San Diego Christian College (SDCC) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

college in

Santee, California Santee is a suburban city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 60,075 at the 2020 census. Although it is a part of the East County region, Santee is located just from the Pacific Ocean. The city is connected to the coastline ...

, a suburb of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. Founded in 1970, SDCC offers traditional, non-traditional, and graduate programs.

History

In January 1970, Tim F. LaHaye, pastor of the former Scott Memorial Baptist Church of San Diego and co-author of the fictional ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, ...

'' series of books, Art Peters and Henry M. Morris discussed the need for a Christian college on the West Coast where studies could be developed within the framework of

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

based on the

Genesis creation narrative The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity. The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. In the first, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word ...

. That year, classes began at Christian Heritage College, supported by Scott Memorial Baptist Church.History of SDCC
The first degrees were awarded in 1973. In 1984, it was first accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...

(WASC). In 2005, the college changed its name to San Diego Christian College. In 2015, the college moved to its new location in Santee, CA.

Campus

In 2005, Christian Heritage College became San Diego Christian College and in 2014, SDCC moved to its new campus in Santee. The new campus consists of five buildings, with an athletic annex office and residential apartments which are located 1.8 miles off campus. Its five buildings include smart classrooms, laboratories, chapel auditorium, cafeteria, counseling rooms, a library and faculty and staff offices. The library has a growing collection of over 450,000 items. Aviators train at

Gillespie Field Gillespie Field is a county-owned public towered airport northeast of downtown San Diego, in El Cajon, San Diego County, California, United States. History : ''Section reference dates.'' In 1942 the United States Marine Corps chose a site wi ...

in El Cajon. San Diego Christian College

SDCC's fountain displays the institution's core values of truth, purpose, and impact.

Academics

The college offers

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degrees as well as

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

Degrees, and teacher's credentials. San Diego Christian College has been accredited by the

(WASC) since 1984. On June 23, 2006, WASC reviewed San Diego Christian College and placed its accreditation on probation. This was because the college was unable to demonstrate its "autonomy." The commission on February 2, 2007, found the college had taken a "number of significant and positive steps" in addressing its concerns, but still found it to be in "noncompliance," so another visit was scheduled for the Spring of 2008. In June 2008, San Diego Christian College received a reaffirmation of accreditation. In its 2020 rankings, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranks San Diego Christian College as #11 in its "Regional Colleges West" category (not to be confused with "Regional Universities West"), out of the 64 schools listed in that category ("regional college" is defined as "colleges focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines").''U.S. News & World Report'': San Diego Christian College.
Accessed March 15, 2019. PayScale ranks SDCC very low on its "College Return on Investment" list, placing it at 1,591 out of the 1,995 listed (including financial aid).

Athletics

The San Diego Christian College (SDCC) athletic teams are called the Hawks. The college is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Golden State Athletic Conference The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Mike Daniels. Conference leadership is shared among the memb ...

(GSAC) since the 1999–2000 academic year. They were also a member of the

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athleti ...

(NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the West Region of the Division I level. SDCC competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.

Tennis

In just their first year of a program in 2015, the SDCC men's tennis team went to the NAIA National Tournament held in Mobile, Ala. The Hawks lost in the Quarterfinal round against eventual winner and No. 1 team Georgia Gwinnett. The Hawks were ranked as high as No. 8 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll during the season.

Baseball

In 2014, the SDCC baseball team was a finalist in th
NAIA World Series
after a record breaking year. The Hawks finished with a 42-20 overall record that included a GSAC Regular Season Championship as well as being ranked fifth in the NAIA Top 25 Poll.

Men's basketball

Competing at that time in the NCCAA, the Hawks won the NCCAA men's basketball championship in 1990, 1997, 1998 and 2004. They were second in 2000, losing to Bethel by a score of 83–82. They finished third in 1996 and 2003. They also went to the 2001 NAIA final four in Men's Basketball.

Women's basketball

The Hawks won the NCCAA women's basketball championship in 2003. The women's Volleyball team won the first National titles for the school in volleyball 1998, 2000 and took second in 1996 and 1999.

Notable people

Students and alumni

Faculty and employees

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in San Diego County, California Santee, California Liberal arts colleges in California Private universities and colleges in California Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Evangelicalism in California Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges 1970 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1970 Evangelical universities and colleges in the United States