The two institutions have agreed on a plan to continue serving adult students in the Chattanooga and North Georgia area including Atlanta.

A year ago Covenant College announced plans to phase out its highly respected non-traditional organizational management major offered through Quest in Chattanooga and northern Georgia in order to focus more strategically on the College’s mission as a Christ-centered, residential, liberal arts college.

Desiring to assure the needs of adult students are met with academically rigorous and biblically grounded education, Covenant has arranged for Belhaven University to take leadership of the Quest program. In addition, Belhaven will be adding new undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the current Quest educational centers in Chattanooga, Dalton, Rome, and Atlanta.

The institutions are working through the many remaining details in the hope that students currently enrolled in the Quest program will experience a seamless transition when Belhaven takes the leadership of the program, pending approvals from the higher education governing agencies, Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Belhaven University is a Presbyterian school serving 1,000 traditional students in Jackson, Mississippi, and offering adult degree programs similar to Quest for 2,500 students at its Jackson campus as well as three other campuses – Orlando, Houston, and Memphis. In addition, Belhaven enrolls over 500 master level students in business, education, and public administration, and offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Both Covenant and Belhaven are members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and share the common goal of quality academic programs offered from a biblical foundation.

“I’m overwhelmed at the bold vision of president Niel Nielson and the Covenant College leadership to serve adult students by joining this unique blend of our institutions’ strengths to assure that the great tradition and academic strength of Quest will continue,” said Dr. Roger Parrott, president of Belhaven. “This level of commitment to put students above all else speaks volumes about the caring, integrity, and biblically grounded calling of Covenant College.”

“We are delighted that this good program will continue to serve adult students and the local community,” said Dr. Jeff Hall, vice president for academic affairs at Covenant. “We are confident that Belhaven University will be able to provide a quality program that will both sustain and extend the educational opportunities at Quest. We are eager to work through the details of this transition.”

Covenant’s other adult degree-completion program, the Bachelor of Science in early childhood education (BSECE) program, is separate from and not affected by this change. The BSECE program continues to enroll new cohorts for courses at the College’s main Lookout Mountain campus.

With Belhaven, students will find the same curriculum, academic quality, and personalized service that have characterized the Quest program for the past quarter century. Belhaven University Quest students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management in as little as 18 months or choose from a wide variety of individual courses. Quest provides a rigorous, yet practical, curriculum designed to fit the busy schedules of working adults from its classroom locations in Chattanooga, Dalton, Rome, and Atlanta.

Quest currently enrolls 400 full-time and part-time adult students, and many of the 3,000 Quest graduates are in leadership positions throughout the Southeast.

New 2010 fall classes are scheduled to begin at these sites: Chattanooga, TN, Dalton, GA, Atlanta, GA, and Rome, GA

Along with the Quest program, Belhaven University plans to offer additional graduate and undergraduate degrees when approved by the governing agencies.