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Mission and vision

Home > About Us > Mission and vision

Mission and vision

Belmont abbey college’s mission

Our mission is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences so that in all things God may be glorified. In this endeavor, we are guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and the Benedictine spirit of prayer and learning. Exemplifying Benedictine hospitality, we welcome a diverse body of students and provide them with an education that will enable them to lead lives of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become responsible citizens, and to be a blessing to themselves and to others.

Foundational Principles

Philosophy of Our education

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Ex corde ecclesiae

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Benedictine Hallmarks

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A clear vision

A Clear VisionBelmont Abbey College finds its center in Jesus Christ. By his light, we grasp the true image and likeness of God which every human person is called to live out. We aim to renew that likeness in all dimensions of life for our students and members of our community through curricular and co-curricular programs of excellence and virtue based in the liberal arts as practiced in the Catholic and Benedictine intellectual traditions.

By excellence and virtue, we mean the skills, attitudes, and stable dispositions of character that make possible the consistent practice of the good throughout the full range of human pursuits (scholarly, professional, community, personal). Recognizing that each field has its own standards of excellence, we strive to achieve them, led by St. Benedict’s desire “that in all things God may be glorified.”

As a Benedictine institution, we find this glory especially revealed in the development of the whole person, guided by the liberal arts, as a responsible steward of the true, the beautiful, and the good. We welcome the talents of everyone, from any background and tradition, who is committed to fostering that development and contributing to the mission of the college. To the members of the Belmont Abbey College community, we offer an environment and community animated by this vision where they may work towards their own full potential.

Major Institutional Objectives

  • Embrace and instill the habit of excellence and virtue in all that we do.
  • Foster the development of each member of the Belmont Abbey College community as a total person in keeping with the Rule of
    St. Benedict.
  • Provide our students with a liberal arts education that prepares them–mind, body and spirit–to pursue the good for themselves and
    their communities.
  • Share the richness of our Catholic and Benedictine identity through college activities and communications so that we may inspire others
    to become part of the worldwide Belmont Abbey College community.

Excellence and virtue

My time spent at Belmont Abbey College enabled me to study under passionate professors. The Catholic intellectual tradition of the College and the hospitable example of the monks showed me how to see everything in the bigger picture, and to respond to my neighbors as Christ. Finally, living on campus occasioned a powerful formation alongside awesome peers.

Darren Balkey 2014
Criminal Justice,
Seminarian Diocese of Charlotte, Navy Chaplain Candidate

Our mission in action

We understand that it is not enough to say what our mission is; we also need to show it. Because we are committed to offering “an environment and community where students may work towards their own full potential,” the broad measures of retention and persistence are key indicators of our success.

81%

Acceptance Rate

$18,500

One of the lowest yearly tuitions for a private college

16:1

student-faculty ratio

Full-time, First-time Retention Rates

During the last five years at Belmont Abbey College, the average unweighted retention rate of first-time, full-time bachelor’s degree-seeking students who persist from one fall to enroll in the following fall has been 63%. (“First time, full time” is basically new student without any prior college experience.) Improving retention rates is a continuing goal for the College. The College has a goal is to increase first-year retention rates to above 70% percent and to meet or exceed the median rate of peer institutions.

Each year, outcomes data is reported to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Belmont Abbey evaluates our outcomes in comparison to similar peers (Private, not-for-profit, baccalaureate level, of similar size (1000-4999 enrollment). The IPEDS Data Feedback Report provides us with valuable information to help us monitor our progress.

Belmont Abbey College Full-time, First-time Retention Rates (% of cohort returning)
Percent of students in first time full time degree/certificate seeking cohort who returned in the Fall term noted from prior Fall (Source: IPEDS Fall Enrollment Surveys)

20202019201820172016
FTFT Retention7062666461

Graduation Rates (Persistence)

Other outcomes include our graduation rate as and job placement/graduate school rate, seen as measures of our goal that students may become “a blessing to themselves and others” in the personal and professional aspects of their lives. Liberal arts education has always been focused on the broad education of the whole person, and the College is convinced that our curriculum sends students out with well-formed judgment and sharpened mental vision that will serve them well in all the circumstances of life.

Belmont Abbey College 4, 5, and 6 year Graduation Rate (percent)
Percent of students in first time full time degree/certificate seeking Fall cohort noted that completed within four, five, or six years. (Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates Surveys

20142013201220112010
Six-Year4645444344
Five-Year4544444242
Four-Year4036433235

The College has set a goal to increase our 150% time to completion (6 year) graduation rate to 50% within 5 years. We also have set a goal to meet or exceed the 6-year graduation rate of our peer institutions identified in the IPEDS Data Feedback Report.

Special Populations — Student Athletes

Within this particular outcome, attention can be drawn to student-athletes as instances of the development of the whole person as a means to understand where to move in setting target goals. The College’s thriving athletic programs have become an indicator of our success in fostering the integral development of our students, especially in relation to graduation rates.

Belmont Abbey College Student-Athletes’ Completion Rates Compared to Overall Population (percent)
*The 2012 cohort reflects data reported in 2018-20197; 2011 cohort reflects data reported in 2017-2018; 2010 cohort reflects data reported in 2016-2017; 2009 cohort is the 2015-2016 reporting year; 2008 cohort is the 2014-2015 reporting year. (Source: NCAA Federal Graduation Success Rate Reports)

Cohort YearOverall Student Body Graduation RateStudent-Athlete Federal Graduation Success Rate (GSR)Student-Athlete Academic Success Rate (ASR)
*includes freshmen who participated in athletics but did not receive aid
2012445171
2011444965
2010444964
2009434463
2008384758

Job and Graduate School Placement

A majority of our graduates have maintained or secured employment or continued their education in graduate and/or professional programs immediately following graduation. The graduating classes of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 have respectively indicated that 58% and 56% (2016-2017, 2017-2018) of respondents to are employed and/or have enrolled in or completed graduate school. Although no reliable external benchmark has been identified, Belmont Abbey has set a goal of 75% of students reporting being employed or enrolled in further education beyond graduation.

Senior Exit Survey, Results
(Source: Belmont Abbey College Senior Exit/ Alumni Surveys)

Please complete the following statement: Immediately after graduation I will2020201920182017
Continue working at my current job
13%23%28%
31%
Begin new employment12%21%15%16%
Seeking employment
31%17%23%
22%
Attend graduate or professional school
26%18%13%
11%
Still Deciding/Interviewing
10%13%13%
11%
Start/ Raise a family1%1%1%
1%
Volunteer (mission work, Peace Corps, etc.)
1%2%1%
2%
Other
6%5%6%
5%
Did not respond
------1%
TOTAL100%100%100%

100%

THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED

Our philosophy at Belmont Abbey College is to ensure you avail yourself of every opportunity for a great future. To that end, we are dedicated to education in the liberal arts but also foster a spiritual life that will resonate with you long after graduation.

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Copyright ©2023 Belmont Abbey College | Minutes from Charlotte, we are ranked one of the top comprehensive colleges in the South by US News and World Report. Since 1876, the mission of Belmont Abbey College is the education of students from diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds in the liberal arts tradition as guided by our catholic intellectual heritage and inspired by the 1500-year-old Benedictine monastic tradition. | Privacy Policy | Designed by Fuzati
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Copyright ©2023 Belmont Abbey College | Minutes from Charlotte, we are ranked one of the top comprehensive colleges in the South by US News and World Report. Since 1876, the mission of Belmont Abbey College is the education of students from diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds in the liberal arts tradition as guided by our catholic intellectual heritage and inspired by the 1500-year-old Benedictine monastic tradition. | Privacy Policy | Designed by Fuzati

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