the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher...
- Douglas WilsonDouglas Wilson (theologian)Douglas James Wilson is a conservative Reformed and evangelical theologian, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and prolific author and speaker...
- N. D. WilsonN. D. WilsonNathan David "N. D." Wilson is an American author of fiction, screenwriter, and Shroud of Turin skeptic.-Background:Wilson is a 1999 graduate of New Saint Andrews College, and holds a master’s degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College...
Further reading
- Molly Worthen (2007). "Onward Christian Scholars," New York Times Magazine, September 30, 2007.
- John Zmirak (2006). All-American Colleges: Top Schools for Conservatives, Old-Fashioned Liberals and People of Faith. Delaware: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2006.
- Samuel Schuman (2010). Seeing the Light: Religious Colleges in Twenty-First-Century America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010.
External links
- New Saint Andrews College—official website
- Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools
- ISI Guide to All-American Colleges: Top Schools for Conservatives, Old-Fashioned Liberals and People of Faith
- Higher Education in Idaho 2010 (see page 41)
- "Onward Christian Scholars," New York Times Magazine, September 30, 2007
- University and College Accountability Network (UCAN) website
- Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education (ARIHE)
- International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE)