Chapter 6 - Faculty Policies and Standards

6.13 Faculty Membership Requirements and Procedures for Requesting Exceptions

Context for the Requirements

Calvin College has always been strongly committed to a Reformed view of academic practice and community life. The college expects each member of its faculty to affirm and live out this Reformed perspective in every area of personal and professional endeavor.

Broadly speaking, Calvin holds faculty to two related expressions of Reformed commitment. First, members of the faculty are expected to demonstrate the Reformed character of their professional work, especially in the way their Christian faith shapes their teaching and scholarship. This demonstration may occur informally, through discussions and peer review, but it also occurs formally at the time of appointment through interviews, candidates' written statements of their religious faith, and the required pastor's letter; and at the time of reappointment and tenure through student evaluations of teaching, department reviews of teaching and scholarship, and written statements on faith and learning. These formal and informal means of promoting the integration of faith and learning have helped to create a faculty and an institution which have earned high distinction in both the wider Christian community and the broader academy.

Second, Calvin College has always expected its faculty members to demonstrate their commitment to Reformed confessions and institutions through their formal affirmations and involvement in church and school. As members of the broader community of Reformed believers, the faculty are required to affirm certain historic Reformed creeds and confessions, to participate in the Reformed church community, especially the Christian Reformed Church, and to promote Christian schooling at all levels.

The three specific faculty membership requirements described below do not represent a litmus test of Christian faith, nor do they imply a judgment on the integrity of the faith of those who do not meet them. Rather, they reflect the fact that Calvin's place in higher education is distinguished partly by its stance as a confessional community. Given the rapid secularization of society and its influence on Christian higher education, one important way of keeping faith with our confessional community is to carefully monitor faculty appointments, since the character of the faculty fundamentally affects the identity of the college. Maintaining the distinctive confessional identity of the college begins with the faculty's affirmation of the teachings of the Reformed church, an affirmation that is nurtured through the life of the church and finds expression in a Christian philosophy of education. The faculty membership requirements thus reflect a desire for integrity - integrity between communal traditions and contemporary commitments, as well as integrity between our institutional principles and personal belief and practice.

6.13.1 Requirements

6.13.1.1 Signing the Form of Subscription

Calvin College faculty members are required to sign a synodically approved Form of Subscription in which they affirm three historic "forms of unity" -- the Belgic Confessions, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dordrecht -- and pledge to teach, speak, and write in harmony with these confessions.

While affirming the final authority of the Scriptures for faith and life, the Reformed tradition shares with other confessional traditions within Christianity the conviction that the doctrines contained in Scripture must be structured in a way that promotes adherence to orthodox Christian belief. The college uses a Form of Subscription that is itself a historic document, dating from the 17th century, rather than substituting a statement of faith specific to this institution and these times. This historic form and these confessions identify Calvin College with the Christian faith as it finds concrete expression in the Reformed tradition and in a particular denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, whose pastors and officers are required to subscribe to the same form.

To sign the Form of Subscription is to indicate sincere acceptance of the doctrines articulated in the confessional statements listed above. The subscriber does not thereby declare that these doctrines are all stated in the best possible manner or that they are an exhaustive or definitive summary of what the Scriptures teach. While signing represents a sincere pledge to teach, write, and speak in harmony with these confessions, it does not prevent a person from engaging in continuing study, research, or personal reflection on the Scriptures, the creation, or the confessions and the doctrines addressed in them. Signing the form does represent an acknowledgment that no person is free to decide for himself or herself, or for the church, what is and what is not a doctrine asserted in these confessions.

6.13.1.2 Church Membership

Calvin College faculty members are required to be professing members in good standing and active participants in the life of a congregation in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) or a denomination in ecclesiastical fellowship with the CRC as defined by its Synod. The theological tradition of the CRC has not only shaped the college's history, but continues to define the college's mission. The close relationship between the church and college has been the primary source of the college's identity - the moral, spiritual, confessional, cultural, educational, theological, and historical identity that is indispensable for institutional cohesion and unity of purpose.

At the same time, both Calvin College and the Christian Reformed Church are part of a broader Reformed confessional tradition, in recognition of which the church membership requirement can be satisfied by affiliation with other denominations with which the CRC enjoys official ties, such as the Reformed Church in America.

6.13.1.3 Christian Schooling

Calvin College faculty members are expected to support and promote Christian education at all levels and are normally required to provide their children with Christian schooling for grades kindergarten through 12. Schools affiliated with Christian Schools International (CSI) are expected to be the primary schools of choice, though exceptions are usually granted for home schooling or enrollment in non-CSI Christian schools (see section 6.13.2.3).

The Reformed tradition insists that all educational enterprises are religiously grounded, wittingly or unwittingly. So too are public schools, which cannot be considered explicitly Christian, much less Reformed. Calvin College embraces Reformed Christianity as the basis for integrating faith and learning, and expects its faculty members to acknowledge that this tradition has cogency for primary and secondary education as well as for college. Thus, the primary reason for the Christian schooling requirement is to demonstrate commitment to a distinctive Reformed philosophy of education.

Not all Reformed communities have developed Christian day schools; yet, the particular CRC community which gave birth to Calvin College did choose long ago to develop such schools as an important means of fulfilling the communal vows, made at baptism, to help parents in rearing their children in the Christian faith. This college is an integral part of a widespread network of schools established in the Reformed tradition, a community from which a substantial portion of our support and enrollment comes, and one in which Calvin College has a long history of leadership. Thus, the requirement for Christian schooling is also an important element in maintaining fidelity to a loyal supporting community.

Detailed information about the Grand Rapids Christian Schools (GRCS) is available from the Provost's office. Tuition at the Grand Rapids Christian Schools is determined by family income and the number of students enrolled by the family. The college pays 20% of the full stated tuition at any approved Christian school up to the amount that would be paid if the student(s) were enrolled in GRCS. Additional college assistance is available for faculty families with financial need. In appropriate cases the college will provide funds for a newly appointed faculty family with school-age children to make a trip to Grand Rapids during the months preceding relocation to visit and select a Christian school.

Applicability of Requirements

The requirements for membership on the college faculty described above apply to all persons on regular appointment (full-time and reduced-load). Unless an exception is granted, the Form of Subscription must be signed at the time of the first appointment. In order to provide sufficient time to make an informed decision regarding church membership and schooling, faculty on regular appointment will normally be expected to be in compliance with the church membership and Christian schooling requirements by the beginning of their second year of service on the faculty.

Term appointees are expected to affirm the Reformed confessions and are required to sign the Form of Subscription at the time of first appointment. While they are strongly encouraged to join a Reformed church and provide Christian schooling for their children, this is not a requirement in the first two years of such appointments. At the time of any subsequent appointments, whether term or regular, all of the requirements for faculty membership apply, unless an exception is granted.

Visiting professors and part-time instructors must support the mission of the college and are encouraged to abide by the requirements; however, their compliance with the requirements is not mandatory.

6.13.2 Exceptions

The college recognizes the need for granting exceptions to one or more of the faculty membership requirements in certain extraordinary circumstances. The authority to grant such exceptions resides with the Board of Trustees, which considers such an action only upon recommendation from the President in accordance with the process described below (section 6.13.3).

6.13.2.1 Exceptions to the Requirement for Signing the Form of Subscription

Exceptions to this requirement are made occasionally for individuals on term appointment, following discussion between the individual and the provost or dean, on the basis of a written statement of both the reasons why the individual is unable to sign the Form of Subscription and the individual's affirmation of a deep Christian faith and of support for the mission of Calvin College as a Reformed Christian institution of higher education.

Since reasons for requesting exceptions are often idiosyncratic, it is difficult to state criteria for granting exceptions. The exception will be for a particular person and is not applicable to any class of individuals. No person on a regular appointment will be granted an exception to signing the Form on a continuing basis.

If any faculty appointees have difficulty signing the Form of Subscription for reasons that are within the limits of continuing discussion of the confessions within the church (e.g., on total depravity or view of Anabaptists), the college expects these persons to sign the Form and indicate, in writing, their reservations concerning an unqualified affirmation of the confessions. Exceptions will not be granted to persons who hold theological positions which are not consonant with the mission and purpose of Calvin College.

6.13.2.2 Exceptions to the Church Membership Requirement

Exceptions to this requirement are occasionally granted, usually for reasons involving ordination in another denomination on the part of a faculty member or a spouse.

Such exceptions will not be approved in cases where the faculty member wishes to affiliate with a church that embraces confessional teachings fundamentally contrary to the affirmations of the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confessions, and Canons of Dordtrecht; nor will an exception be granted if the church is not willing to supervise the spiritual life of the faculty member.

6.13.2.3 Exceptions to the Christian Schooling Requirement

A faculty member who seeks to enroll his/her child in a non-CSI Christian school or to provide home schooling should submit a statement of the reason(s) for the request and the name and description of the school or home schooling program before proceeding with enrollment. These requests will normally be approved.

Other exceptions to this requirement have been granted on an individual basis for a variety of reasons. In every case, the primary concern is to weigh the communal expectations of the college, the needs of the child, and the circumstances of the family. The following criteria are common to most of the cases where exceptions have been granted:

1. Evidence of support for Christian schooling, as demonstrated by sending siblings to Christian schools, having sent the child for whom an exception is requested to a Christian school, financial support of Christian schools, and other service toward the advancement of K-12 Christian education.
2. Evidence that the child for whom an exception is requested has special educational or other needs that cannot be effectively met at a local Christian school. Special needs typically involve mental, emotional or physical disability beyond the range served by Christian school programs. In some instances the special needs of a gifted student or a child of color may be an acceptable basis for the granting of an exception, provided that the parents have made diligent efforts to work with appropriate Christian schools to provide suitable instruction and have determined in consultation with the administrators and faculty of those schools that the student's needs cannot be adequately served by any of these schools at that time.

Other situations that may be acceptable bases for granting an exception are:

1. A request to enroll in a one-year specialty program, such as at the Zoo School and Blandford Nature Center (these requests will normally be granted);
2. A request to participate in an international exchange program or a family year abroad (these requests will normally be granted);
3. A request by a new faculty member who has not had experience with Christian schooling for an extension of the exception for a second year to make the adjustment to this community (such a request would require an explanation of the special circumstances that warrant an extension);
4. Evidence of profound parent-child conflict or conflict with a spouse or non-custodial parent that does not arise from opposition to Christian schooling in principle, but threatens the child's welfare and/or the integrity of the family;
5. Compelling evidence of a family's sacrificial commitment to a special ministry in the community. Such evidence would include a demonstration that the special ministry arises from a sincere commitment to Reformed Christian beliefs and confessions, that it would further the mission of the church and the college, that it has the endorsement of the faculty member's church, and that it would be significantly more effective if the family's child(ren) were not in a Christian school.

6.13.3 Process for Making Exceptions

1. The process for requesting exceptions to any of the requirements is the same. A request from a member of the teaching faculty must be presented in writing to the chair of the department, who will forward the request, along with a recommendation, to the Academic Dean and Provost for their recommendation. A request from a staff member who has faculty status must be presented in writing to the Vice President of the division for a recommendation. The request and the recommendation of the Academic Dean and Provost or Vice President will be forwarded to the Professional Status Committee for their recommendation, which will be forwarded to the President. When exceptions are granted, the information will be part of the faculty member's file at the time of consideration for reappointment and appointment with tenure.
2. Form of Subscription: Requests for exceptions to this requirement must come at the time of the first appointment unless, after signing the Form, there is a change in one's understanding of the Reformed creeds that leads to difficulty in having one's signature affixed to the Form of Subscription. The faculty member must present the reservations in writing. If the President determines that an exception should be granted, he or she will present a recommendation to Board of Trustees, which has the authority to grant these exceptions.
3. Church Membership: Newly appointed faculty on regular appointment who seek an exception to the church membership requirement must make the request in writing during the first year of appointment. Term appointees who are reappointed must make the request by the beginning of their third year on the faculty. Faculty members who are in compliance with the church membership requirement but wish to affiliate with a congregation which does not meet the requirement must request an exception prior to such affiliation or beginning regular attendance. If the President determines that an exception should be granted, he or she will present a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which has the authority to grant these exceptions.
4. Christian Schooling: Requests for exceptions to the Christian schooling requirement must be presented in writing to the chair of the department or the divisional Vice President by March 1 prior to the school year in which the faculty member seeks to home school or to enroll her/his child in a non-CSI Christian school or public school. The request and the chair's recommendation must be forwarded to the Academic Dean by March 8, and the request and the recommendation of the Dean/Provost or Vice President must be forwarded to the professional status committee by March 15. Requests to enroll a child in a public school should be for a specific period (i.e., one year, junior high school years, etc.), or if the need is considered permanent, for an unspecified period but contingent on the continuing special need that is the basis for the request. The faculty member will be notified in writing of the action taken by the President on the request by April 15. The President will report the granting of an exception to the Board of Trustees for endorsement.
5. A faculty member requesting an exception may request and will be granted opportunity to present the request in person to the Professional Status Committee and to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees in the event of an appeal. Because of the implications of these decisions for the family, the faculty member's spouse is also welcome to participate.
6. If the President denies a request for an exception to the Christian schooling requirement, or recommends against granting an exception to the other requirements, he or she shall indicate the reason(s) in writing.
7. A faculty member whose request for an exception has been denied shall have the right to make one appeal in writing and in person (if the faculty member so requests) to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. The Executive Committee will recommend that the full board either sustain the original denial or grant an exception. The Board's decision will be conveyed to the faculty member in writing.
8. If a request for an exception has been denied, a request for the same exception will only be considered if the faculty member's individual and/or family circumstances have changed such that added rationale for an exception exists.