 If you have any questions that are not answered here, or have a comment for the Chapel Commission, please email chapel@grace.edu.
Frequently asked questions...
How can I check my chapel attendance?
Attendance is generally updated weekly and can be found using your id number here.
When and where is chapel?
Chapel services are held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 10:00 - 10:50 in the Orthopaedic Capital Center. We do not have chapel during midterms and finals each semester.
Chapel Policy
Chapel Participation
The integration of God’s Word in the academic pursuit of truth is strongly emphasized at Grace. The chapel experience enables us to meet together, to deepen our sense of community, to become and remain focused on what really matters in life and eternity, and to receive instruction from God’s Word. The following chapel purpose statement was adopted in September 1996: “To challenge students to mature in their relationship with Christ so that their daily lives will be shaped by Christ’s values resulting in Christ-like global vision and commitment to service.”
Chapel is experienced in the Orthopaedic Capital Center from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. Food and beverages are not permitted in the facility during these times. Medical exceptions will be considered on an individual basis.
Attendance at chapel is required. Each student is allotted seven (7) unexcused chapel absences per semester. These absences are for personal reasons (car trouble, study time, minor illness, visits to a doctor’s office, funerals, trips home, job interviews, etc.) Students are urged to save their seven unexcused absences for such reasons. Chapel attendance is recorded electronically when a student’s college identification card is passed through one of the scanning devices upon both entering and exiting the auditorium. The scanners are programmed to allow a brief grace period after the 10:00 a.m. start time and before the 10:50 a.m. end time. If you scan in after the first grace period or scan out before the second one, a skip will be entered in your chapel attendance record. It is the student’s responsibility to provide sufficient proof that failure to attend the full chapel service is excusable. This proof must be presented to the Office of Student Affairs (chapel@grace.edu) within 2 weeks of the given chapel service. It is the student’s responsibility to replace a lost or broken card immediately. The replacement fee is waived if the card has worn out from normal use. It is also the student’s responsibility to report any problem with his/her card to OIT immediately so that it can be resolved. Chapel attendance and participation is an issue of integrity. Practices such as the following are considered breaches of integrity that will forfeit a student’s ability to receive attendance credit for the given chapel service and possibly subject that student to discipline:
1.        Leaving the building after scanning in at the beginning of a service and returning at the end to scan out without having attended the service.
2.        Failing to attend a chapel service but attempting to get attendance credit by having another student scan your card.
3.        Using chapel time to sleep, work on class or homework assignments, study for tests, write letters, text messaging, carry on conversations, and other activities that divert one’s (and other people’s) concentration from what is being presented in chapel services.
Chapel Skip Contestions
Chapel attendance is recorded and posted on the portal once a week. In addition, students receive an automatic notification if they have been counted absent for one or more chapel services. Students have two weeks to contest their chapel attendance report by submitting the contested dates in writing to the Office of Student Affairs (chapel@grace.edu). Students are responsible to keep records of their absences in case a contention is desired. Once two weeks have passed, no absences recorded prior to that attendance report are eligible for contention.
Chapel Exemption Application
Students taking ten (10) or more credit hours in any semester are required to attend chapel. Students taking nine (9) or less credit hours receive an automatic exemption from chapel.Â
Since the chapel experience is an integral part of the Grace education, granted exemptions will be limited. Exemption requests will be reviewed on an individual basis. The following guidelines will be applied to a student’s request for a chapel exemption:
1.        It is possible to be excused from chapel due to employment if you are scheduled for more than a two-hour segment, your employer submits a written request for you to work during chapel, AND you are not scheduled to attend classes immediately before or after the chapel hour. A student will not be granted exemption for mere convenience or simply to get additional hours of employment. The written request from the employer should be submitted with the chapel exemption application. If a chapel exemption is granted, it will only excuse the student from the week prior to the date that it was submitted to the Office of Student Affairs (chapel@grace.edu).
2.        Off-campus students who are enrolled in classes during either the hour immediately preceding chapel or the hour immediately following chapel are required to attend chapel. Other off-campus students are eligible for chapel exemptions. However, these students must fill out an exemption application each semester in order to be granted exemption from chapel services.Â
3.        If you have an unusual work or family situation, you may petition for an exemption through the Office of Student Affairs.
4.        Students who are granted a partial chapel exemption are allotted a number of skips proportional to students who are not exempt. For example, a student who is not required to attend chapels on Tuesdays and Thursdays is obligated to attend only one-third of the amount of chapels that most students are required to attend. For that reason, the student is granted only one-third of the amount of skips as non-exempt students. The skip numbers under “Unexcused Absences” will be adjusted to correspond to the student’s exempt status. Using the example above, fines would be assessed for the third and subsequent absences from chapel.
5.        It is the responsibility of students eligible for exemption to inform Student Affairs within the first two weeks of the semester what their schedule is so that accurate records can be maintained. Failure to do so may result in skips being recorded and corresponding fines assessed.
6.        A letter either granting or denying exemption will be emailed to the student. Any questions about the approved or denied chapel exemption should be directed to the Office of Student Affairs. Chapel exemptions are granted on a semester basis only. Students must reapply each semester for chapel exemption. The student’s request will then be evaluated based on the current semester.
Schedule Conflicts
Medical appointments, job interviews, meetings with professors, etc. should not be scheduled during chapel time. Allowed cuts should be utilized for such necessities.
Health Related Absences
As noted previously, several unexcused absences from chapel are provided for such reasons as minor illnesses. A one-day illness is not considered an excused chapel. In the event of more serious and/or prolonged illness or severe injury (especially when hospitalization is required), the first day must still be taken as a chapel skip and the days following may be excused if the student submits a written request to the Office of Student Affairs (chapel@grace.edu). In all health-related cases a note from the school nurse or attending physician must be turned in to the Office of Student Affairs within two weeks after the missed chapel service to be considered. If repeated visits to a medical office are required to treat an illness or receive rehabilitation from an injury, and verification is provided that indicates that the care providers could not schedule the appointments at times other than the chapel hour, a student may submit a written request in advance of the treatment or rehab to have those chapel absences excused.
Unexcused Absences
Students are responsible to keep track of their absences during the course of the semester. Monetary fines are assessed for every separate chapel absence above seven:
           8th–10th cut   $10 each         14th–16th cut $20 each
           11th–13th cut $15 each         17th and above          $25 each
Any student that is assessed a fine will receive notification of the total amount at the end of the semester. The student will have seven (7) days to appeal the fine to the Office of Student Affairs. Chapel absences exceeding 13 will result in the following:
1.        Upon the 14th absence, a student will be suspended one (1) day, on or off campus, and his/her chapel attendance will be monitored throughout the balance of the semester. (See Suspension Policy under Student Discipline Guidelines)
2.        Upon the 15th absence, a student will be suspended for two (2) days and put on strict disciplinary probation for a time. (See Strict Disciplinary Probation under Student Discipline Guidelines) The student does not qualify for chapel exemptions or for excused absences, unless excused by the nurse or the doctor, for the remainder of the semester.
3.        Upon the 16th absence, the student may be subject to a Disciplinary Panel.
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