Terms in the Regular Academic Year

The regular academic year of New Saint Andrews College is divided into four eight-week terms, with summer constituting a fifth and discrete term, each named after a great council of the Christian church.

The first is Jerusalem Term, named for the great council recorded in Acts 15 that confronted the heresy of the Judaizers. The second session is called Nicea Term, deriving its name from the council held in A.D. 325 that definitively addressed disputes regarding the Trinity. The third is Chalcedon Term, named after the council, which convened in A.D. 451 to address Christological controversies. The fourth is Westminster Term, named for the assembly of divines that met in London from 1643 to 1652 and gave us one of the great systematic expressions of the Reformed faith.

Summer courses are taught during the Dordrecht Term, named after the last great ecumenical Protestant council, the Synod of Dort, held in the city of Dordrecht, Holland, 1618-1619, which condemned the five main doctrinal errors of Arminianism and the Remonstrants. Special fees are assessed for January or Dordrecht Term coursework. Such fees are not part of the student's regular academic year tuition agreement. Consult the Registrar for the current Dordrecht Term and January tuition and fees.

Because of our short 8-week terms and our demanding weekly schedule, the College takes no three-day weekends or Monday holidays. All breaks are a full week in duration. Thus, classes remain in session during Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Presidents' Day.

Terms in the Low-Residency Classical Christian Studies Graduate Program

August Term: One week intensive classes are usually held the first week of August
Jerusalem-Nicea Terms: Directed Readings (span the fall "semester" of the College's first two terms)
January Term: One-week intensive classes are usually held the first week of January
Chalcedon-Westminster Terms: Director Readings (span the spring "semester" of the College's last two terms)
June Term: One-week intensive classes are usually held the middle of June (not during the ACCS conference)

Important Information About Exam Schedules

Oral examinations for undergraduates and M.A. students are normally administered Monday though Friday (and sometimes Saturday). Exam schedules are a challenge to plan given the large number of individual exams that need to be administered and the complex schedules of the faculty. Therefore, student exam schedules are not flexible and may be altered only by the Registrar with the approval of the Academic Dean. Furthermore, students (and parents of students) should not make any travel plans to leave early for break unless they have the prior approval of the Academic Dean. The exam schedule is posted by the end of the fourth week of each term. Seminars, Recitations, Declamation, and Disputatio are not held during examination week.

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