Mission and Goals

Mission

Trevecca Nazarene University is a Christian community providing education for leadership and service.

Purpose

Trevecca Nazarene University, founded in 1901 by J.O. McClurkan, is a private, accredited, comprehensive, Nazarene institution of higher learning that exists to meet the higher educational needs of individuals who desire a university education in a Christian environment and from a Christian understanding. Its academic programs are based on Christian values that promote scholarship, critical thinking, holistic development, and meaningful worship for students in preparation for lives of leadership and service to the church, the community, and the world at large.

As the official university for the Church of the Nazarene in the southeastern United States, Trevecca is guided by the Articles of Faith and the Covenant of Christian Conduct of the denomination. It emphasizes the authority of the Bible, time-honored tradition, reasoned thought, and authentic experience of Christian holiness as interpreted by the Wesleyan doctrine and worldview. The university welcomes any students who subscribe to these ideals and standards.

Trevecca intends that its graduates be socially-conscious, globally-aware, and actively-engaged individuals who are developing holistically in the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual areas of being. The desire is that each student will develop as life-long followers of Jesus Christ. They are to be persons of strong Christian character able to make ethical decisions based on biblical principles and reflective thought. Their characteristics should include competence, responsibility, compassion, and the ability to integrate Christian faith and learning in practice.

The university provides a variety of face to face and distance education, nontraditional and continuing education professional programs at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Traditional undergraduate curricular programs focus on the liberal arts and sciences as reflected in the core curriculum and emphasize a number of professional content areas. While the primary focus of Trevecca faculty is to teach, faculty members are encouraged as reflective practitioners to conduct action research that contributes to the practical wisdom of applied knowledge and enhances the learning experience. All programs strive to prepare students for positions of leadership and service in their chosen careers by clarifying their life calling, developing their intellectual abilities, and engaging them in research, service learning, internships, and/or other opportunities that will allow them to demonstrate practical application of their knowledge and skills.

To achieve its purpose, Trevecca employs faculty, administrators, and staff who model the ideals of the university and, as mentors, seek to foster a supportive and challenging environment in which every student can realize his or her full potential in Christ. Therefore, Trevecca seeks to employ Christians who are competent, professionally qualified, and fully committed to the university’s mission and purpose.

Operational Goals & Values

At Trevecca Nazarene University we are committed to:

Being a Christian university that serves its primary stakeholder, the southeastern region of the Church of the Nazarene, through delivering higher education rooted in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition.
Serving the Middle Tennessee community and beyond by providing relevant academic programs in a thoroughly Christian atmosphere.
Preparing servant-leaders through the holistic development of students.
Mentoring students and developing life-long relationships with them.
Offering an attractive campus and classroom environments for students and employees that are healthy, safe, and conducive to good teaching and learning.
Growing enrollment while developing new programs and educational deliveries in alignment with the mission.
Providing high quality support services at all program locations, implementing best practices in program delivery, and maintaining all university resources in a responsible manner.

Educational Goals

Trevecca Nazarene University seeks to develop a graduate who:

Has a character capable of leadership and service shaped by the habits and practices of the Christian tradition.
Has developed the capacity for disciplined reflection on the faith through the ministry of the Church and exposure to the parameters of the Christian faith, especially as it is engendered in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition.
Understands the literary, artistic, mathematical, and scientific contributions along with the persons, events, and ideas, which have given shape to civilization.
Has developed an appreciation for the diversity of insight and perspective evident in the global community.
Can write, speak, and use appropriate technologies in order to learn and communicate at a level consistent with an academic community.
Has the critical thinking skills and commitment to learning which will foster a lifetime of intellectual growth.
Sees life in its cognitive and affective; personal and relational; intellectual and spiritual; emotional, physiological, and physical dimensions in a way that engenders wholeness.
Has developed essential skills through practicums, internships, research, and other educational experiences in the larger community, which will enable him/her to become a productive influence in society.
Demonstrates competence in at least one academic discipline commensurate with the professional and degree standards.

The student learning outcomes listed in each academic area are derived from or are in harmony with these institutional goals.