New chapel scanning system navigates early issues

Receiving chapel credit will look different from now on in Brown Chapel, as Point Loma Nazarene University staff and faculty have worked to implement and troubleshoot a new QR code “check-in” system that launched at the beginning of this semester.

Until this fall, students scanned their school IDs against an iPad to receive chapel credit, but now they have to scan a QR code that is displayed on monitors around the foyer and within the sanctuary. Students have mixed opinions.

“I like the original tap system [because] coming in freshman year, that’s what we did,” Simon Agustin, a third-year kinesiology major and chapel team member, said. “The QR code, though, actually is very easy, and it’s quick.”

He said that his job on the chapel team has changed since the new system was introduced. Now, most of his duties include welcoming and ushering students in and helping them troubleshoot problems with the new system.

“When we did the tap system, [the job] was more engaging,” Agustin said.

Meghan Snyder, a second-year psychology major and chapel team member, said that the new system has caused a lack of connection with other students.

“It allowed us as student workers to interact more with students and have conversations,” Snyder said. “Now I feel very disconnected as a chapel worker … I don’t feel like I have much of a purpose anymore — it’s put us in a bit of an awkward situation.”

For many students, especially in the first couple of weeks of the semester, problems with the QR code system were frequent and frustrating. After scanning, errors would pop up, and students couldn’t get it to work. Chapel staff were flooded with emails from students, sending photos of their error screen in an attempt to receive chapel credit. And with the sudden surge of user activity on the myPLNU app, the system was prone to crashes.

Keven Campbell, a fifth-year biology major and chapel team lead, experienced these student frustrations firsthand.

“As it stands right now, students actually hate the QR mostly, at least from the comments that I’ve gotten,” Campbell said. “I’ve gotten ones where people have just been like, ‘Man, this system sucks; why doesn’t it work?’”

Campbell said that he’ll often help students troubleshoot issues, and sometimes they’ll just walk away from him without saying anything.

Development of the new QR code system began last February when chapel staff partnered with PLNU’s IT department and web developer, Pathify, to see if creating a new way for students to check into chapel would even be possible.

Hadley Halbert, a PLNU alumna and former chapel team lead, was one of those staff members who worked on the new system. She now serves as the assistant director of the worship arts team.

She said that PLNU is the first to ask Pathify to design this type of system.

“That meant a lot of back-and-forth, trial runs and upgrades on both our side and theirs to make it work,” Halbert said in an email interview. “In many ways, we’ve been the guinea pigs for this project, pioneering a new approach that could eventually serve other campuses as well.”

Halbert said the motivation for changing the scanning system came from a desire for chapel to end promptly at 10:30 a.m. and to minimize the bottleneck crowds that often formed when using the iPads.

“While tap scanning worked in theory, it often couldn’t keep up with the thousands of students trying to check out at the same time, which created long lines and frustration,” Halbert said. “We wanted something more reliable, faster and better suited for our community’s size and rhythm. That’s what led us to explore alternatives and eventually land on the QR code system.”

Campbell said that, with the old tap system, students would often scan in, leave Brown Chapel and come back once the service was done to scan out and receive credit.

“We want students to actually enjoy chapel, we want them to be present, and so that’s why we’ve implemented this system,” Campbell said.

He and the chapel team have also received positive feedback, with many people saying that the new system is faster.

“[Now] it takes [students] maybe 30 seconds to walk out of chapel as opposed to 10 minutes,” Campbell said.

Colton Ketchum, a fourth-year kinesiology major, can attest to this.

“There’s no clogging, [and] I can get to class on time. Come and go is so much easier,” he said.

Despite unsuccessful attempts at implementing the new system during Welcome Week, chapel team members and students are starting to grow accustomed to it, finding ways to troubleshoot and work together to make the process easier for everyone.

“We’re getting to that point where it’s becoming a little more consistent [and] smooth — we’re getting into a rhythm, but the initial launch was definitely on the poorer side,” Campbell said.

Ryan Finley, a third-year business major, is among the students who prefer the QR code system.

“What’s good usually takes time,” Finley said. “A lot of people on campus were quick to say, ‘Oh, this is dumb.’ But I think the system that they have and the direction they’re going is really good. I personally love it.”

Moving into the second month of the new semester, the chapel team plans to continue to use the QR code system as they work through final touches and improvements.

“At this point, the QR code system is working well and serving the purpose we designed it for,” Halbert said. “Unless something major changes, we expect this system to stay. For now, we’re confident this is the best solution for our community.”