Chapel Policies

ChapelSpeaker

University chapels and conferences are intended to bring the Biola community together regularly for worship, spiritual nurture and education regarding relevant issues facing us in our lives. The overall program brings a unique distinction to the ethos of Biola as a Christian university. Due to the central and significant nature of that ethos, attendance at chapel is required of all students. Chapel and conference sessions are viewed in the same light as required academic classes. Therefore, the following guidelines have been developed:

Chapel attendance and accountability

Chapel is held on: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:30- 10:20 a.m. in the Chase Gym; Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30- 10:20 a.m. in Calvary Chapel; Wednesdays evenings at 9:10 p.m. in Calvary Chapel. Singspiration, a worship service, is held Sunday nights at 8 p.m. in Sutherland Aud.  Special alternate chapels occur throughout the semester and are announced on this web page and elsewhere.

Who must attend, and how often?

Attendance is mandatory for all full and part-time undergraduate students, both resident and commuter. In consideration of illness, misplaced/lost ID, occasional irresolvable time conflicts, or tardiness, this means:

  • Full-time students are required to attend a minimum of 30 chapels each semester, plus a minimum of 8 sessions during each of the 3-day Torrey and Missions Conferences.
  • NEW: Actual physical attendance at 15 chapels and 4 conferences sessions per semester is required. This goes into effect Fall 2008.
  • Part-time students (enrolled in 7-11 units) are required to attend a minimum of 20 chapel sessions and a minimum of 5 sessions during Torrey and Missions Conference.
  • NEW: For part-time students, actual physical attendance at 10 chapels and 3 conferences sessions per semester is required. This goes into effect Fall 2008.
  • Torrey and Missions Conference attendance that goes above the minimum requirement will also apply toward chapel credit; however, extra chapel attendance does not apply toward Torrey and Missions Conferences.
  • Students enrolled in less than 7 units are encouraged, but not required to attend chapel.
  • Students in their final graduating semester are encouraged, but not required to attend chapel.
  • Students involved in off-campus academic activities required for their major may receive a chapel requirement modification processed by their academic department; contact the Chapel Accountability office at chapel.accountability@biola.edu or ext. 3854.
  • Students who have an approved academic Report Delay (see Student Handbook, "Report-Delayed") due to extreme medical, personal or family difficulties may receive a chapel requirement modification; contact the Chapel Accountability office at chapel.accountability@biola.edu or ext. 3854.
  • Chapel modifications beyond the aforementioned examples will not be granted to individual students.

Consequences for failing to meet requirements (new policies, effective Fall 2008):

A chapel hold is placed on student accounts at the end of the semester if their credit requirements (based on their enrollment status) have not been met.  A student's classes will be dropped at the beginning of the semester if he/she does not turn in the required makeups by the deadline (for spring 2009 chapels, that deadline is June 1, 2009).

Reminder: up to  15 chapels and 4 conference session can be made up.  The 15 required 'physical-attendance' chapels and conference sessions cannot be made up.

Students who fail to complete the physical attendance requirement (based on their enrollment status) will be put on Chapel Probation the following semester.

Students who fail to complete their physical attendance requirement while on Chapel Probation will not be able to take classes at Biola the following semester.

Can I make up excessive absences?

  • Summer and winter interterm chapels will count towards the next semester's physical attendance requirement. Since bar code readers are not used for interterm chapels, students receive credit by filling out an official attendance form received from and submitted to Chapel Accountability by the end of the interterm session.
  • Chapel and conference make-up MP3 CDs may be used to meet some chapel requirements. MP3 CDs and make-up session forms can be purchased at the Media Center in the Library. Students are to conscientiously listen to the CDs, complete the make-up forms and submit them to Chapel Accountability.
    • NEW: No more than 15 chapels and 4 conferences per semester may be made up via CDs (effective Fall 2008).
    • NEW: For part-time (7-11 units) students, no more than 10 chapels and 2 conferences per semester may be made up via CDs (effective Fall 2008).

Make-up credits will be applied to student accounts within 24 hours of receipt.

How is attendance recorded?

Attendance at each chapel/conference session is recorded by bar code readers activated by student ID cards. For Monday through Friday chapel sessions, readers are activated between 9:15 and 9:40 am. It is the responsibility of students to have their ID card at each session to receive credit. Students manually entering their ID numbers and students entering chapel after 9:40 am are considered absent.

Students who lose their ID card must bring proof of their newly purchased card and verification of chapel attendance to the Chapel Accountability Coordinator to receive credit.

Students are responsible to know if their ID card is working by checking their attendance record on the Biola Student Information (BSI) website. (Contact Information Technology for full details.) If proper credit is not being received, a student should report this immediately to the Chapel Accountability Coordinator by showing verification of chapel attendance and proof of having a new ID made by Auxiliary Services (at no charge).

In some situations, Biola may use alternative methods of recording attendance.