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University of Valley Forge
TypePrivate
Established1939[1]
PresidentDon Meyer, Ph.D.[2]
Students1,130 [3]
Address
1401 Charlestown Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
,
Phoenixville
,
PA
,
USA
CampusSuburban
ColorsNavy and Red    
NicknamePatriots
AffiliationsAssemblies of God USA
Websitewww.vfcc.edu

Valley Forge Christian College, commonly known as VFCC, is a private, undergraduate and graduate institution of Christian higher education centrally located in southeastern Pennsylvania. VFCC's main campus resides on a 106 acres of land (VFCC acquired an additional XXX acres with the acquisition of the Conference Center at Valley Forge, December XX, 2013) and is located in the small town of Phoenixville, minutes from Valley Forge National Historical Park and the surrounding metropolitan city of Philadelphia. It was founded in 1939 and offers associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees in over 67 programs of study. It operates an additional campus in Woodbridge, Virginia and other instructional sites in Rehrersburg, Pennsylvania, Columbia, South Carolina, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Mission

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The Mission is to prepare individuals for a life of service and leadership in the church and in the world. Valley Forge Christian College is part of an international network of Assemblies of God colleges and universities. As an educational resource center, the College prepares Pentecostal leaders according to Luke 2:52 - intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially. Since 1939, these individuals have gone on to begin a career, continue professional development, and/or pursue further education at the graduate level. VFCC’s values and commitments are the following: believe in God, prepare for the future, care for others, embrace community, affirm the dignity of all people, and serve with creativity and excellence.[4]

Valley Forge Christian College's values and commitments are as follows: community, creativity, global and cultural awareness, leadership, learning, missions, quality, service, spirituality, and technology.[5]

History

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Valley Forge Christian College traces its beginnings to a summer Bible School on the campgrounds of Maranatha Park, Green Lane, PA, in 1932. The college was chartered in 1939 as Marantha Bible School. Mergers with Beulah Heights Bible Institute, Metropolitan Bible Institute, New England Bible Institute and Pine Crest Bible School resulted in increased enrollment and a name change to Eastern Bible Institute (EBI) and later, Northeast Bible Institute and when a fourth year was added, it became Northeast Bible College (NBC). In 1976-77 NBC moved to the site of the former Valley Forge General Military Hospital, Phoenixville, PA and the name was changed to Valley Forge Christian College. In recent years the campus has experienced a metamorphosis with the removal and remodeling of old buildings and the construction of many new structures.

With an enrollment of over 1200 students, VFCC offers majors in 47 areas of study, 25 undergraduate programs and four graduate programs. The institution was granted accreditation with Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 2002.[6]

During the 2013-2014 college year, Valley Forge Christian College is celebrating its Dodranscentennial, the 75th year. This Diamond Jubilee or what some would also call the Semisesquicentennial Year will be marked by a series of year-long activities designed to highlight the College's history, values and achievements, and will use the occasion to honor the thousands of persons who have contributed to helping fulfill its mission. [7]

Today the school has an enrollment of over 1130 students, offers 67 undergraduate programs and seven graduate programs.

External Programs and Affiliations

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Valley Forge Christian College is associated with the Assemblies of God USA denomination. VFCC is also associated with The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) which is an international association of intentionally Christian colleges and universities.[8] The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.[9]

Valley Forge Christian College has a strong set of cross-cultural programs allowing students to study abroad. Notable programs include: Engage International, an Assemblies of God World Missions program designed to give students the opportunity to respond to the call of God in their lives;[10] Continental Theological Seminary in Brussels, Belgium;[11] School of Missions and Theology in Kolin, Czech Republic; and Iso Kirja College in Keuruu, Finland.[12]

Valley Forge Christian College's relationship with CCCU offers off-campus study programs known as "BestSemester." The BestSemester offers eleven semester programs and one summer program which are designed to serve the student academic program.[13]

Through the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, students can also participate in culture-shaping opportunities such as: Los Angeles Film Studies Center which trains students to serve in various aspects of the film industry with professional skill and Christian integrity;[14] Washington Journalism Center created for students interested in the field of journalism;[15] Contemporary Music Center which provides opportunity to live and work in the refining contact of community while seeking to understand how God will have students integrate music, faith and business;[16] and American Studies Program that houses a stimulating educational laboratory for students to explore pressing national and international issues of public policy initiatives and global humanitarian enterprise.[17]

Other semester-study programs include China Studies Program (Xiamen University), Latin American Studies program (San Jose, Costa Rica), Middle East Studies Program (Cairo, Egypt), Russian Studies Program (Moscow and St. Petersburg), and summer study in England through the Oxford Summer Programme (Wycliffe Hall, Oxford). Valley Forge Christian College also offers the Italy Study Tour that takes students to many places of historical significance such as St. Peter's Basilica, Mamertine prison, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and Milivian Bridge.[18]


Academics

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Valley Forge Christian College is approved by the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to grant the degrees of Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Religious Education, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Social Work, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science.

Courses and Majors

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The college has 67 undergraduate majors and 7 master’s degrees.[19] Valley Forge Christian College has a 14:1 Student to Faculty Ratio.

Undergraduate Majors

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ARTS AND SCIENCES Business Administration - General Business CHURCH MINISTRIES Theological Studies - Biblical Studies Social Media Management Intercultural Studies - Humanitarian
English Language and Literature Global Business Biblical Studies Theological Studies - Philosophy and Religion Urban Studies
Human Resources Children’s Ministry Youth Ministry EDUCATION
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES Management Christian Education Early Childhood (Pre-K - 4) - Public Certification MUSIC
Pastoral Counseling Entrepreneurial Studies - Photography Christian Ministries DEAF MINISTRIES Early Childhood (Pre-K - 4) - Private Certification Church Music
Psychology - Counseling Entrepreneurial Studies - Recording Arts Christian Ministries Online - Field Track Deaf Ministries Early Childhood (Pre-K - 4) - Non-Certification Music Education - Instrumental - Public Certification
Psychology - Equine Therapy Entrepreneurial Studies - Digital Media Christian Ministries Online Deaf Culture Studies Secondary English Education (7 - 12) - Public Certification Music Education - Instrumental - Private Certification
Psychology - Industrial/Organizational Entrepreneurial Studies - Video Production Family Studies Secondary English Education (7 - 12) - Private Certification Music Education - Choral - Public Certification
Social Work Entrepreneurial Studies - Senior Adult Industry Pastoral Ministry DIGITAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS Music Education - Choral - Private Certification
Criminal Justice Entrepreneurial Studies - Early Childhood Industry Pastoral Ministry - Church Planting Digital Media Studies INTERCULTURAL STUDIES Music Performance - Classical
Sports Management Pastoral Ministry - Preaching Digital Media - Photography Intercultural Communications Music Performance - Contemporary
BUSINESS Business Administration - Online Senior Adult Ministry Digital Media - Recording Arts Intercultural Studies - Global Service Music Production
Business Administration - Accounting Theological Studies - Biblical Languages Digital Media - Video Production Intercultural Studies - Islamic Studies Worship Leading

Undergraduate Minors

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Biblical Languages Church Music English Language and Literature Music Performance Preaching Social Work Youth Ministry
Business Digital Media History Music Technology Secondary Education Theology
Children’s Ministry Early Childhood Education Intercultural Studies Pastoral Counseling Senior Adult Ministry Urban Studies

Associate's Degrees

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Bible Children's Ministry Online Human Services — Counseling
Bible — General Studies Christian Ministries Online Human Services — Social Services
Bible — Online Early Childhood Education Youth Studies Online

Master's Degrees

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Christian Leadership Worship Studies Organizational Leadership
Deaf Christian Leadership Music Technology
Theology Digital Media

Financial Aid

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  • $12,256 average financial aid package
  • 97% of students receive aid.[20]
    • 55% get federal aid ($4,833)
    • 27% get state aid ($2,517)
    • 78% get institutional aid ($3,730)
    • 83% get loans ($7,513)
  • Valley Forge Christian College offers a tuition payment plan.[21]

Valley Forge Christian College offers a wide variety of merit aid including Bible Quiz Scholarship, Church Matching Scholarship, Dean’s Scholarship, District Youth Director Scholarship, Fine Arts Scholarship, Married Student & Family Scholarship, Minister, Minister Dependent, Missionary, and Missionary Dependent Scholarship, Music Scholarship, New Majors Scholarship, and Outstanding Achievement Scholarship as well as many more.[22]

A work study program that is provided allows students to be employed at the school and receive a paycheck. A Co-op program is another source of aid for students who need financial assistance where the paycheck a student receive goes directly to the student’s account.

Academic Support Services

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The college provides a Connect2 Technology Program designed to equip students with hardware, software and technical support necessary to maximize an educational experience.

VFCC offers academic support services such as a learning center, reduced course loads, remedial instruction, study skills assistance, tutoring and a writing center.

Campus

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Facilities & Housing

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At Valley Forge Christian College, more than 90% of students live on campus in one of more than ten residence halls. The college also has available apartments for families, independent and upperclassmen students. Valley Forge Christian College provides men’s and women’s housing as well as apartments for married students and single student suites. There are separate men’s and women’s housing. There is no known Greek life.

Buildings include the Stormes Research Center (SRC), Cardone Hall, Flower Chapel, Musical Practice rooms, Gym, Digital Media Center, and an accredited recording studio.

Valley Forge Christian College's library, the SRC, has over 74,000 items in the collection. Approximately 50% of the collection is in Bible and Theology. The remainder of the collection covers a broad range of disciplines. The Bible and Theology collection includes an emphasis on Charismatic/Pentecostal theology.[23]

The VFCC campus is ADA-compliant with wheelchair access ramps and elevators available in most campus buildings. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Students that attend this campus can earn degrees in the same courses of study as those at the Valley Forge Christian College main campus.

Security

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Valley Forge Christian College offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, student patrols, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at Valley Forge Christian College, 62 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is not permitted for students of legal age at Valley Forge Christian College.[24]

Student Life

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Many college-held activities include choral groups, concert band, dance activity, drama & theater, government or political activity, international student organization, jazz band, music ensembles, a radio station, Future Business Leaders Of America clubs, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Glee Club, gospel choir, investment club, junior achievement and intramural sports.[25] Valley Forge Christian College’s student body comes together to help congregate many of these groups including intramural sports such as basketball, football, soccer, ultimate frisbee and softball.

Spiritual life at Valley Forge Christian College is centered around daily chapel services. Students, staff and faculty members come together at the Flower Chapel for worship, prayer and meditation on God's word. Chapel services are diverse and intended to help students experience spiritual growth and development.

Students are offered the following services if in need of: career counseling, chaplain/spiritual directing, employment services for undergraduates, financial aid counseling, health services, personal counseling and placement services for graduates. There are a full range of services for students who are hearing impaired. There are partial services for students with learning disabilities. There is wheelchair accessibility.

Valley Forge Christian College offers over thirteen student-led ministry opportunities in such areas as music, drama, dance, children, prayer, worship, local aid, homeless shelters and hospital ministry.

Athletics

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Valley Forge is currently in the NCCAA Conference and NCAA Division III.[26] The Valley Forge Christian College Athletic Department has grown by over sixty percent in the past two years, most recently adding men’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, and women’s softball. This year, the men’s and women’s basketball teams won the NCCAA Division II Regional Title and advanced to the National tournament where the men placed 2nd and the women 4th.[27]

Move to Division 3

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On July 25, 2012, Valley Forge Christian College (VFCC) in Phoenixville was officially accepted into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III provisional membership process.[28]

Reaching the Community

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Community Service Day

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Pennsylvania State Senator, Andy Dinniman, recently donned a pair of work gloves and joined students from Valley Forge Christian College for their 9th Annual Community Service Day. The senator and more than 250 VFCC students, professors and staff members helped clean up downtown Phoenixville and Reeves Park. Their work included mulching the playground, removing litter and debris, sweeping sidewalks and planting 55 trees throughout the borough. Dan Mortensen, VFCC’s Vice President Finance and Development, said that community service and outreach is a key part of the college’s mission.[29]

Alumni

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In the chapel, there are 53 flags from 53 countries worldwide where alumni serve.[30]

News

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Victor Joseph was born into an educated, upper-middle-class Christian family in India, which today is a major hub for human trafficking, a modern-day form of slavery that he’s committed to eradicating. Formerly an intercultural studies professor at Valley Forge Christian College, the educator, activist, psychologist, minister and parent is now involved full time with the Agape Research Foundation from his Phoenixville home. He has worked with the U.S. Department of State, Congress, the White House and nongovernmental organizations in India to address religious freedom, HIV/AIDS, poverty, education and human trafficking. He’s also the author of the new groundbreaking psychological study, Stolen Lives: Dignity, Forgiveness, Hope and Future-Mindedness for Victims of Sex Trafficking in India, funded and published by the John Templeton Foundation out of West Conshohocken.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Professor Receives Honor from Children's Magazine: Rev. Dick Gruber, Church Ministries faculty member specializing in Children's Ministry at Valley Forge Christian College (VFCC), has been named one of the 20 most influential Children's Ministry leaders in the United States. Children's Ministry magazine is celebrating 20 years by awarding this honor to 20 individuals. According to the magazine, Professor Gruber has long been a voice in the realm of Children's Ministry offering wisdom, practicality, and encouragement to those ministering to children. Through local church ministry, leadership as the National Director of Children's Ministry for the Assemblies of God, and Christian higher education, Rev. Gruber, who is affectionately known as "PG" has dedicated most of his life to equipping effective children's ministers. Since arriving at VFCC in 2001, he has shaped the Children's Ministry program to be one of the most respected and dynamic children's ministry preparation programs in higher education. While at VFCC he collaborated with Dr. Philip McLeod, VFCC Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dr. Jason Rhode of Northern Illinois University to establish the Children's Ministries University Online (CMUO), which is an accredited educational program offered through Valley Forge Christian College. He has authored two books, Children's Church: Turning your Circus into a Service and Focus on Children; is a contributing author to the 2010 release of Collaborate: Family + Church; as well as numerous articles on ministering to children. Dick and his wife Darlene have four adult children and seven grandchildren. [31]

February 2011, $82,000 Raised for Clean-Water Wells in Africa: Professor Phil Baker returned home safely after an unforgettable experience in Africa. He had spent long days hiking and endured cold temperatures and altitude sickness, but his efforts will bring life to thousands. His most exciting accomplishment: reaching Uhuru Peak, the summit of Africa's highest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Of the 44 climbers who began, only 25 made it to the summit. A water well and school will be built in Lobersoit as a result of the contributions of the men and women who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Professor Baker and five members of his local church made the climb. Because of the generous donations of the six climbers and their supporters, $82,000 was given for five new wells to be dug in Kenyan communities. WorldServe International will match those donations and will dig five more wells in Tanzania. [32]

April 2011, Professor Jerome Douglas Receives Ph.D.: VFCC is pleased to announce that Jerome Douglas, Church Ministries faculty, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on January 26, 2011. His dissertation, entitled Qoheleth: An Anti-Apocalyptic Genre for a Message of Joy, was completed through the Ph.D. program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The emphasis of his program was on the Old Testament, focusing specifically on the book of Ecclesiastes. Since arriving at VFCC in the fall of 2006, Professor Douglas has enjoyed teaching Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, Introduction to Biblical Languages and Beginning Hebrew I. He also teaches elective courses such as: Pentateuch, Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Historical Books, and Biblical Theology. [33]

References

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  1. ^ http://colleges.ag.org/students/overviews_full.cfm?targetBay=95b51f2f-222a-46ea-9d45-2e83c95d8cd8&ModID=2&Process=DisplayArticle&RSS_RSSContentID=14722&RSS_OriginatingChannelID=1056&RSS_OriginatingRSSFeedID=4453&RSS_Source=
  2. ^ http://www.executiveleadersradio.com/meyer-dr-don-1107.aspx
  3. ^ http://colleges.ag.org/students/overviews_full.cfm?targetBay=95b51f2f-222a-46ea-9d45-2e83c95d8cd8&ModID=2&Process=DisplayArticle&RSS_RSSContentID=14722&RSS_OriginatingChannelID=1056&RSS_OriginatingRSSFeedID=4453&RSS_Source=
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ VFCC Values and Commitments
  6. ^ Middle States Commission of Higher Education
  7. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-meyer-phd/celebrating-75-years_b_3860640.…
  8. ^ [2]
  9. ^ [3], Statement of Accredidation Status
  10. ^ Engage International
  11. ^ Continental Theological Seminary in Brussels, Belgium
  12. ^ Iso Kirja College in Keuruu. Finland
  13. ^ BestSemester Student Programs
  14. ^ BestSemester: Los Angeles Film Studies Center
  15. ^ BestSemester: Washington Journalism Center
  16. ^ BestSemester: Contemporary Music Center
  17. ^ American Studies Program
  18. ^ VFCC Italy Study Tour
  19. ^ [4]
  20. ^ [5]
  21. ^ [6]
  22. ^ [7]
  23. ^ [8]
  24. ^ [9]
  25. ^ [10]
  26. ^ [11]
  27. ^ [12]
  28. ^ [13]
  29. ^ [14]
  30. ^ [15]
  31. ^ Professor Receives Honor from Children's Magazine
  32. ^ February 2011, $82,000 Raised for Clean-Water Wells in Africa
  33. ^ [http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs018/1103359379732/archive/110486309655… April 2011, Professor Jerome Douglas Receives Ph.D
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Sources

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40°07′07″N 75°32′54″W / 40.1186°N 75.5484°W / 40.1186; -75.5484

Category:Educational institutions established in 1931 Category:Universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Assemblies of God Category:Universities and colleges in Chester County, Pennsylvania

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