Parent Relations Newsletter 11/06

Fall 2009, Issue #10

In This Issue

  1. Greeting from Director of Academic Advising and Student Retention
  2. The Advising Center
  3. Health Center Update
  4. Chapel Make-Up Process
  5. Around Campus
  6. Christmas Tree Lighting
  7. Biola Care Packages
  8. Chapel

Greeting

Dear Biola Parent,

We are so incredibly blessed by your student’s presence within the Biola student body! As the Director of Academic Advising and Student Retention, I am passionate about seeing your student engage in the academic journey and take advantage of the unique opportunity to gain deep insight into many incredible truths during their time at Biola.

What are some of the ways we endeavor to ensure your students will have the deepest and most enriching academic journey possible at Biola?

  1. We encourage students to look for Jesus as the center of all we can know. “The Christian scholar is one who understands that there is indeed a simplicity beyond the complex details of what she is studying, a simplicity which, if she can only discern it, will be found to center upon the person of Jesus Christ.” We truly believe that our students will know more about Christ as a result of every part of your academic experience – not just by attending chapel and Bible classes, but through the objectivity of a Math class, the elaborate systems of nature found in Biology, or the dramatic depictions of our faith found in Art Appreciation.
  2. We encourage students to take ownership of their academic journey. The academic experience of students at Biola will largely depend upon their investment in their education. We want our students to pursue relationships with faculty, particularly their faculty advisor (once they’ve chosen a major) or one of our professional advisors in the Advising Center (if they are undeclared, transfer, or probation students). There are so many educational choices to make throughout the undergraduate experience! Every decision students make will strengthen and supplement the “requirements” of the Biola education. Academic Advising at Biola seeks to understand students’ goals and recommend the best options available to achieve those goals such as elective course options, minors/specializations, evening lectures, summer/interterm programs, and more.
  3. We ask students to challenge themselves to be uncomfortable. In his book, unChristian, Biola alumnus David Kinnamin presents research of “outsiders’ perceptions of Christianity.” One main theme he found is the perception that Christians are “sheltered,” that is, “boring, unintelligent, old-fashioned, and out of touch with reality.” We want students to understand that they have much to learn from one another’s differences and the world beyond Biola including study abroad, internships, service learning, and off-campus employment/ministry. We believe this stance will prove incredibly valuable to our students as they prepare to enter the work force and life after Biola.

As a final note, part of my responsibility to the Biola community is retention (i.e. ensuring that students persist and progress to graduate from Biola). As an encouragement, a recent article in the Sacramento Bee named Biola one of the top 15 California colleges and universities (public and private) for graduation rates, the only CCCU (Council for Christian Colleges and Universities) institution on the list!

Feel free to find out more about academic advising at Biola and the Advising Center at this web link: www.biola.edu/advising. We are honored to learn from your students and see them grow and change throughout their time here. Please know that we as faculty, staff, and administrators are praying for your students and want to see them encounter God and His truth fully!

pearsonsBlessings,
Carrie Stockton
Director of Academic Advising

 

The Advising Center

Academic Advising at Biola operates on a faculty-based model. This means that a student’s advisor is a faculty member in their major. The Advising Center advises all currently undeclared students as well as those on first-semester academic probation. Students should visit the Advising Center if they are:

  • Undeclared
  • On first-semester academic probation
  • Switching majors but are not sure which major to declare
  • A new transfer student to Biola with questions
  • A student who has already met with your department advisor but still has more questions
  • Wondering about the course selection process and which classes to take

Students should schedule an appointment to meet with a staff member at the Advising Center.

 

Health Center Update

The H1N1 Vaccine is going to be offered free on a first come first served basis at the City of La Mirada Community Gymnasium on

Saturday November 7th, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

and

Tuesday, December 1st & 15th 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Location:

City of La Mirada Community Gymnasium
15105 Alicante Rd.
La Mirada, CA

 

Chapel Make-Up Process

Chapel attendance is mandatory for all full and part-time undergraduate students, both resident and commuter. In consideration of illness, misplaced/lost ID, occasional irresolvable time conflicts, or tardiness, this means:

  • Full-time students are required to attend a minimum of 30 chapels each semester, plus a minimum of 8 sessions during each of the 3-day Torrey and Missions Conferences.
  • This requirement must be met through actual physical attendance at 15 chapels and 4 conferences sessions per semester is required.
  • No more than 15 chapels and 4 conferences per semester may be made up via audio recordings.

For those students who do need to utilize the option to supplement physical attendance at chapel by listening to audio recordings, the process is now easier than ever!

  • Rather than purchasing cds from the Media Center, students may now listen to selected recordings online here. This means that you too can listen to chapel messages whenever you like!
  • Fall Make-Up Deadline: January 5, 2010
  • Consequences for failing to meet requirements: a chapel hold is placed on student accounts at the end of the semester if their credit requirements have not been met. A student’s classes will be dropped at the beginning of the semester if he/she does not turn in the required make-ups by the deadline.

 

Around Campus

Midnight Madness

Sunday November 8th at 10:30 p.m.

Kickoff the basketball season with tons of Biola spirit! Also, meet the new Eagle mascot!

 

 

Freshmen Family Dinner

Thursday November 19th at 06:00 p.m.

AS is hosting a Freshman Family Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 19th. A movie will be shown on a projector on Sycamore Lawn and a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner will be served! And it is all FREE! Freshmen students should sign up in the AS office by Nov. 10th (even though the poster says the 3rd). If students don’t have a meal plan, they can still sign up, and pay the equivalent cost of a dinner in the cafe!

 

Save the Date- Christmas Tree Lighting

You and your family are invited to the Biola Community as we welcome Christmas with the 2009 Christmas Tree Lighting.

Biola University, in front of Crowell Hall
Friday December 4th
7:00 p.m.

Come share in music, refreshments, a retelling of the Christmas story, and the lighting of the University Christmas Tree. The Café will be serving a special holiday menu, offered at $5 per person, beginning at 5:45 p.m. Children under 5 eat for free.

 

Biola Care Packages

Biola Spirit Care Package $20.00

Help your student get ready for a great Eagle’s Basketball season with this red and white, Biola themed care package. Package includes a Biola Logo travel mug, a gift certificate good for one drink at Common Grounds, Red Vines, a red glow in the dark stick, as well as a Biola red pom-pom and mega-phone.

Order here.

 

Chapel

Chapel is an integral part of the Biola experience, and is a time dedicated to worship, spiritual nurturing and education. The overall program brings a unique distinction to the ethos of Biola as a Christian university. It is our desire each week to make you aware of the speakers your student will be hearing from and the subjects they will teach on, in the hope that you will find it a useful tool in communication and in understanding your student’s development.

Monday November 9
Contemporary Issues Lectures
Mark Dever
Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Tuesday November 10
Contemporary Issues Lectures
Mark Dever
Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Wednesday November 11
Contemporary Issues Lectures
Mark Dever
Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Thursday November 12
Journeys series
David Horner
Biblical Studies

Friday November 13
The 1 On: The Church
Jerry Root
Wheaton College

See the full chapel schedule.