Every organization has a culture, and Abilene Christian University’s culture is what sets it apart from other universities. A culture of an organization is created through its mission, and its espoused and actual values that are evident in all areas of the organization. The culture of a university is very important and will affect one’s life tremendously. A Christian college makes the difference in the life of the student in an online graduate degree program. It has been said that parents and graduate students themselves pay thousands of dollars to have students lose their faith and become atheists in many secular universities. The professors in many secular universities eschew and even ridicule expressions of Christian faith in students, and they teach that there is no truth and no God. Even the strongest Christian may find their faith wavering in the face of the culture of universities without a Christian focus.
At ACU the espoused and enacted values displayed by all stakeholders at the university are those of enriching the Christian walk and ministry of its students enrolled in online graduate degree programs. Espoused values are aspirations, and ACU’s focus on the Christian faith makes a difference in the life of online graduate degree students at ACU. The enacted values, the norms accepted and displayed by online graduate degree students in all areas of study as well as others at ACU, are based on Christian ethical principles and the dedication to a Christian walk in one’s private life, educational experience, and workplace. Studying at ACU can help a graduate student learn how to express his or her faith within all aspects of life. Values like ethical behavior and ministry to others improve the outcome of any organization, and they improve the online graduate education at ACU. The values learned and displayed at ACU also carry over into all areas of life in the present and the future experiences of ACU students, making them stand out in any area of life as a role model to be esteemed and followed.
Rather than paying for an education and studying at an institution that works to shake one’s faith, as is true in many secular universities, ACU’s mission is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. ACU’s graduate degree programs lead students who seek spiritual, intellectual, and personal development in a Christian atmosphere. Not only does ACU focus on helping students to display Christian ethics as a way of life, but it helps graduate students to develop ethical and spiritual creeds to live by, and it helps them to cement them into the very foundation of one’s life. A focus on spiritual growth is an important facet of an online graduate degree at a Christian university such as ACU, and that element can make a difference in one’s personal, professional, and spiritual life forever.
Abilene Christian University, as a premier Christian university with both online and on-site online graduate degree options has made significant investments to equip its students with thought provoking lessons and activities that can be applied to one’s life. ACU provides current and state-of-the-art technology to research and solve problems in all of its degree options. It provides the quality education necessary for graduates to become leaders in their field, sharing not only their expertise and skills in their particular field, but the ability to become Christian ambassadors to the world. Learning to use Christian values and ethics is an important part of education at ACU, and the application of these values and ethics helps students to achieve their personal aspirations in whatever field they choose while remaining dedicated to Christ and His work.
Abilene’s espoused values, or aspirations, are a starting point and focus point that have allowed dedication to Christ to become actual values, or the normal way of doing business. Taking a Christian perspective on philosophy of any particular art or science, as well as current events, can help an online graduate student to maneuver through the secular world of skepticism and disbelief that is so prevalent in our world today. Much of what students read and hear in the news and entertainment media outlets today do nothing to enrich their faith, but to balance that barrage of misinformation, ACU is focused on teaching students, including graduate degree students in a number of fields, to interpret information from a Christian perspective. When educated people use scientific theories and facts to dispute the existence of God, ACU helps students to develop their own beliefs to a point that they can defend the faith in their particular field of study. ACU will help students to be able to stand up for Christ in the world today where that is not a popular stance.
An online graduate degree from ACU can help one to stand tall in the world today of situational ethics, biased news coverage.. While one may feel isolated and rejected as a student in a secular university, ACU allows Christians to come together and share their ideas in an atmosphere of acceptance and like-mindedness. Together we can make a difference in our world through a quality Christian experience that strengthens our faith and witness. ACU is a place that instructors, mentors, and fellow students can share the experiences that they have in fighting for the faith in their world. Many of the theories that the secular world accepts and operates by are not valuable in living one’s life in an ethical and productive way. However, by learning one’s mission in life, to become a spokesman for Christianity and an ambassador of the faith, that is possible and a foundation of all of ACU’s online graduate degree programs, one can make an important witness in their world of work, family, friends, and community.
Ethics has become the focus of many organizations today as the result of the secular thinking that has predominated education in the past few decades. The unethical behavior of CEO’s, Boards of Directors, and many others has created a world where trust is difficult to maintain. A strong ethical and Christian outlook such as fostered at ACU can put students ahead of the game in their careers and their worlds.
Reference: Baak, D. (2012) Organizational behavior. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint.