Competencies emphasized by Calvin's Expanded Statement of Mission equip students "to be effective in the tasks of knowing and caring."  But "competence is not only a skill; there is a moral purpose as well as a technical purpose" intended in the college's the six stated competencies: 

1		reading and writing Standard English well
2		listening and speaking effectively
3		employing graphic and numeric forms of communication
4		exercising valid and sound reasoning
5		making discerning use of technology and popular culture
6		maintaining personal health

"In order for knowing to include responsibility and for competence to include caring, the mind and heart must be one. To do this in a way that is faithful to Jesus Christ, we need to foster commitments. A goal, then, of education at Calvin College is to foster a thoughtful and compassionate commitment to Christian faith and to such values as stewardship, justice, truth, and gratitude. These commitments include:

7		a joyful trust in the triune God
8		an attachment to a Christian worldview
9		a strong desire to connect theoretical understanding with Christian conduct
10		a readiness to contend against evil and oppression
11		a willingness to work for the common good and the Body of Christ
12		a dedication to the cause of Christ's renewal of earth and human life."

-- from Calvin's Expanded Statement of Mission Part II, Section 2-B.