Regent College Life

Many students are attracted to study at Regent College because of its reputation as a unique graduate school of theology. As application forms are dispatched and departure plans arranged, almost every new student wonders with certain anxiety, “What will life and study at Regent College really be like?”

Dean of Students

The Dean of Students’ Office oversees a number of student life activities such as the pre-term orientation, the Fall retreat, chapel services, Tuesday soup group, community groups, the adjunct counselling services, tea and conversation sessions with the faculty, re-entry seminars and some of the all-College social events. Working with the Dean of Students are the International Student Services Coordinator, the Music and Worship Coordinator, the Regent College Student Association (RCSA) president, the Adjunct Counselling Coordinator and a number of Work Study students. The goal of the Office is to help facilitate student interaction and to foster a spirit in which scholarship, worship and personal growth can flourish together.

New Student Orientation

All new students (and spouses) begin their time at Regent with three days of Orientation where they receive information regarding life in Vancouver, academic policies and procedures at Regent, and cross-cultural realities that help with adjustment and building friendships. Students are also introduced to staff, faculty and other members of the community. Attendance is expected of all newcomers and will help create a common ground for students who come from many different places in the world. Non-North American students are invited to an extra day in the Fall Orientation. Spouses of students are encouraged to attend Orientation, and childcare is provided.

Each year students express appreciation for the way this time has helped them settle into life and study at Regent. Dates for the Fall and Winter Term Orientations and the Summer Term New Student Welcome are printed in the Calendar of Important Dates. Further details are available from the Admissions Office or International Student Services.

Fall Retreat

In September each year, all students and their families, together with Regent faculty and staff, are invited to gather for a weekend retreat. It is here in an atmosphere of relaxed fellowship, worship, prayer (and, usually, more than a little creative distraction!), that the tone is set for the coming year. Retreat sign-up and fee collection takes place during Fall Term Orientation.
The retreat occurs across the border in the United States, and therefore, international students are advised to determine whether they require a short-term visa for entry into the US. If one is required, it is strongly recommended that they apply in their home country. Permanent residents of Canada are required to have a visa to enter the US. Countries that do not require a visa can be found at the US government website at www.travel.state.gov/vwp.html.

Worship

Fostering worship and enriching the spiritual community at the College are the chief functions of Regent’s weekly Tuesday chapel services. This is the one regularly scheduled opportunity for the entire College family to meet together. In peak periods, particularly when the pressure of impending deadlines is most intense, chapel also becomes a kind of mini-retreat, a place to recover perspective, share joys and concerns, and encourage each other in maturing faith. A Chapel Committee under the leadership of the Music and Worship Coordinator is responsible for planning each week’s chapel. Following the service, students, faculty and staff gather together for an informal lunch of homemade soup and bread.

All Regent students are expected to worship and participate in a church community. While chapel services form an integral part of the worship life of the College, chapel services should not be seen as a substitute for participation in a local church.

Each day of the week on which chapel is not held, the College pauses for midday prayer. This is another opportunity for the College to meet together and acknowledge our dependence on God in all our efforts, both personal and corporate.

Community Groups

One of the ways in which the College seeks to promote fellowship is by encouraging each student and his or her family to participate in a community group. These groups consist of an appointed faculty and/or student leader and other students. Each week they gather for an hour for fellowship and discussion. In addition, many groups plan a weekend retreat together and/or other activities such as meals, service opportunities and social activities. During the year each group also takes a turn preparing the Tuesday community lunch of homemade soup and bread and helping with child care during chapel.

Student Council

A student council, the Regent College Student Association (RCSA), normally consisting of twelve members, is elected annually by the student body. Its principle responsibilities are to act as a liaison between the student body and both faculty and administration, to oversee the activities of student committees, to act as liaison to UBC, to appoint student representatives to the College’s advisory bodies (e.g., Student Life Committee of the Board, Senate, Academic Policy Committee, Academic Standards Committee), to publish the weekly newspaper Et Cetera, the annual Directory, as well as to plan social events, to stimulate involvement, and to see that student life as a whole is shaped by the interests and concerns of the entire student body. All of these are essential to Regent’s attempt to integrate faith and everyday life.

Student Profile

What kinds of students will you study with at Regent? As a result of the College’s interdisciplinary emphasis, you will find that Regent students are as diverse as the personal, academic and professional backgrounds they bring to their studies. There are so many different kinds of students at Regent that you are sure to find at least one, and likely several, kindred spirits within the community. Approximately 42% of the student body is Canadian, 38% American and 20% from overseas—Asia, Europe, Britain, Oceania, Latin America and parts of Africa. Christians from virtually every denomination are represented at Regent (e.g., Presbyterian, Baptist, Anglican, Alliance, Mennonite, Pentecostal, etc.), providing a rich Christian mix and giving the student a valuable glimpse of the larger Christian community of faith that makes up the Christian Church. The male/female ratio is about 58/42. People of all ages come to study at Regent: 29% of the students are in their 20s, 35% in their 30s, 16% in their 40s, 13% in their 50s and 7% over 60. Regent is a distinctive school with a distinct mission. This is enriched by the cultural, denominational and disciplinary diversity of its students, staff and faculty. Whatever your background and interests might be, if you come prepared to think, to learn and to contribute to the lives of others, Regent will assist you to that end and will greatly enrich your life in return.

International Emphasis

As an international graduate school of theology, Regent attracts students who appreciate a cross-cultural context for their studies. The multi-cultural context of Vancouver makes an ideal setting for this. The formation of an international community begins at Orientation with teaching segments on various aspects of cross-cultural understanding. The Orientation is designed to help students who have crossed geographic or political boundaries to attend Regent, and also to increase understanding and build friendships among all students.

Study groups associated with classes are often where cross-cultural friendships form. Studying together and learning from each other promote understanding of cultural perspectives on theology and Christian living. In some classes, students are also encouraged to write academic papers with their particular cultural context in mind.

Several cross-cultural events take place each year. The biggest event is “Taste of the World” which includes food and entertainment from every part of the world represented at Regent. It is an evening not to be missed!

Sexual Harassment Policy

The Regent community is committed to building relationships of trust and to creating a safe and healthy environment where all can work and study. Having a clear code of conduct can facilitate this. An important part of such a code in Canadian society relates to appropriate and acceptable conduct between men and women. Consequently, in order to foster healthy relationships, Regent College has developed a Sexual Harassment Policy to which all students, faculty and staff must adhere.

Any harassment of a sexual nature is unacceptable at Regent College. Any unwelcome advances, requests for favours, other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when: (a) submission to such conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual’s employment or academic pursuit; (b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment or academic decisions affecting the individual; or (c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or educational environment.

A brochure describing the sexual harassment policy in detail can be obtained from the Student Services Office.