Attendance Policy

Attendance

• Chapel begins at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and is held in Brown Chapel. Time Out begins at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Brown Chapel.
• To earn chapel credit, students must scan in and out of chapel using their ID card at the entrance doors. To receive credit for attendance at a chapel, students must scan in no later than 9:55 and remain in chapel for the entire chapel service. A one-way scan will not be counted as a chapel credit.
• Manual scans are available for those students who don't have their ID card with them, but are limited to three manual scans per semester. Manual scans recorded after three in a semester will not receive credit.

Undergraduate Students

There are usually 40 chapels and 14 Time Out services per semester. Students are encouraged to attend all chapel and Time Out services and can receive credit for up to four chapels each week. The minimum number of chapels a student must attend each semester is based on enrollment status. They are as follows:

Commuter Students enrolled in 11 or fewer units

No minimum attendance

Students enrolled in 12 or more units and all residential students

• Freshman and sophomore students must attend 33 chapels.
• Juniors and seniors must attend 25 chapels.
• Students age 26 and over must attend 12 chapels, but a full exemption may be requested by developing a Spiritual Growth Plan with the University Chaplain.

Based on the above minimum requirements students should plan for events such as medical/dental appointments, necessary personal business, and non-emergency illness, so as not to fall below the required minimum attendance. Please note that if your class schedule should change before the Chapel Petition deadline affecting the total number of units enrolled, your Chapel requirements are subject to change. It is the student's responsibility to keep track of their chapel attendance.* Failure to meet the minimum requirements will result in chapel fines:

• 1 - 4 excessive chapel absences will result in a fine of $5 for each absence
• 5 or more excessive chapel absences will result in a fine of $10 for each absence in excess of 4

*Your chapel attendance may be viewed through your portal account located on the Web site (my.pointloma.edu). On your student account screen, select BIO Information from the menu, then select Chapel Attendance. If a discrepancy is noted, it is the responsibility of the student to bring this discrepancy to the attention of chapelattendance@pointloma.edu.  This account information is managed by the Office of Student Development.

Accountability

Course required Involvements

Students enrolled in PLNU classes which necessitate absence during the chapel hour to fulfill the course requirements may receive additional chapel exemptions. PLNU students requesting chapel exemption for academic courses at other institutions must substantiate that the class is a graduation requirement and/or that the class is unavailable at PLNU. Prior request and approval is required via the chapel petition process for this consideration.

Commuter Students

• Freshman and Sophomore students with Tuesday/Thursday classes only may request an exemption to lower required attendance to attend 25/40 chapels by submitting a chapel petition.
• Junior and Senior students without classes before 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday or attending Tuesday/Thursday classes only, may request a full exemption by submitting a chapel petition.
• Freshman and Sophomore students commuting 20 miles one way or more and have Monday, Wednesday, and Friday classes after 1 p.m., may request an exemption to lower required attendance to 25/40 chapels by submitting a chapel petition.

Employment

Exemptions may be granted for upper-class students (57 cumulative units and above) for verifiable and necessary employment during chapel.

• Verbal verification is required from the employer within two weeks of submission of the petition. The lack of satisfactory verification will result in a delayed petition approval or denial.
• On-campus employment must be certified as essential by a Cabinet Officer prior to the submission of a chapel petition.
• Students must make arrangements to attend a minimum of one chapel per week regardless of work commitments.

Students qualifying for a chapel reduction or exemption must submit a petition using the online application through the student portal (my.pointloma.edu) under Student Services. Students are expected to attend chapel as required until their petition results are posted online on the student portal (my.pointloma.edu) or communicated via PLNU e-mail.

• Petitions must be submitted and approved each semester; exemptions will only be considered on a per semester basis.
• All petitions must be submitted within the first six weeks of the semester

Misrepresentation

• Dishonest petitions will automatically be denied.
• Misuse of an ID card when scanning in or out of chapel (including either manual or electronic scans) will result in an automatic $25 fine for each participating party. Each participant in violation of this policy will not receive credit for the chapel in question, and may be subject to other discipline, as deemed appropriate.