George Fox in Ascendancy: Christian University Breaks Enrollment Records
George Fox University, one of the top Christian colleges in the United States, has broken its enrollment record with 3,500 students enrolling for the first time in the school’s history.
George Fox is now one of only three private colleges in Oregon with more than 3,500 students. In total, 3,519 students enrolled in there this fall. The record marks a one percent increase over last year’s figures which fell just short at 3,484.
One of the reasons for the increase, besides the apparent spiritual revival, is the increasing retention rate which now stands at 80.3 percent from freshman-to-sophomore.
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Another trend being seen in the school is the enrolment of an increasing number of students from diverse racial and economic backgrounds.
“George Fox programs, at all levels, continue to attract strong student interest because they see the results of a university community committed to our mission – that at George Fox, each student will be known and prepared spiritually, academically and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity and serve with passion,” said Dale Seipp, Vice President for Enrollment Services.
Although in 2006, George Fox’s ethnic minority population was 12 percent, that figure has increased significantly, and this year among incoming undergraduate students 30 percent are non-white domestic students or international students. Those students also come from across 22 U.S. states and 10 foreign countries.
Students enrolling in the school also come from economically diverse backgrounds. Around 38 percent of them are receiving a Pell Grant; a program that provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates.
George Fox is also recognized for its quality, and students currently post a grade point average of 3.63 on a four-point scale, and a combined average of 1,114 on the reading and math sections of the SAT.
In the school, students are distributed into different programs: 1,893 are in traditional undergraduate program, 284 in adult degree-completion programs and 1,342 graduate and seminary programs.
George Fox University is a college in the ascendancy, and is now six-times larger than it was in 1986. It has been ranked by Forbes among the top Christian colleges in the country, and is also classified as a first tier regional university and “Best Value” school by the U.S. News & World Report.
