History, Mission & Vision
We prepare students to thrive throughout their entire lives.
Founded in 1838, Greensboro College provides undergraduate and graduate students a true liberal-arts education that prepares them to thrive not just in the classroom and in student life, but into their future careers and throughout their lives. Greensboro College provides a coeducational and independent learning atmosphere with approximately 1,000 undergraduate students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia and seven foreign countries. We have 45 full-time faculty who teach 38 majors and more than 1,000 different courses directly to our students. We pride ourselves on our one-on-one contact between faculty and students. We consider ourselves a leader in academic advising and leadership development programs.
In addition, our 18-sport NCAA Division III athletic program is nationally recognized. Our affiliation with the United Methodist Church affords students the opportunity to stay grounded in their faith and to grow spiritually. When searching for the college that best fits you, think about what’s most important to your overall experience and what will help guide you to a successful and prosperous future. If intellectual, personal and spiritual development is important to you, then your search ends here at Greensboro College.
Greensboro College is a Yellow Ribbon school and is also designated as a Military Friendly School.
Our Vision
Greensboro College, grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church, aspires to provide all students with a transformative, universally designed educational experience that positively affects their lives so they may realize their full potential.
Our Mission
Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education that fosters the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.
The relationship between college and church is further defined in “A Statement of the National Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities of the United Methodist Church,” approved Feb. 2, 2015:
We the members of the National Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities of the United Methodist Church (NASCUMC) express our deep concern regarding the violence and pain in our contemporary culture, both inside the church and in the larger society. We have witnessed, and we continue to witness, a world of racially charged violence, the suicides of young people condemned for their sexual orientation or gender identity, escalation in human trafficking and domestic abuse, rancorous political debate, and polarization within the church. As members of NASCUMC, we do not interpret societal issues with one mind, but we share a compassionate heart. Together we bear witness to our common concern for indignities in our global society and the urgency for the church and church-related institutions to witness in words and actions to the dignity of all human beings. As United Methodist-related institutions, we also bear witness to the “catholic spirit” of the Wesleyan tradition and the larger Christian tradition, interpreted in relation to our contemporary context, and the recognition of God-given grace in every human life.
We commit ourselves as educational institutions related to the United Methodist Church to give leadership on behalf of social justice and human dignity by developing new patterns and practices of communication and by attending to questions of justice within our own institutions. We dedicate the years 2015 and 2016 to heralding our commitment to Justice and Dignity. In so doing, we are guided by the core humanistic and religious value that all persons are of sacred worth and equal standing. We welcome students to our campuses regardless of their race or ethnicity, their creed, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We encourage the free exchange of ideas and therefore recognize that diversity of backgrounds, values, and viewpoints is essential for rich conversation and sound learning. We promote a vision of life in which people are judged by the content of their character and not their skin color, their gender, their sexual orientation, or any of the other artificial barriers used to devalue some of God’s children.
We as presidents of United Methodist-related colleges and universities commit ourselves to foster an educational environment in which honest differences are honored. We recognize that every institution exists in a different context, and the issues we face are different. Every institution attempts to support the life of all people, and we all fall short of the policies and practices of which we are capable. Thus, it is important for us to assume our roles as educational institutions and to give leadership in significant conversations and in active evaluation and revision of institutional policies and practices. To these ends, we commit ourselves to two particular actions between March 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016:
- Conversations that Matter about Matters that Matter: Each participating institution will sponsor a series of conversations on concerns of justice and dignity within its distinctive context — concerns that are subject to diverse and strongly held perspectives. The purpose of these conversations is to learn to communicate with dignity across human differences — a process that includes genuine sharing, listening, and considering what others say.
- Institutional Action: Each institution will also assess its own institutional practices and then take explicit action to prioritize and reshape its policies and institutional culture to foster more fully the dignity of all people. These actions will include policies that address the health and wellbeing of all persons regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender preference, social class, and other aspects of human difference.
Honor Code
All academic endeavors at Greensboro College are based on the expectation and assumption that each student will uphold the highest principles of honesty and fairness. This expectation and assumption finds expression in the Academic Honor Code, which every student is committed to uphold.
- Every student is honor-bound to refrain from cheating.
- Every student is honor-bound to refrain from plagiarizing.
- Every student is honor-bound to refrain from lying.
- Every student is honor-bound to refrain from misusing library, laboratory or computer equipment or materials.
- Every student is honor-bound to refrain from disruptive classroom behavior.
- Every student is honor-bound to comply strictly with all examination and testing procedures as may be prescribed by the College, the faculty or individual members of the faculty.
- Every student is honor-bound to report Academic Honor Code violations.
