Student Life

Convocation Attendance Policy

Important Deadlines

Please note the following deadlines regarding any change in enrollment status.

Last day to withdraw from the convocation program if your course schedule drops below 12 units: September 4, 2009.

Exemption Request Deadline for Spring: September 18, 2009. (Read details below)

Last Fall Chapel Program: December 9, 2009 at 10:00am: "Christmas Chapel".

Last Day to Resolve Spring Convocation Discrepancies: Two weeks after each program. (Final day is December 11, 2009 by 5pm)

Frequently Asked Questions

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to find quick answers to your questions about attendance in the Convocation Series.

Attendance Credit

Attendance is recorded by card scanners.  Students must have their Pepperdine student ID cards scanned upon entering and exiting to receive attendance credit, unless otherwise instructed by Convocation Hosts.  You will not receive credit if you are more than 10 minutes late according to the official US time. Arriving 5 minutes late is considered a "tardy." Students who are tardy 3 times in a given semester will have one attendance revoked.

Lost, stolen, or damaged cards should be replaced as soon as possible at One Stop.  If students are found swiping another student's card, their dishonest behavior will be documented and sent to the Judicial Administrator for review.

Chapel Etiquette

Each Chapel is designed to deepen students' personal relationship with Jesus Christ and encourage spiritual growth.  As such, you are asked to be respectful to both the speaker and the students around you when you attend a Chepel by turning off your cell phone and giving your undivided attention to the speaker.

Students who are on their cell phone, using a laptop or iPod, or are otherwise disruptive will not be tolerated and will be given partial or no credit at the discretion of any Convocation staff.

Check your record

Students are encouraged to regularly check their attendance status throughout the semester and are responsible for monitoring their own progress toward their desired grade. Students will have two weeks from the date of a convocation program in question to report discrepancies in their records. After the two-week deadline, the Convocation Office will not change any records. Only one record change is allowed per semester.

Seaver 200 Course

All students carrying 12 or more units as of the end of the Add-Drop period are enrolled in SEAVER 200 "Convocation Series" during each fall and spring semester that they attend Seaver College.  SEAVER 200 carries ½ unit of credit for each semester, with a letter grade assigned on the number of convocation programs that a student elects to attend during that semester.  This applies to every regular semester of a student's attendance, up to, but not exceeding, 8 semesters.  The maximum number of SEAVER 200 credits that can be earned is 8 x ½ = 4 units.  SEAVER 200 does not count toward the 128 units required for graduation.

Part-time students are not required to enroll in this course, but have the option to do so.  There will be no tuition charged for SEAVER 200.  All convocation credits accrued each semester are applied solely to the grade earned in SEAVER 200 for that term.  Any extra attendance credits accrued beyond 14 will not carry over to the subsequent semester.  Diplomas will not be held for lack of convocation attendance; however, all grades earned in SEAVER 200 count in the overall Pepperdine GPA.

Grading System

Attendance at Chapel/Convocation Series programs will be used to determine a grade that will be averaged into the student's cumulative GPA.  Units earned and grades assigned for SEAVER 200 will be calculated as part of the overall GPA of all Seaver graduates and will be counted toward calculation of all graduation honors.  The grade earned each semester is determined as follows:

Number of Programs Attended GRADE
14 A
13 A-
12 B+
11 B
10 B-
9 C+
8 C
7 OR LESS F

Exemptions and Exceptions

Graduate, non-degree seeking, and part-time students (as of add/drop) are automatically exempt from enrollment in the Chapel/Convocation Series. The review committee may also grant exemptions for the following reasons, but students MUST fill out an Exemption Request Form for each semester:

  1. Mandatory internship or student teaching for your major, supported by a letter signed by a department chairperson
  2. "Lifetime Learners," defined as students who are over the age of 30; nontraditional students with children; "5th Year Seniors" (students who have completed 8 semesters of Convocation); or students commuting more than 30 miles to campus, with proof of residency
  3. Adverse medical conditions with documentation signed by a licensed physician
  4. If students miss 6 weeks of school due to documented medical reasons, they can petition to be dropped from Seaver 200. If students withdraw from all classes they will be dropped from Seaver 200 up until the date of the last Convocation

Students wishing to request an exemption from attending the Chapel/Convocation Series must submit the request through an Exemption Request Form by the date listed above. No exemption requests will be granted after that date.

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