Belhaven College believes that well-rounded personal, social, spiritual, and academic development can best be accomplished within a Christian community. Therefore, in order to meet individual needs while working for the needs of the community, it is necessary to establish guidelines for conduct. Belhaven's student handbook, The Kilt, describes in detail the guidelines governing student life and college community expectations. The system of standards set forth in the student handbook is intended to maintain a balance between individual freedom and the good of the community. Believing that every aspect of life should be lived to the glory of God, Belhaven College seeks to consistently apply these standards with a concern for the total development of the individual.
Belhaven reserves the right to withdraw and/or dismiss any student who, in its judgment, displays conduct in violation of the standards of the College.
Grievance Policy for Written Student Complaints
The student grievance or complaint policy insures that students have adequate lines of communication wherein to file written complaints. Students are encouraged to inform the proper college official any time they feel one of their student rights or privileges have been denied.
Academic Grievances
Currently enrolled students wishing to file grievances on academic issues should submit written appeals to the academic appeals committee, which may be done through the office of the registrar. Any appeal of a grade must be made within one semester following the issuance of the grade.
Academic grievances concerning a faculty member should be directed to the faculty’s department chairperson. In cases where the faculty member also holds the chair of the department, grievances should be directed to the division chairperson. In the case of division chairs, grievances should be reported to the vice president for academic operations. All grievances concerning adult studies courses should be directed to the academic state dean.
General Grievances
All general grievances not of an academic nature should be written and directed to the dean of student life. Adult studies students wishing to file grievances concerning study groups should contact the director of student services.
Procedure for Reporting Grievances
Disability Assistance
Belhaven College offers students disability accommodation in accordance with the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The student must make his or her disability known to the office of career and academic development and must provide current documentation of the disability from an appropriate licensed professional and complete the Belhaven ADA Request Form for accommodation. The student must provide such a request to the office of career and academic development at least two weeks prior to the beginning of each semester for which the accommodation is requested. Approved accommodations will be made within a reasonable time period after completion of the official request.
Residence Halls
The primary goal of the residence life program is to provide students with a framework of expectations and guidance in the context of community for the purpose of enabling students to make wise life choices. Professional Resident Directors and student Resident Assistants are in place not only to enforce policies and hold students accountable, but also to model wise living and to extend compassion, insight, and Christian love to those same students.
Belhaven College embraces the living-learning concept in its residence life experience. For this reason, all full-time members of the freshman and sophomore classes (single and under the age of twenty-one) are required to live on campus, with the exception of those students who live off campus with their parents or legal guardians. Those who meet any of these criteria and choose to live off campus must complete a Housing Exemption Form, available online or in the Office of Student Life, in order to be exempted from applicatory Room & Board fees. To be eligible to live in campus housing, students must be enrolled in a minimum of twelve semester hours and actively pursuing a degree.
Belhaven has five residence halls for undergraduate students. A Resident Director, along with several student leaders who serve as Resident Assistants, oversees each building.
Residence halls are not open during Christmas break, May terms, and summer sessions.
To be eligible to live in campus housing, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours. Full-time members of the freshman and sophomore classes (single and under the age of 21) are required to live on campus, with the exception of those students who live off campus with their parents.
Residence halls are not open during Christmas break, May terms, and summer sessions.
Chapel Attendance Policy
Chapel is held once each week (Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.) in the Concert Hall of the Center for the Arts. All students who are not exempt from chapel are required to attend a minimum of 12 sessions each semester they are enrolled at Belhaven. Chapel attendance is included in the student’s transcript as a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory grade and a pass grade is a requirement for graduation. A detailed explanation of the chapel attendance policy is published in the student handbook, The Kilt.
The purpose of the Belhaven chapel program is to bring together the entire campus in a shared, spiritually enriching hour that collectively enables us to be challenged to explore the depths of God’s truth, grace, and love. Respectful of the diversity of traditions and experiences consistent with Belhaven’s Statement of Faith, services are designed to allow all of us to be challenged with the central truths of the Gospel. Chapel is not offered as a substitute for involvement in a local church nor designed to provide the type of consistent worship experience unique to an individual church.
Master Learner Seminar Class (WVC 116)
Master Learner Seminar is designed to assist freshmen in their transition to Christian higher education. Issues of adjustment, academic rigor, time management, disciplined study, and specific learning strategies are welded together in an effort to consistently promote and evaluate student success.
The course meets once a week through the fall semester for one semester hour of credit.
Warren A. Hood Library
The Warren A. Hood Library houses more than 125,000 items. In addition to book and periodical collections, the library provides access to a vast array of electronic databases, electronic books, media collections, archival materials, and reference materials for all fields of study at Belhaven.
The Online Library is accessed through the Library web page (www.belhaven.edu/Library) and also provides a large collection of online full text databases including 25 databases within EBSCOhost, Grove’s Dictionary of Art, Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Christian Periodical Index, Mergent Online, CQ Researcher, and Classical Music Library. Additionally, library patrons have access to more than 33,000 e-books. These e-books are accessible 24/7 through the Library from any computer with an internet connection. The library is an invaluable resource for Belhaven users at all campuses to access essential resources via the internet.
The physical library is open 80 hours per week during the Fall and Spring sessions. Hours are slightly reduced during holidays, breaks and during the summer session. The library hours are intended to sufficiently provide Belhaven faculty, staff, students, and administration access to collections, services and professional assistance.
The library staff is well trained to assist all faculty and students with a wide range of research activities. It is the librarians’ intent that each student at Belhaven develops transferable skills to ensure life-long learning through instruction and skilled use of the materials (both physical and online) available through the Warren A. Hood Library as well as any library or research facility throughout the world.
The library staff strongly encourages reference consultations. Professional librarians are available for subject specific reference consultations. Advance appointments may be scheduled by contacting the library at 601-968-5948, 1-800-808-5002 or at askalibrarian@belhaven.edu. Patrons are encouraged to carefully describe their research needs at the time the appointment is made, thus allowing library staff the lead time necessary to plan the best use of the library's collections. Interlibrary Loan services are also available to ensure access to resources that are not owned by the library.
Belhaven Bookstore
The Belhaven Bookstore, located in the McCravey-Triplett Student Center, is open from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Friday. In addition to textbooks and supplies, the bookstore offers a variety of Belhaven memorabilia such as shirts, mugs, trade books, and Christian books and music.
Intercollegiate Athletics
The intercollegiate athletics department of Belhaven College is committed to the vision and mission of the College through athletic participation and competition. The department encourages every individual and team to achieve their highest potential in intercollegiate athletic competition. The department is dedicated to guiding each athlete into a more committed relationship with Christ as he or she develops intellectually, socially, and physically. Athletics provides a unique environment for demonstrating and teaching the virtues of self-control, patience, love, service, respect for authority, ethics, leadership, hard work, and dedication as they relate to the teachings of Jesus Christ and biblical principles. The department will take every opportunity to use athletics as a platform for sharing the Gospel.
The Belhaven athletics department is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), participating in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, cheerleading, men’s and women’s cross-country, golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball as a member of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, and football as a member of the Mid-South Conference.
Intramural Athletics
As an extension of the office of student leadership, the intramural program supports the College mission by providing opportunities for students to participate in a variety of sports activities. These activities are designed to promote exercise, leadership development, and fun. Throughout the year, the Coordinator of Student Leadership and Intramurals plans and schedules competitive activities such as indoor soccer, pool, basketball, ping-pong, volleyball, and dodgeball.
Social Life and Recreation
Belhaven College provides opportunities for wholesome recreation. Available to students for their use are the gymnasium, tennis courts, lake, weight room, and college bowl. The office of student leadership plans events such as concerts, dances, service projects, trips, and other various programs. The Belhaven Leadership Council (BLC), the student government arm of the student body, also plays a primary role in representing students and in planning activities to enhance campus life.
The following is a list of student organizations in which students are encouraged to participate:
| National Honorary Societies Alpha Psi Omega (Theatre) Kappa Delta Epsilon (Education) Phi Alpha Theta (History) Sigma Beta Delta (Business) Sigma Tau Delta (English) Sigma Zeta (Math and Science) |
Religious Organizations Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) Praise and Worship Fellowship (PWF) Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) Student Missions Fellowship (SMF) |
| Other Student Organizations |
|
BAT (Belhaven Activities Team) |
College Republicans Diverse Students Association (DSA) DOXA (Dance) Phi Beta Swinga’ Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA) The Joshua Squad |
Publications
Briefly Belhaven is published five times a year for alumni by the office of alumni relations.
The Brogue, a literary magazine devoted to creative and critical writing, is published once a year under sponsorship of the English department.
The Kilt, the student handbook, is published by the office of student life and provides a sketch of Belhaven's history, traditions, activities, services, regulations, and student organizations.
The Tartan, a publication for alumni and friends, includes news of alumni and campus events and is published twice a year by the office of public information.
White Columns, the student yearbook, is published annually. Students work with faculty and staff advisors to produce this printed record of the school year, all from a student perspective.
The Quarter Tone, the student newspaper, is published a minimum of four times per semester and contains various feature articles, editorials, reviews, and announcements. It is produced by students with the help of faculty and staff advisors.
Career and Academic Development
The office of career and academic development provides services to students in two main ways. First, the office provides assistance to students with identification of personal values, career interests, personality make-up, and skills and abilities to help begin the process of identifying God-given talents with the goal of integrating academic preparation and career direction. All incoming freshmen are introduced to the office through the Master Learner Seminar class and are encouraged to begin the process of self-discovery and to realize their unique and marvelous design. Upon identification of their innate talents and abilities, students can then begin to seek significant purpose in their lives and strive effectively to serve in their particular discipline. Second, the office strives to facilitate the development and success of those students needing assistance or guidance in their adjustment to the academic program of Belhaven College. The staff work with students whose past and current academic performance suggests that assistance, accountability, and motivation might increase their academic success.
Understanding that career goals and academic preparation can work together and become more focused and meaningful for the student, career and academic development takes on a whole new dynamic of discovering God’s meaning for the individual. Through the office of career and academic development, Belhaven strives to provide students with guidance for managing their academic, and ultimately, their career goals.
