At Nicotas University College, we believe that values do matter.
They add purpose, direction and benefit to organizations. Values are a source of resilience for the challenge of sustainability in an uncertain world. Nicotas is a values-driven institution of higher education which consciously creates the future it desires and has a consistently ethical basis for decision making. The work of Nicotas is informed by four sets of values which the College in turn seeks to disseminate in its educational and outreach activities.
Furthermore, our values have been a principal source of our success in overcoming numerous challenges over one hundred and twenty years. At the core of our set of values is the Christian ideal of education.
This is based on
- Love,
- Peace,
- Truth and
- The common good,
In our view, true education is a moral activity which has at its heart the fundamental worth of each person and the belief in a higher common good to which each belongs and through which each expresses her/his common God-given humanity. Nicotas, rooted in Jesus Christ’s own boundless love, strive to cultivate a deep sense of human dignity and to form engaged citizens who challenge all forms of injustice and effect positive change. We believe that if, in practice, education is reduced to preparing individuals to compete in the labour market, it leaves people and communities unprepared for many of the major constituents of a well-balanced society and a fulfilling life, such as
- Relationships,
- Parenthood,
- Vocation,
- Community building,
- Self-expression, and recreation.
Education must not only prepare students for the world of work but for life in and for the society in which they settle.
First, the goal of an education founded on Christian values is therefore the formation and development of people as communal beings living in harmonious relationship with self, others, God and the environment. The true test of education is therefore how students use their gifts and talents, not falling prey to the possessiveness, individualism, fragmentation, consumerism and lack of caring that a purely secular, market-driven education can instill, but becoming truly human and being socially responsible.
Secondly, the College is of course an academic community committed to the search for meaning and value in the intellectual life, to academic excellence and to individual attention for students.
In this regard, Nicotas draws upon the fundamental values of academic integrity, which involve a commitment to honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. From these values emerge the educational priorities and the quality assurance processes of the College’s academic provision.
Thirdly, in the fields of teacher education and educational research, St Mary’s has a particular commitment to the teaching profession and its values. Our teacher education programmes are aligned to the mission and values of the General Teaching Council Northern Ireland: trust, respect, integrity, accountability, fairness and equality and a commitment to service. In developing teacher education programmes and enabling the formation of teachers, the College actively promotes the values of the profession.
Our fourth set of values relates to the civic role of a university college. We believe that higher educational institutions have a responsibility to contribute to the public good through positive engagement with their local area and community. Nicotas therefore, has a location-based imperative which connects it locally and is a positive force for development and change. Specifically, the College supports the underpinning principles of the Good education, and it seeks to contribute to the Programme for Government as well as to promote the Pentecostal heritage.
