Seventh-day Adventist college and their worship attendance policies

The new worship policy came as a shock to some students when it was announced at uGather March 31.The changes may seem extreme in our context, but let’s compare the other Adventist universities and how they have chosen to handle the situation. These are sourced from the student handbooks of the respective institutions.

Union College

Let’s start with our own. After two semesters of incomplete worship credit, leadership positions and varsity sports are forfeited. The new policy gives students four (consecutive) semesters of missed worship credits before they are required to reapply to Union to return the next semester.

Andrews University 

For undergraduate students, Andrews’ “co-curricular policy” requires monetary penalty for non-attendance. The handbook says, “There will be a fee of $25 for the first credit short of the required number and $15 for every credit short thereafter.” They offer similar worships for credit as Union, but they also give worship credits for volunteer work. Our campus ministries department should take notes.

If anyone knows why they call it co-curricular rather than campus ministries or something similar, let me know!

Washington Adventist University 

WAU (wah-oo) chose a vague route for their policy. “If a student does not fulfill … requirements, the consequences could include: outside research assignments, loss of leave privileges, charged a $25 fee per convocation/student missed, community service hours, and/or suspension for excessive absences.”

I feel like a die roll determines the outcome in this situation.

Walla Walla University

For reference, Walla Walla divides their school year into four quarters. They refer to their campus ministries as the CommUnity program. If a student misses the requirements for one quarter, they are subject to registration restrictions and are put on probation. If they miss requirements for another quarter, consecutive or not, the student is “subject to dismissal from WWU for one quarter.”

Southern Adventist University

Southern’s Worship and Convocation Program has a specific line-up similar to our new policy. The severity is metered by how many credits are missed by the end of the semester. Similarly to Andrews, Southern has a monetary penalty: $5 per each credit missed. If there is a continued failure to meet requirements, the offender would be required to meet with the VP for Student Development. After four semesters of missed credits, the student faces a one-semester suspension, after which they would be allowed to return.

By Annelise Jacobs