Organizational Structure
Boyce College falls under the organizational structure of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary currently has three schools: School of Theology, Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry, and Boyce College. Boyce College offers an associate degree in Biblical & Theological Studies and two baccalaureate degrees, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts. Students may earn the Associate of Arts (60 credit hours), Bachelor of Science (129-133 credit hours), or Bachelor of Arts (129-132 credit hours) degrees. The college’s main campus is located in Mullins Hall on the seminary campus.
The EPP of Boyce College is a professional teacher preparation unit which falls under the Applied Studies Programs, offering a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education P-5. Boyce College Administration oversees the entire Teacher Education Program, which is governed by the Boyce College Council on Teacher Education. The CTE is comprised of faculty, students and public-school administrators and/or teachers. The purpose of the CTE is to serve as the policy making body for the Boyce College EPP, to implement those policies, and finally to assure that the Boyce teacher preparation unit is meeting all state requirements and standards. The CTE reviews program data and approves teacher candidates at each of the four checkpoints: admission, program continuation, admission to student teaching and program completion. Additionally, the CTE provides action plans based on program data and oversees implementation of each action plan.
The Dean of Boyce College is the chief academic officer for the EPP. The department is headed by a faculty chair. As the EPP only offers one program, Elementary Education P-5, there are no relationships with other units. However, there is a cooperative relationship with the coordinator of General Education Studies that assures that courses required for the Elementary Education P-5 program are offered as needed. This collaboration guarantees qualified faculty are employed for the teaching of the General Education courses required for the Elementary Education P-5 program.
Mission
Boyce College is the undergraduate school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. As such, it functions under the mission statement of Southern Seminary: Under the lordship of Jesus Christ, the mission of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is to be totally committed to the Bible as the Word of God, to the Great Commission as our mandate, and to be a servant of the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention by training, educating, and preparing ministers of the gospel for more faithful service.
Within the mission of Southern Seminary, the purpose of Boyce College is to conduct undergraduate programs in biblical studies to prepare students for the task of Great Commission ministry in local churches, as well as in the agencies and institutions of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The EPP is focusing on Elementary Education P-5. As an EPP, the Department of Teacher Education is committed to the education of quality teacher candidates who have the highest level of knowledge acquisition and skilled pedagogical performance which will operate from a biblically–based world view.
It is the mission of the Boyce EPP to develop servant-leaders by:
- Educating teacher candidates who are aware of the multi-faceted nature of educating individual diverse learners;
- Engaging teacher candidates based on thorough and researched–based professional education;
- Preparing professional, committed, skilled and knowledgeable teacher candidates to apply the best practices for effective learning to meet the diverse educational needs of an ever-changing society;
- Equipping teacher candidates with the knowledge and skills to improve the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual dimensions of the learner.
The program of instruction is designed to equip teacher candidates with the range of knowledge necessary for the profession of teaching, with the skills of teaching as recognized in the education profession, and with the dispositions for servant-leadership in a world of diversity. The EPP has identified the following dispositions: service, collaboration, reflective practitioner and professionalism.
Vision
The vision of the Boyce EPP is to prepare teacher candidates to be servant-leaders, equipped for the future of education in an ever-changing world. To this end, the EPP seeks to prepare teacher candidates:
- marked by servant-leadership towards all stakeholders,
- who cultivate an environment of cooperation and collaboration
- consistently engage in reflection as a means of professional development, and
- who recognize the importance and value of teaching as a profession
Goals
The EPP has identified the following goals:
- Founded on the philosophy of a Christian worldview, the EPP is committed to following the Biblical tenets and principles of Christian teaching.
- Establish clinical experience designed to augment a progressive curriculum, forming diverse and intentional partnerships with local P-12 schools to ensure teacher candidates a variety of clinical experiences.
- Develop and implement a recruitment plan of diverse and minority students.
- Increase teacher candidates knowledge and implementation of Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation standards.
- Establish an assessment plan to monitor EPP effectiveness.
- Create a systematic EPP graduate tracking system, monitoring and mentoring graduates for up to five years, determining the effectiveness and impact of Boyce graduates.
- Integrate current best practices in pedagogy, classroom management, and literacy in all professional education classes.
Shared Values & Beliefs for Educator Preparation
The EPP believes that successful educators are developed from programs which emphasize:
- The importance of a Christian worldview, which serves as the foundation for a servant- leadership based educational philosophy.
- Commitment to the dispositions of service, collaboration, reflective-practitioner and professionalism within the teaching profession.
- Coherence across curriculum, instruction and clinical experiences which together builds a cohesive and progressive educational experience, which culminates in student teaching.
- The necessity and importance of reflection as a means of professional growth.
- Consistency with state standards through program alignment.
- Understanding and appreciating the diversity of all people and cultures and demonstrating the ability to differentiate instruction to meet individual needs.
- The reality of new technological innovations and an ever-changing world, which requires the ability to implement new discoveries and research into the classroom.