Chapel attendance is required of all resident students. All online students are not required to attend chapel but are encouraged to view services online. Chapel services begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and are generally between 1 hour and 1 hour and 15 minutes in length. Students record their attendance and earn chapel credit by using their Engage QR code, which is scanned into the computer system as they enter the chapel. Students will be marked absent if they arrive five (5) minutes past the service starting time. Students are expected to remain in the chapel service until a formal dismissal is given.
Students must notify a Chapel Usher or Residence Director if, after scanning their QR code, they change their mind and decide not to attend chapel that day. Failure to notify a Chapel Usher or Residence Director is considered a serious offense (Level 3) and may result in disciplinary consequences including but not limited to a double absence, a meeting with Residence Life staff, fines and suspension (in addition to any fines assessed for exceeding the allowable number of absences).
All main campus students are required to accure chapel credits for 80% of the chapel services offered that semester. It is understood that students may miss chapel for various circumstances such as an illness of one to two days, one-time doctor appointments, dentist appointments, personal emergencies of all kinds, court appearances, car breakdowns, hospital visits, late arrivals from weekends at home, helping out at youth retreats, ministry involvement, or serving at district councils, athletic involvement, missions trips, etc. Students should actively monitor their chapel credits to ensure that, despite these occasional absences, they are still able to meet the 80% credit requirement. While the exact number of chapel services offered each semeseter may vary, the number is usually between 55 and 60. The number of chapel credits required by semester can be found on Engage (valleyforge.campuslabs.com/engage).
To check your chapel attendance, click "Chapel Attendance" under Quick Links.
If you are planning to commute to school during the Spring 2024 semester, you will need to apply for a chapel exemption if there are days you are not present on campus. Commuter students must attend chapel on any day on which they have a class immediately before or after chapel (ex. 8:30-9:45 AM; 11:30-12:45 PM). For days that you do not have classes immediately before or after chapel, you are not required but encouraged to attend chapel. On days where there is dorm chapel, commuter students are able to join Building 33.
Below is our chapel exemption policy found in the Student Handbook:
“Students may request exemptions from chapel on a single day basis through an entire semester (i.e., working Wednesday and Friday) by completing a Chapel Exemption Form available on Engage or on MyValleyForge under the Student Life tab. Exemptions begin on the date approved, so it is important that students not miss chapel before receiving notification that their request has been granted. Semester exemptions must be requested at the beginning of a semester. Semester exemptions will not be given retroactively and are approved on a single semester basis only. Generally, students are not permitted to be exempt from four days of chapel. Only in very rare circumstances will a four-day semester exemption be granted. (This may occur only once during a student’s academic career and is discouraged during a student’s final semester.)” (Student Handbook, pg. 38)
Here is a link to the chapel exemption form located on Engage - https://valleyforge.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/start/387569
*Additionally, if you are employed off campus or are approved for an internship, student teaching, field experience, etc. please include that information in your exemption form. Your academic advisor must send us approval for internships, student teaching, etc. and your employer must email chapel attendance to confirm your schedule. We will not approve your exemption without email confirmation from your academic advisor and/or employer.*
The University believes that chapel is central to the UVF educational experience. Therefore, students who exceed their allowable number of chapel absences are not receiving the total UVF experience and are not fulfilling their commitment to meet all University expectations that they made when they enrolled. For these reasons, disciplinary action will be taken when a student fails to meet the chapel credit requirement as defined by the chart below (The percentage is taken of the number of chapel credit options available): Meets Chapel Requirements Chapel Alert Chapel Probation 80% or more of chapel opportunities attended. At least 70%, but less than 80% of chapel opportunities attended. Less than 70% of chapel opportunities attended. A fine is given for each chapel credit missed below the 80% requirement. A fine is given for each chapel credit missed below the 80% requirement; student placed on chapel probation.
Chapel Fine
There is a charge for each chapel credit missed below the 80% attendance requirement. For example, if a student was two credits short of what they needed to meet the 80% attendance requirement, a student would be charged. Students may appeal chapel fines to the Student Life Office within ten business days (two weeks) from the date of the fines. Further appeals may be made to the Vice President of Student Life in writing. Appeals will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Student Life Office.
Chapel Alert and Probation
If a student is unable to meet the 80% chapel attendance requirement, but may be able to attend at least 70% of available chapel services, they will be placed on Chapel Alert. If a student is unable to attend at least 70% available chapel credits, they will be placed on Chapel Probation for the remainder of that semester and the following semester. Because of the importance placed on abiding together corporately, and because of the significance of chapel in the UVF experience, students placed on Chapel Probation are ineligible to participate in chapel platform ministry, student leadership positions and ministry participation as a representative of the University. Students on Chapel Probation may also forfeit institutional scholarship or grant awards. Students may only be on chapel probation a maximum of two (2) times during their academic career before receiving a one semester suspension that makes them ineligible to return the following semester. Upon reaching chapel probation for the third time, the student will be notified of a mandatory hearing in which the student will appear before their faculty advisor, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the Vice President of Student Life to discuss their suspension and/or to make an appeal.