Graduation

Mission

Many colleges. Many Catholic colleges. What makes CCSJ different?

Calumet College of St. Joseph is a Catholic institution of higher learning informed by the values of its founding religious community, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.). The mission of the College is to cultivate the academic, spiritual, and ethical development of our students by affirming the inherent dignity of all people, promoting social justice and an ethic of service, and providing opportunity and empowerment.

At Calumet College of St. Joseph, our vision is to be a vital and valued resource for the region and beyond where students can be known, be successful, and belong.

Calumet College is a Roman Catholic college in the tradition of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) who began the College in 1951.

All religious identities are welcome at CCSJ.

There are five essential characteristics of a Catholic college in the tradition of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.).

Open To Growth

A graduate of a Calumet College of St. Joseph has demonstrated maturity to take responsibility for his/her own growth (as opposed to having a passive, drifting attitude about growth). Students are seeking opportunities to expand their mind, imagination, feelings, and religious consciousness.

growth
  • How am I taking responsibility for my overall wellness: emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially, and religiously?
  • How am I learning to accept myself, talents and limitations, victories and defeats?
  • How am I becoming more conscious of my feelings? How am I becoming freer and more authentic in expressing them? At the same time, how am I accepting responsibility (to self and others), and to managing my impulsive drives?
  • How am I developing an appreciation of beauty and creativity?
  • How am I becoming more flexible and open to other points of view? To recognizing how much I learn from careful listening?
  • How am I developing a habit of reflection about my experiences?
  • How am I seeking new experiences, even those which involve some risk or the possibility of failure?
  • How am I exploring career and related choices within the framework of Christian values?
  • How am I becoming more open to complicated life issues?

Intellectually Competent

The graduate will exhibit a mastery of the academic requirements for advanced forms of thinking within a liberal arts education. While these requirements relate to departmental subjects, the student will have developed many intellectual skills and understanding which transcend the need for intellectual integrity in their personal quest for religious truth and in their responses to issues of social justice.

competent

Academically

  • How have I mastered fundamental language skills?
  • How have I mastered fundamental mathematical skills?

General Skills and Attitudes

  • How am I thinking more logically and critically than I did last year at this time?
  • How am I developing precision and personal style in thought and expression both written and oral?
  • How am I using my imagination to develop curiosity to explore ideas and issues?
  • How am I developing the ability to apply knowledge and skills to new situations? How am I adjusting to a variety of learning formats?
  • How am I becoming a more organized person?
  • How am I progressing with my ability to conduct research and present a convincing argument in both written and oral form?
  • How am I taking pride and ownership in my efforts and accomplishments?
  • How am I enjoying intellectual and aesthetic (artistic) pursuits?

Substantive Knowledge

  • How am I developing a general knowledge of the central ideas, methodologies, and limits of a variety of intellectual disciplines?
  • How am I relating current issues and perspectives to some of their historical antecedents?
  • How am I growing in awareness of my cultural heritage and that of others?
  • How am I understanding some of the implications of the uses of science, technology, and capital in public policy?
  • How am I understanding my rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the United States and as a member of the world community?
  • How am I understanding strengths and weaknesses of the practices of the United States government?
  • How am I developing the critical consciousness to analyze and to evaluate points of view relative to issues facing men and women?

Religious

The graduate at graduation will know some of the essential beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church and will have examined his/her own religious feelings and beliefs in order to choose an orientation toward God. The student will ideally establish a relationship with a religious tradition and/or community.

religious
  • What have (a) Jesus Christ, and, (b) the Catholic Church have contributed to the dignity of the human person and social justice throughout the world?
  • How am I integrating the ministry of the C.PP.S., the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, and the life of their founder, St. Gaspar, into my daily life?
  • How am I actively seeking to discover God in all things?
  • How have I had an experience of God, either in private prayer, while on a retreat, in liturgical prayer, or in some other moving experience?
  • How am I learning to express myself by using various methods of prayer?
  • How do I notice that my conscience is forming? How am I evaluating and making ethical choices with increasing clarity?
  • How am I learning through my own failure the need for healing by, and reconciliation with, friends, family, Church, and God?
  • How am I becoming a more intentional “person for others”?
  • How am I actively working toward social justice in my life and in my community?

Committed to Justice

The graduate at graduation has achieved considerable knowledge of the many needs of the local and wider communities and is preparing for the day when they will take a place in these communities as a competent, concerned, and responsible member. They have begun to acquire the skills and motivation necessary to live as a man and woman for others.

justice
  • How am I aware of selfish attitudes and tendencies which lead one to treat others unjustly? How do I consciously seek to be more cooperative, understanding, accepting, and generous with others?
  • How does the Christian faith challenge me to help build a just society?
  • How is my global awareness growing in terms of current social problems (human rights, energy, ecology, food, population, terrorism, arms race, etc.) and their impact on various human communities?
  • How am I understanding the structural roots of injustice in social institutions, attitudes, and customs? How am I taking some responsibility for injustice in my own world?
  • How do I recognize the needs of some disadvantaged segments of the community by working with them in community service programs?
  • How have I gained some empathetic understanding of their living conditions?
  • How am I developing greater compassion for victims of injustice? How am I cultivating an active concern for social changes that will assist them in gaining their rights and increased human dignity?
  • How will my career be of service to others?
  • How do I understand my obligation to participate in the building of a humane, civic, and religious community in a way that will respects the diversity of those communities?
  • How am I understanding the complexity of many social issues? How am I more critically reading diverse sources of information about them?
  • How am I confronting some of the moral ambiguities imbedded in values promoted by Western culture?
  • How am I seeing that the values of an overly competitive consumer society are sometimes in conflict with the demands of a just society, and indeed with the Gospel?

Loving

The graduate at graduation continues to discover her/his own identify, moving beyond self-interest or self-centeredness in relationships with others, and taking positive risks toward deeper levels of relationship.

loving
  • How am dealing I with issues of trust? Trusting friends, family, superiors?
  • How have I experienced God’s love in my life?
  • How am I beginning to love myself more and to see myself as loved by God and others?
  • How have I dealt with personal prejudices and stereotypes? How do I often communicate more easily with others, especially with peers of other races, ages, religions, sexual orientations, nationalities, and socio-economic backgrounds?
  • How have I experienced the support of various levels of community at Calumet College of St. Joseph?
  • How have I contributed to the college community?
  • How have I worked to cultivate deeper friendships and handled those that aren’t as long lasting?
  • Through service to others, how do I appreciate the satisfaction of giving myself for other people and thereby discovering a more meaningful life?
  • How am I with putting himself in another’s place and understanding what that person is feeling?
  • How am I sensitive to the beauty of the created universe and is caring about life and the natural environment?