Purpose

Environment

The environment of the University of Sioux Falls encourages all students to achieve their full potential. The faculty and staff of the University challenge and support students to grow academically and spiritually and to develop a commitment to responsible service.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the University of Sioux Falls provides undergraduate and graduate education that is based on the liberal arts, assists students in the development of a Christian worldview and helps them acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to be responsible servant leaders in their chosen fields and communities.

Global Orientation

USF will equip students to be salt and light in the world—to be agents of God’s global work of renewal—by building their awareness of living in a diverse, but interdependent world and readying them for respectful, collaborative engagement across frontiers of ethnicity, economic status and religion to contribute to the well-being of human society.

Faculty

The faculty of the University of Sioux Falls are committed to its mission and to their vocation of teaching, advising and mentoring students. They enrich their teaching by scholarly participation in their fields of expertise and by their service to the church and the community.

Students

The students of the University of Sioux Falls are diverse with respect to age, experience, and religious tradition. They are challenged to develop a greater appreciation for other cultures, a more global perspective on current issues and a commitment to a life of service. The University welcomes all students who are serious about pursuing their educational goals in a Christian context.

Goal Statements

The following goal statements are based on the University's mission and statements of institutional purpose. In order to enhance quality in all its programs, USF seeks to achieve the following goals:

From the Mission Statement 

1. To foster academic excellence.
2. To assist students in becoming mature Christian persons.
3. To enable students to become servant leaders as a result of their education.

From the Statements of Institutional Purpose

1. To provide an educational and co-curricular environment that challenges and supports students to achieve their full potential.
2. To challenge students through a liberal arts curriculum that emphasizes the exploration of new ideas and the development of a Christian worldview.
3. To help students acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to their specific major and career objectives.
4. To strengthen faculty and staff in their vocation of serving, teaching, advising and mentoring students.
5. To value cultural and ethnic diversity and to cultivate a more global perspective on current issues.

USF—A Globally Oriented Christian Liberal Arts University

USF will equip students to be salt and light in the world—to be agents of God's global work of renewal—by building their awareness of living in a diverse but interdependent world and readying them for respectful, collaborative engagement across frontiers of ethnicity, economic status and religion to contribute to the well-being of human society. 

USF will develop students to be intentional, fruitful participants in the worldwide endeavor of the following:

1. To bring reconciliation and justice in interpersonal, intercultural and international relationships.
2. To ensure access for all segments of society to the necessities of life and to marketplace opportunities for economic and social uplift.
3. To obtain freedom for all people from oppression, exploitation and servitude.
4. To understand and promote stewardship of the biosphere.
5. To apply scientific learning and creativity to the promotion of human well-being.
6. To appreciate and generate diverse expressions of beauty and excellence to the glory of God.