General Information

Print-Friendly Page

Click on any of the following links for information:

Carrying on a tradition of educational excellence that dates back over 90 years, Biola University now encompasses: the School of Arts & Sciences, Talbot School of Theology, Rosemead School of Psychology, the School of Intercultural Studies, the School of Business, the School of Professional Studies and the School of Education. Offering four baccalaureate degrees in 36 majors, 18 masters and seven doctoral degrees, Biola’s commitment to academic excellence is firmly rooted in its adherence to an in-depth, knowledgeable and living Christianity. Each year, over 5,600 students find Biola’s unique blend of faith and learning conducive to their academic and vocational goals.

The cornerstone of the original Bible Institute building in Los Angeles was laid on May 31, 1913, and dedicated with these words:

“For the teaching of the truths for which the Institute stands, its doors are to be open every day of the year, and all people, without reference to race, color or class will ever be welcome to its privileges.”

Spoken by Lyman Stewart, cofounder of the Institute and cofounder of the Union Oil Company, these words capture the vision of Biola’s founders. Stewart, together with T.C. Horton, initiated the Bible Institute, with the first permanent organization taking shape in 1908. By 1912, the school had grown sufficiently in its outreach and constituency to call R.A. Torrey, a leader in the field of Christian education, as the first dean.

The next nine decades have witnessed tremendous growth in the development and outreach of the school. Under the leadership of Dr. Louis T. Talbot, president from 1932 to 1935 and again from 1938 to 1952, the Bible Institute program became a four-year course, leading to degrees in theology, Christian education, and sacred music. The School of Missionary Medicine was created in 1945, laying the foundation for Biola’s current baccalaureate nursing program. In 1949, the Bible Institute was renamed Biola College.

Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland became president in 1952, and with his leadership the college obtained regional and professional accreditation. Additionally, many new programs of study were introduced, including Talbot Theological Seminary. The demands imposed by the growing student body and the enlarged curriculum prompted the purchase of a 75-acre site in La Mirada.

Biola moved to the new site in 1959.

Dr. Sutherland retired as president in 1970, but continued to lend leadership as a member of Biola’s Board of Trustees. That same year, Dr. J. Richard Chase became Biola’s sixth president.

In 1977, the graduate programs of Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology were acquired by Biola and relocated on the La Mirada campus. The undergraduate programs in psychology were merged with Rosemead’s graduate programs in the fall of 1981, forming the present Rosemead School of Psychology.

Under the leadership of Dr. J. Richard Chase, Biola College became Biola University on July 1, 1981. The University was composed of the School of Arts & Sciences, Talbot Theological Seminary and Rosemead School of Psychology.

Dr. Clyde Cook became the seventh president of Biola on June 1, 1982. Under his leadership, the School of Intercultural Studies was instituted as part of the University in 1983. Talbot Theological Seminary became Talbot School of Theology in the fall of 1983 as a result of the merger between the appropriate undergraduate and graduate level programs.

The Board approved the establishment of the School of Business in 1993, the School of Continuing Studies in 1994, now called the School of Professional Studies and the School of Education in 2007. These seven schools now compose the academic structure of Biola University.

Because of the University’s heritage and commitment, its academic basis is broader than that of the standard college of arts and sciences. Terminal and preparatory programs lead to service in church-related vocations and the many other vocations and professions embraced by the present curricula. In addition, the University is a Christian institution of higher education without any denominational affiliation.

From an institute to a university, Biola’s cornerstone has remained the same: commitment to Jesus Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture and biblical Christianity (within an evangelical Protestant framework), as well as to the spiritual, academic and holistic growth of those who are personally committed to Him.

The mission of Biola University is biblically-centered education, scholarship, and service-equipping men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Biola’s vision for the future provides a vivid mental image that has been developed by considering the University’s rich heritage, its stated mission and the current cultural and internal landscape. From this vision, the specific plans and initiatives flow that will bring to life the purposes that God has set in the hearts of its leadership. When used to its fullest, a vision helps an organization to focus its energies and resources on those endeavors that best support the goals, ideas or objectives that it hopes to accomplish.

Biola University’s vision is to be an exemplary Christian university characterized as a community of grace that promotes and inspires personal life transformation in Christ, which illuminates the world with His light and truth. Further, as a global center for Christian thought and an influential evangelical voice that addresses crucial cultural issues, Biola University aspires to lead, with confidence and compassion, an intellectual and spiritual renewal that advances the purpose of Christ.

The University seeks to educate Christian men and women in undergraduate and graduate programs to produce thinking Christians who:

1. Are broadly educated with a biblical foundation and worldview.
   1. Appreciate with discernment the breadth of ideas and creative expressions that have shaped humanity.
   2. Apply critical thinking in order to:
      1. reason logically,
      2. use a broad range of investigative approaches, and
      3. exercise faith appropriately in the process of critical thinking.
   3. Communicate and defend their ideas on the basis of evidence.
   4. Hold and apply a biblically-based system of values and beliefs.
   5. Develop a commitment to cross-cultural understanding and engagement in order to function and serve in a diverse world.
   6. Seek to view themselves and others as God does.
   7. Participate in service and experiential learning opportunities.
2. Demonstrate competence in the set of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to their fields and levels of study.
   1. Demonstrate competence in written and oral expression, observing the conventions of their discipline.
   2. Integrate major fields of study with a biblical worldview.
   3. Apply ethical principles that are consistent with biblical values
3. Understand and apply biblical knowledge.
   1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Bible.
   2. Understand the historical roots of the Christian faith and its relevance to contemporary civilization.
   3. Appropriate biblical knowledge as the foundation for continued character development and formation in the image of Christ.
4. Articulate and live out a biblical worldview.
   1. Engage the world of ideas.
   2. Engage their vocations as faithful stewards of God’s calling.
   3. Live with integrity.
   4. Serve the body of Christ and others as Christ served.
   5. Carry out Christ’s commission to make disciples of all nations.
   6. Live as responsible citizens.

Biola University holds institutional accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges* (1961). In addition, the institution and certain of its programs are accredited by the American Psychological Association (1980), the Association of Theological Schools (1977), the National Association of Schools of Music (1970), the State of California Board of Registered Nursing (1966), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (2007), the California Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing (1960), the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (1997) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (1998).

Note:

Dates in ( ) reflect the initial approval date.

Biola University is authorized to train students under the Veteran’s Bill of Rights. In addition, the University is affiliated with a number of professional organizations, of which the following are representative:

American Anthropological Association; American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers; American Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation; American Council on Education; American Guild of Organists; American Intercollegiate Athletic Women; American Library Association; American Psychological Association; Associated Collegiate Press; Association of Christian Schools, International; Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs; Association of College Unions International; American Association of Higher Education; Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities; California Association of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; California Council on the Education of Teachers; Choral Conductors’ Guild (California); Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Christian Scholar’s Review; College Entrance Examination Board; Council on Post-secondary Accreditation; Evangelical Teacher Training Association; Intercollegiate Press; Music Educator’s National Conference; National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics; Western Association of Graduate Schools; Western Council on Higher Education for Nursing; and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Note:

If you wish to contact the Western Association of Schools and Colleges for any concerns, please contact them at: 985 Atlantic Ave., Suite 100; Alameda, CA 94501; (510) 748-9001.

Inasmuch as the University is interdenominational and yet theologically conservative, the Articles of Incorporation contain the doctrinal statement noted below:

The Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, a supernaturally given revelation from God Himself, concerning Himself, His being, nature, character, will and purposes; and concerning man, his nature, need and duty and destiny. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are without error or misstatement in their moral and spiritual teaching and record of historical facts. They are without error or defect of any kind.

There is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three Persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin-Mary, a lineal descendant of David. He lived and taught and wrought mighty works and wonders and signs exactly as is recorded in the four Gospels. He was put to death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. God raised from the dead the body that had been nailed to the cross. The Lord Jesus after His crucifixion showed Himself to be alive to His disciples, appearing unto them by the space of 40 days. After this, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, and the Father caused Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church.

The Lord Jesus, before His incarnation, existed in the form of God and of His own choice laid aside His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. In His pre-existent state, He was with God and was God. He is a divine person possessed of all the attributes of Deity, and should be worshiped as God by angels and man. “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” All the words that He spoke during His earthly life were the words of God. There is absolutely no error of any kind in them, and by the words of Jesus Christ the words of all other teachers must be tested.

The Lord Jesus became in every respect a real man, possessed of all the essential characteristics of human nature.

By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus made a perfect atonement for sin, by which the wrath of God against sinners is appeased and a ground furnished upon which God can deal in mercy with sinners. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse in our place. He who Himself was absolutely without sin was made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The Lord Jesus is coming again to his earth, personally, bodily, and visibly. The return of our Lord is the blessed hope of the believer, and in it God’s purposes of grace toward mankind will find their consummation.

The Holy Spirit is a person, and is possessed of all the distinctively divine attributes. He is God.

Man was created in the image of God, after His likeness, but the whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. All men, until they accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, are lost, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins. They cannot see, nor enter the Kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit.

Men are justified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood of Christ and upon the simple and single condition of faith in Him who shed the blood, and are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God.

All those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord, and who confess Him as such before their fellow men, become children of God and receive eternal life. They become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness, and at the Second Coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised and transformed into the likeness of the body of His glory.

All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in the present life shall be raised from the dead and throughout eternity exist in the state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment and anguish.

The Church consists of all those who, in this present dispensation, truly believe in Jesus Christ. It is the body and bride of Christ, which Christ loves and for which He has given Himself.

There is a personal devil, a being of great cunning and power: “The prince of the power of the air,” “The prince of this world,” “The god of this age.” He can exert vast power only so far as God suffers him to do so. He shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night forever.

Note:

This doctrinal statement, presented here as originally conceived by the founders of the organization, has been and continues to be the stated theological position of Biola University. Where “man” is used, referring to the human race, it includes both genders. In addition, the following explanatory notes indicate the organization’s understanding and teaching position on certain points which could be subject to various interpretations:

In fulfillment of God’s historical purpose for humanity to rule and establish God’s kingdom on earth (Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:4-8; Matt. 6:10 Heb. 2:6-9), the Scriptures teach a millennial reign of Christ with his saints on earth following his literal return. The nation of Israel, having been redeemed, will play a central role in bringing the blessings of salvation to all nations during the millennium in fulfillment of biblical prophecies (e.g., Is. 2:1-4, 11:1-12; Jer. 23:5-6; Ezek. 37; Amos 9:9-15; Zech. 14; Matt. 19:28; Acts 1:6, 3:19-21; Rev. 20:4-7). Following the millennium, this kingdom will be merged into the eternal kingdom (I Cor. 15:22-28).

Before these millennial events, the believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Thess. 4:13-17). The time of this “rapture” is unknown, and thus believers are to live constantly watchful and ready.

The existence and nature of the creation is due to the direct miraculous power of God. The origin of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of kinds of living things, and the origin of humans cannot be explained adequately apart from reference to that intelligent exercise of power. A proper understanding of science does not require that all phenomena in nature must be explained solely by reference to physical events, laws and chance.

Therefore, creation models which seek to harmonize science and the Bible should maintain at least the following: (a) God providentially directs His creation, (b) He specially intervened in at least the above-mentioned points in the creation process, and (c) God specially created Adam and Eve (Adam’s body from non-living material, and his spiritual nature immediately from God). Inadequate origin models hold that (a) God never directly intervened in creating nature and/or (b) humans share a common physical ancestry with earlier life forms.

Though there may be many fillings of the Holy Spirit, there is only one baptism which occurs at the time of regeneration. The gifts of the Spirit are given to believers according to the Will of God for the purpose of building up the Church. During the foundational era of the Church (i.e., the time of Christ and the Apostles) God gave special manifestations of the overtly supernatural and miraculous gifts (e.g., tongues, healings, miracles) as “signs” that witness to the validity of those bearing new canonical revelation (c.f. 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4). Beyond the foundational era, God in His sovereignty may grant any spiritual gift and work miraculously for the benefit of His Church at any time.

The Bible is clear in its teaching on the sanctity of human life. Life begins at conception. We abhor the destruction of innocent life through abortion-on-demand.

Confession before men is viewed as tangible fruit of salvation and not as a qualifying condition for salvation.

Biola University does not necessarily deny employment to persons merely for lack of firm personal convictions on any teaching position in these explanatory notes. However, Biola University does weigh carefully the understanding and personal convictions of employment applicants on these points as well as the nature of their prospective work assignments, in determining their suitability for employment.

Academic study of the sacred Scripture differs from other disciplines in a university setting in that the primary text is God’s Word, which underscores the importance of making instruction relevant to faith, learning and living. At Biola every effort is made to be academically credible, theologically orthodox and practically relevant. Whether engaged in a critical discussion of the text, or a theological debate about a particular doctrine, the discussion must finally come to the meaning for life today.

Though faculty members in all departments share a commitment to the convictions reflected in the University doctrinal statement, they reflect a healthy diversity regarding other contemporary issues and interpretation of specific passages. Whether a divergent view is held by others on campus or not, care is taken to represent opposing positions fairly, so that students can decide for themselves in a genuine educational environment.

In practice, the task of teaching biblical studies is not limited to those within that department. Rather, the integration of Christian thought into all fields of inquiry is the goal of the entire teaching faculty. In this sense it is desired that every course contribute to the development of a Christian worldview for the Biola graduate.

We believe that Biola University has been uniquely situated within a geographic region of great diversity in language, culture, and ethnicity for the purpose of fulfilling its mission of biblically-centered education, scholarship and service.

Within this cultural milieu the University is called not only to respect this diversity, but to reflect it as well, for Christ intends his Church to be a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-national body of believers.

We believe it is our purpose, therefore, to create an environment in which all believers, regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, age, economic status or physical ability, can pursue knowledge and personal development as they strive to become all God intends them to be.

In order to maximize the learning of students and expose them to the diversity that exists in the culture at large, we seek to foster an understanding and appreciation of those elements in every culture that enhance human dignity and are consistent with scriptural teaching.

We are dedicated to expanding opportunities for Christians of all cultures, and ethnic backgrounds to attend Biola, to be employed here, and to participate in the fellowship and mission to which we are called, always keeping in mind our desire to pursue excellence in all we do.

We are committed to work for the establishment of a community composed of believers from every race, culture, and class who are united in their devotion to Jesus Christ, their obedience to His Word, and in their willingness to serve one another.

Biola University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic group identification, gender, age, or physical or mental disability. However, as a private religious institution, the University reserves the right to exercise preference on the basis of religion in all of its employment practices and student admissions.

University chapels and conferences are intended to bring the Biola community together regularly for worship, spiritual nurture and education regarding relevant issues facing us in our lives. The overall program brings a unique distinction to the ethos of Biola as a Christian university. Due to the central and significant nature of that ethos, attendance at chapel is required of all students.

The city of La Mirada is in Los Angeles County, 22 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and is surrounded by such cities as Whittier, Norwalk, Buena Park, La Habra and Fullerton. La Mirada is a suburban residential community with a population of 51,263. Included within the vicinity are several major shopping areas in addition to many other business establishments.

La Mirada is situated near many of the outstanding attractions of Southern California. Downtown Los Angeles is a half-hour’s drive from the campus. Disneyland is 12 miles to the southeast and famed Knott’s Berry Farm is six miles away. Within an hour’s drive are such popular beach cities as Long Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach.

Recreational facilities are easily accessible. An 18-hole golf course lies a mile east of the campus and other parks in the area offer opportunity for activities and relaxation. An hour’s drive will take one into the nearby mountains where winter sports are available.

Cultural and research opportunities abound in the area. Several major universities and libraries are within easy driving distance of La Mirada including the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; the University of California, Irvine; and several other state and private institutions.

The campus is bounded on the west by Biola Avenue and on the east by La Mirada Boulevard. It is located between the large east-west thoroughfares of Rosecrans Avenue and Imperial Highway. Approximately three miles to the southwest is the Santa Ana Freeway (Freeway I-5).

Students coming to the campus by automobile should follow these directions to the main entrance on Biola Avenue:

• Coming from the northwest, leave the Santa Ana Freeway at Rosecrans and travel east to Biola Ave. Then, turn north on Biola Ave.
   
• Coming from the southeast, leave the Santa Ana Freeway at Valley View and travel north to Rosecrans. Then turn right on Rosecrans to Biola Ave., then turn north on Biola Ave.
   
• Coming from the east via San Bernardino Freeway (10) turn south on the Orange Freeway (57) to Imperial Highway and travel west on Imperial Highway (approximately nine miles) to Biola Ave. Turn south on Biola Ave.

The campus consists of 95 acres with more than one million square feet of building space in 40 major buildings. Just under half of the space is dedicated to ten student residence complexes, housing 2,200 students in a fine variety of living quarters. Highlights of academic facilities include Soubirou Hall, containing specialized classrooms for nursing instruction; Lansing Auditorium, a 450-seat concert hall with a fine pipe organ and excellent acoustics; the Rose of Sharon Chapel, a small chapel exclusively reserved for silent prayer and meditation; and a newly expanded and remodeled studio/production center for Cinema and Media Arts, and Journalism. In the center of campus is the new library designed to enhance the technology of a 21st Century university-combining the best of books and computers in a variety of beautiful and functional research spaces.

The newest classroom building houses the Crowell School of Business and includes twelve classrooms with both wireless and hard-wired computer networking. Six of the classrooms feature tiered seating designed to support graduate and upper division courses. The building also houses the faculty and administrative offices of the Crowell School of Business. Athletic and recreational facilities include a gymnasium-swimming complex with a shortcourse Olympic pool; six lighted tennis courts, softball and baseball diamonds; lighted outdoor courts for basketball and sand volleyball; an archery range; a well-equipped fitness center; and a natural turf soccer practice field. The most recent addition in 2004 was a synthetic turf soccer field with a three-lane, all-weather jogging track around it. The field is lit for night play. At the same time, Chase Gymnasium was expanded to accommodate 2,300 for basketball and 3,200 for general gatherings. In addition to more than 15 acres of recreational facilities on campus, there are off-campus facilities in the 105-acre La Mirada Regional Park, just across La Mirada Boulevard from the Biola campus.

To meet the growth of the past ten years, Biola has purchased several nearby buildings outside of the main campus. The Biola Professional Building is located less than half a mile from the northern edge of the main campus. The Biola Counseling Center is housed there as are the administrative offices of the BOLD program and other programs that serve the non-traditional students and the local community.

To the southwest of the campus, less than a mile away, are nine apartment complexes owned and operated by Biola. These include a mixture of undergraduate, graduate and married-student housing.

Biola offers courses for many programs at various extension sites including:

Chino Hills, California
BOLD Organizational Leadership

Chiang Mai , Thailand
M.A. Intercultural Studies, Doctor of Missiology

Inglewood, California
BOLD Organizational Leadership

Kyiv, Ukraine
M.A. Biblical & Theological Studies/Diversified

Lithuania
M.A. Intercultural Studies, Doctor of Missiology

Orange County (Laguna Hills), California
BOLD Organizational Leadership or Psychology,
M.A. Organizational Leadership

Redlands, California
BOLD Organizational Leadership

San Diego (Vista), California
BOLD Organizational Leadership or Psychology

Thousand Oaks, California
BOLD Organizational Leadership, M.A. Organizational Leadership

For further information regarding Biola’s educational centers, contact the Office of Admissions.

The Library serves Biola University as the central information resource facility, supporting all undergraduate and graduate programs with extensive resources, regardless of format or location, and a wide variety of services. Opened the fall of 2001, our state of the art, 98,000 square foot, tri-level Library, located on the campus quad, integrates traditional print, modern online electronic, multimedia and audio-visual resources. In an environment that respects the privacy of the individual scholar and facilitates dynamic, interactive, collaborative learning groups, our flexible Library will serve the University for many decades. In addition to a two-story, quiet current periodical reading room with mezzanine, the Library provides 24 group study rooms. The technology-rich instruction room serves 48 students in a class setting at 24 computer work stations, which are available for individual students when not used for group instruction. Our local area network in the Information Commons allows up to 32 simultaneous users. Further, the Media Center provides 15 dedicated multimedia viewing and listening stations. The building provides space for over 900 individual study stations at carrels, tables and casual lounge reading seats equipped with data and power connections for laptop computer use. The upper-level study terrace and the middle-level Giumarra Court offer more than 100 outdoor study spaces with wireless network connectivity. The 12-seat coffee and food court provides an informal setting for study, fellowship and nutrition breaks. The signature rooftop beacon symbolizes Biola’s focus of bringing the Light, so that the Light may shine through enlightened servant leaders to the glory of God.

In addition to a growing collection of more than 310,000 print volumes, the library currently subscribes to more than 1,000 print periodical titles, with several journal back files dating from the 19th century. Further, thousands of additional periodical titles are available full-text online to anyone with authorized Internet access from anywhere, anytime. The diverse collection reflects Biola’s enthusiasm and scholarly commitment to the integration of faith and learning in all academic disciplines, Bible history and translation, the historical roots of fundamentalism and evangelical Christianity, and worldwide Christian service.

Special collections embrace extensive microform resources, selected Bible study tools in Braille, and curriculum resources for teacher education.

The Library provides access to its holdings through a web-based online public access catalog and circulation system. Further, over 90 online databases are available through our local area network and the library Internet home page. Library automation reflects the University’s commitment to quality service and expanding resources through the electronic exchange of ideas and information. In addition, adaptive technologies and fee-based photocopying, scanners, printers, microform readers and reader-printers and even typewriters facilitate resource use. In all, when completely furnished, the Library can seat over 1,200 patrons at a time.

The Library is a gateway to the world of information and knowledge. It offers trained reference help at posted times to connect patrons to our own and other relevant library resources throughout the world. Reciprocal direct borrowing promotes Biolan access to the library resources at California State Universities at Fullerton and San Bernardino, selected members of the Link+ consortium which includes many public, college, university, and seminary libraries, as well as other consortia and cooperatives. Interlibrary loan services facilitate borrowing resources from thousands of libraries around the world. Networked computer services help Biola scholars access the Internet and international bibliographical and full-text databases through such vendors as OCLC First Search, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, J-Stor, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, ebrary, and NetLibrary.

Nine professional librarians, a well-qualified paraprofessional staff, and many able student assistants provide service more than 95 hours per week during the regular campus semesters with adjusted schedules of service available year round.

Media Services in the Library offers a variety of audio-visual resources to enhance the quality of communication and instruction by faculty and students. Media Services has thousands of cataloged audio and video tapes, CDs, DVDs, laser discs and films that support Biola’s academic programs, which are available for use at the Media Services’ equipped carrels, media and group study rooms or borrowed for short-term use outside of the library. Further, they support classroom instruction through digital projection, presentation and a-v equipped roll-about units. Assistance and training are available to assure the proper use of the equipment and media resources. Media Services also provides duplication and media transfer services for a fee of various media for copyright cleared items.

CLEAR serves as the offices for the Director of Assessment and the Director of Instructional Development. The mission of CLEAR is to help spearhead the university’s efforts to become a more intentional learning organization. In providing essential support and resources, the objectives of CLEAR are to: 1) Lead the institutional efforts to maintain educational effectiveness and excellence, 2) Provide a strategic focus on instructional development, student learning and assessing student learning outcomes, 3) Assist in the assessment of our institutional impact on the intellectual, spiritual, and character development of our students, 4) Effectively utilize the results of assessment for ongoing strategic planning and improvement.

To accomplish these objectives, CLEAR works with academic and co-curricular programs as they develop, schedule and implement effective program reviews, with faculty as they participate in development opportunities, and with departments as they assess student learning outcomes and teaching effectiveness.

The Director of Instructional Services works along with the CLEAR office to support teaching and learning by maintaining a faculty lab with the most up-to-date computer workstations, offering assistance with graphic design and presentation development and servicing state-of-the-art technology-enhanced classrooms throughout the Biola campus.

The Biola Bookstore is open Monday through Saturday for the convenience of the students, faculty, staff and public. All required textbooks, as well as general books and supplies, are available. The Bookstore has a large selection of Christian books, music, gifts, Biola imprinted merchandise such as sweatshirts and t-shirts and offers Bibles in a variety of styles and bindings at discounted prices. During school breaks and vacations the Bookstore has shortened hours. For more information, please call (800) MY-BIOLA, or go online to biolabookstore.com.

Located next to the Bookstore, the Computer Store is designed to meet the computing needs of the academic community, offering computers, software and accessories for purchase. Software such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Macromedia are available. The Computer Store keeps different hours than the bookstore. For store hours and more information, call (562) 903-4884; and for product information and pricing, visit the website at computerstore.biola.edu.