Ecclesia College is one of just eight work colleges in the entire country. A work college is a school of higher learning that requires all students work while completing their studies. Students can work a minimum of eight hours a week up to a maximum of 15 hours a week. The idea is that working will help students form a connection with the campus and that they will care more about the school. Ecclesia College requires that all students take part in a work program, even if they do not need financial aid. Students can do everything from clean residence halls to solicit donations from alumni.
Founded in 1975, Ecclesia College partnered with the Youth With a Mission organization to help more students learn about the college and their education opportunities. The college operates on the belief that the best leaders are those who carry their faith them and use their religious beliefs while working. It offers eight bachelor’s programs and three associate degree programs on its campus, including bachelor’s programs in music ministries, business administration and sport management. There are now two bachelor’s programs, a master’s program and an associate program available online too.
Ecclesia College Accreditation Details
Before enrolling in Ecclesia College, you should keep in mind that this college does not have regional accreditation. This may make it difficult to get financial aid through standard programs like loans and grants. If you want to transfer to another college, it may not accept the credits you earned because the college does not have regional accreditation. The accreditation that Ecclesia College does have comes from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). ABHE is a large organization committed to accrediting religious colleges and institutions.
Ecclesia College Application Requirements
As Ecclesia College offers both online classes and campus classes, you must select the application that matches how you want to take classes. The college asks for your full name, phone number and email address to create an account for you. It will then send an email to your address that you need to click on to verify that you received it. The application then asks for your date of birth, gender, social security number, ethnicity and contact information. You’ll find a section on civil history too that asks if you received a dishonorable discharge from any military branch or faced charges in court. Though this may not disqualify you from attending the college, you need to use the box provided to clearly describe what happened.
Ecclesia College is a religious institution and needs information about the church that you currently attend, including its name and affiliation as well as how often you attend and when you started attending. You’ll then need to submit two electronic reference letters. One reference letter must come from your pastor, and the second must come with someone familiar with your character. The application asks for an email address for each individual. The college will email those references and let them submit their letters online.
Though the college lets you complete the application in one sitting, you may need to spend more time working on the questions that it asks near the bottom. You’ll need to read the college’s code of honor and answer three questions on things stated in that code relating to immoral behavior, drug use and alcohol consumption. You must also agree to work at least 225 hours for the campus while working on your degree.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Attending Ecclesia College will cost around $15,000 a year, which does not include room and board. The college offers so much financial aid though that many students pay just $3,00 or less out of pocket each semester, which includes the costs of living on campus. Ecclesia College recommends that students use the FAFSA prior to enrolling or applying and that Arkansas residents apply for the Arkansas Scholarship and Grant Assistance Academic Challenge Scholarship. This program is open only to residents and awards students up to $4,500 a year. The Higher Education Opportunities Grant awards full-time students up to $1,000 a year for college.
Every student will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that shows them the aid they qualify for and what they need to do next. If you qualify for student loans, you must go online and complete loan entrance counseling and sign electronic documents to receive those loans. The college provides you with exit counseling before you graduate that can help you learn how to pay your loans off faster. Ecclesia College can also help you learn more about private loans and college scholarships that further reduce your costs.
BS in Sport Management
A Bachelor of Science in Sport Management is one of just a few bachelor’s programs offered by Ecclesia College. This program includes elements of kinesiology, management, nutrition and health. It strives to help students prepare for a wide range of careers. You might use your degree to coach a high school team, coach private college, train professional athletes or run a sports complex or facility. Some graduates of this program actually go on to graduate school and finish a master’s in kinesiology or a related field.
You’ll first take 38 hours of general education studies courses, including eight hours of life science classes with lab work and six hours of English courses. Students also take social studies, math, speech, fine arts, behavioral science and computer science classes. You must take 24 hours of institutional spot management requirements, which are seminar courses that teach you how to be an effective leader and how to take control of any situation.
Of the 128 hours of classes that you take in this program, at least 66 must come from the sport management department. Core courses include principles of accounting, the legal environment of business, principles of marketing, kinesiology, microcomputer applications in business and business foundations. Ecclesia College gives you more freedom when it comes to upper level courses and lets you pick and choose from different subjects based on your career goals. You can take classes on motivational speaking, sport and exercise psychology, advertising and public relations, sports promotions and sales management, strategic selling and human resource management. Ecclesia College also gives sport management students up to three credits for each of the internships and field experiences that they do.
