An earlier version of this article mentioned that the name of the vice president of Student Development is Mike Muha. His name is Mark Muha. The Chimes regrets this error. We are committed to correcting all errors of fact. Readers are urged to notify the staff of such errors as soon as possible.
The new school year always brings changes; Biola’s chapel program and its method for checking in are no exception.
These adjustments, however, were in the making last school year. On April 26, Mike Ahn, dean of Spiritual Development, sent an email announcing a new chapel schedule and chapel accountability system to be implemented in Fall 2024.
NEW CHAPEL SCHEDULE
The email informed students that there would be a reduced number of chapels per week, but attaining the required number of chapels for the semester would still be possible if students plan ahead.
“In order to spread chapels throughout the week, AfterDark will move from Wednesday to Tuesday evening,” the email said. “Also, there will no longer be Tuesday Fives and Friday morning chapel offered in the 2024-2025 academic year. First Year Friday chapels will still be offered for the first five weeks of the semester. Biola Hour and Image of God chapels which were held on Fridays will be integrated into other chapel time slots.”
Ahn explained that this change is directly influenced by the university’s enrollment numbers.
“The main reason was there’s gonna be less staffing and less budget resources just across the university,” said Ahn. “So […] we cut it down from eight to six consistent [chapels] per week, but our student population that needs chapel is a lot less too. So eight chapels a week were based off of 4 thousand students. Now we’re closer to 3 thousand that need chapel credit.”
He added that Spiritual Development also wanted students to attend chapels consistently rather than saving everything for the end of the semester. Ahn clarified that this new schedule was for the students’ benefit and not to generate fines.
“I hear from students, or I hear the rumors like, ‘Oh, you guys are making it less because you want to fine us.’ And I’m like, ‘No, that has nothing to do with it. We actually don’t. We don’t really want to fine anybody.’ It’s just with what we have, we think this is the best opportunity moving forward,” said Ahn.
He went on to address commuting students who are worried about meeting the chapel requirements.
“Our statistics show from the past that most commuters attend Monday and Wednesday morning. Those are still there. Okay, we always thought that commuters would go more to Fives, and they don’t,” said Ahn. “Just to remind you, though there’s also, if you commute from an extra far distance, there are certain accommodations that are available through the Chapel Accountability Office.”
CHAPEL CHECK-IN APP
The email outlining the changes in the chapel schedule also announced that instead of having student ushers check students into chapels, there would be an easier alternative.
“Starting in the fall, students will use an app to scan themselves into chapel, resulting in shorter lines to enter chapel. Students’ chapel attendance will be updated in the app instantly, giving students the ability to see their credits in real time,” said the email.
Students were encouraged to download the iAttended app in a later email sent on Sept. 3 by Mark Muha, vice president of Student Development.
Ahn described how the app works and emphasized that students must use their Biola email or else the chapels they scan into will not register to the university’s records. He also encouraged students to turn their location services on so the app functions properly.
There were a few options for check-in apps that the university considered before choosing iAttended. Some students pointed out that iAttended received poor ratings and reviews on the Apple App Store.
Ahn addressed these concerns saying Biola reached out to other universities and those running the iAttended app.
“People all referenced one thing that happened about a year ago, where something happened to the server, and then records were deleted, and so [iAttended] had to kind of work around how to work with that,” said Ahn. “I’ve been assured by the iAttended company that that issue has been resolved and it shouldn’t be an issue. If there is, we’re gonna have to figure something out, but that was an isolated, one-time event, and then again, I think for the most part, people have been very positive about how iAttended has been used on our campus.”
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The first chapel of the 2024-2025 academic year was a Talbot Chapel on Tuesday, Sept. 3. There were signs outside of Calvary Chapel letting students know that they needed to download the iAttended app to check in and log their chapel attendance. These signs also had a QR code directing students to the iAttended page on the app store.
Some students had to step out of line to download the app while others pressed the bottom button on the home page of the iAttended app that said “Scan QR Code.” As attendees crowded into the Calvary Chapel, student ushers held electronic devices displaying the QR code. There was also a stand in the middle of the aisle mounted with two devices displaying the QR code.
Chapel attendees crowded around these devices and used the iAttended app to scan the QR codes, waiting for a checkmark to appear across their phone screens to signify that their attendance was logged.
The “Home” page has a list of all the upcoming chapels along with information about them.
There is a “Progress” page in the app, tracking how many chapels are left until a student meets the requirements for the semester. There is another section that tracks the amount of conference credits as well. The “Attended” page lists the names, dates, and times of the chapels students have already attended.
MOVING FORWARD
On that Tuesday chapel, Ahn was helping students download and use the iAttended app at the entrance of Calvary Chapel. Later, he shared that Biola is still working on ways to improve the chapel check-in process. They want to use the televisions at the front of the various chapel locations like the Ethel Lee Auditorium, Calvary Chapel and the Chase Gymnasium to make it easier for students to scan in.
“So in the Ethel Lee Auditorium, we think it’s gonna go well, and the goal has always been to put two TVs in the back wall,” said Ahn. “We’re using the TV that we used in Calvary last year because we bought it for Calvary, and it’s helping. But again, having two TVs is just going to speed it up even more. Number one, we’re figuring out Calvary a little bit better, and then the gym.”
With the changes to the chapel schedule and a different way of tracking attendance for these chapels as well as conferences, the entire student body is learning to adjust. First-year students are also mastering navigating their new environment.
