Trinity Christian College

Trinity Christian College was a private Christian college in Palos Heights, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Chicago businessmen who wanted to establish a college providing students with a Christian higher education in a Reformed tradition as a college in Illinois. The college offered degrees in more than 70 programs of study. In 2023 and 2024, it reduced its number of employees by 10 percent. On November 4, 2025, Trinity Christian College announced it would close at the end of the 2025-26 academic calendar. Campus The Martin and Janet Ozinga Chapel, a 1200-seat facility, provided practice and rehearsal rooms for the music department, and housed the campus ministries program under the direction of the campus chaplain. The Grand Lobby hosted a variety of events beneath its stained glass window, the first of a series of stained glass panels hung throughout the building designed to celebrate Trinity Christian's mission in Reformed higher education. The Heritage Science Center comprised 38,000-square feet (3,500 m2) of classroom and lab space for chemistry, biology, and physics programs, as well as classrooms and a lecture hall for technology and computer science studies. The Art and Communication Center (ARCC) provided Trinity Christian students with art and design studios, a graphic design lab, student gallery, The Marg Kallemeyn (black box) Theatre for the performing arts, and the Seerveld Gallery that welcomed guest artists and student artists. New athletics fields and a new athletics complex were developed with completion of the DeVos Athletics and Recreation Center in the autumn of 2013. The facility featured a state of the art lab for exercise students, a bouldering wall, and a fitness center. Academics Trinity Christian College claimed a cohesive approach to its core curriculum of philosophy, history, English, and theology. Although students are drawn from predominantly Reformed and Presbyterian church backgrounds, students also come from other Christian traditions such as Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic. Accreditation and memberships Trinity Christian College was a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC). The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Adult undergraduate programs In 1998 Trinity Christian College opened the TRACS department, now called Adult Undergraduate Programs, to serve the needs of the non-traditional student. Adults 23 years of age and older could complete their college degree through this program. Graduate studies In 2012 Trinity Christian College began offering two graduate level programs: a Master of Arts in Special Education and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. Athletics The Trinity Christian athletic teams were called the Trolls. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) since the 1987–1988 academic year. The teams were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the North Central Region of the Division I level. Trinity Christian competed in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball. The women's soccer team collected Trinity's first national title by winning the NCCAA National Soccer Tournament in 2005 and returned to the NCCAA national finals in 2007. Closure On November 4, 2025, Trinity announced it would close after the 2025-2026 academic year. The college's board of trustees made this decision after reviewing the college's financial outlook. Reasons cited were financial challenges post-COVID, declining enrollment, competition for students, and shifting donor support. According to Inside Higher Ed, the college "operated at a loss in eight of its last 10 fiscal years and enrollment shrank from 1,068 in fall 2019 to 872 last year." Academic records and transcripts were put under the custodianship of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. References External links Official website Official athletics website