Financial Aid Consumer Information

Cost of Attendance

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is a standardized set of budgets used as a basis for determining maximum aid eligibility. Individual costs may vary by student.

You can view your individualized Cost of Attendance via your my.georgefox.edu account or detailed information regarding Cost of Attendance by program at the following: 

Traditional Undergraduate

Adult Degree

Graduate

Grants & Scholarships

Grants and Scholarships are an educational funding source available to most undergraduate students that do not need to be repaid. There are several types of grants and scholarships that may be available to students depending on their program of study. 

You can view detailed information regarding grants and scholarship options available by program at the following: 

Traditional Undergraduate

Adult Degree

Graduate

The Financial Aid Office reserves the right to review, adjust, or cancel awards at any time due to changes in academic status, enrollment status, verification, conflicting information, additional resources, fraud, availability of funds, federal or state regulations, and computation error. Some awards may be adjusted because of institutional policy. Your eligibility for financial aid is contingent upon your compliance with all federal, state, and institutional policies and regulations that govern awards.

Loan Types

George Fox students have a number of borrowing options available to them, including:

• Federal Student Loans: Federal Direct Loans are low-interest loans for students and parents to help finance the cost of education at the post-secondary level. Under the Direct Loan Program, students will work with the Financial Aid Office to obtain Federal Stafford Loans and PLUS Loans from the U.S. Department of Education. 
• Private Loans: Private or alternative loans are loans that allow students or parents to borrow from banks and other financial institutions. They are allowed to cover the cost of tuition and other school-related expenses, up to the federal Cost of Attendance (COA) allowance for the year.

You can view detailed information regarding loan options available by program at the following: 

Traditional Undergraduate

Adult Degree

Graduate

Required Loan Documents

All students must complete the following prior to receiving a Federal Direct Loan:

Entrance Loan Counseling: Entrance loan counseling ensures you understand the terms and conditions of your loan and your rights and responsibilities. You'll learn what a loan is, how interest works, your options for repayment, and how to avoid delinquency and default.

Master Promissory Note (Stafford and Plus): A promissory note (MPN) is your legal commitment to repay the loan funds, including any interest or loan fees. The MPN is only completed at the time you receive your first loan from the lender for a specific type of loan and is valid for 10 years. You are not required to complete a MPN each year. 

Exit Loan Counseling: All students must complete exit counseling when they leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. The purpose of exit counseling is to ensure you understand your student loan obligations and are prepared for repayment.

All forms can be completed online at studentaid.gov.

Repayment

Every student that borrows a loan has a responsiblity to repay those loans. 

Visit Studentaid.gov to view information about all of the federal student loans and other financial aid you have received and to find contact information for the loan servicer for your loans. You can also find information on repayment plans as well as loan forgiveness options you may have. 

Applying for Aid

Generally, acceptance to the university qualifies you for any merit based aid. To apply for federal and state aid, students must complete the FAFSA at studentaid.gov (you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen to apply).

Federal aid eligibility is determined from the EFC derived from the FAFSA. Financial need is calculated with the cost of attendance and EFC to determine need-based and non-need-based aid eligibility.

Rights & Responsibilities of Students Receiving Aid

At George Fox University, if you are a student receiving any type of aid, you have the right to accept or decline any aid that is offered to you.

We will notify you of any award revisions of your financial aid award package. Any scholarships/grants not known to George Fox may also result in award revisions. It is your responsibility to notify the financial aid office of any external scholarships/grants that are awarded to you.

As a financial aid recipient, you must meet certain basic requirements. The basic requirements are as follows:

• You must be accepted to an eligible program of study. 
• You cannot be enrolled in an elementary or secondary school.
• You must have a high school diploma, an associate’s degree or a “recognized equivalent,” including homeschooling.
• You must be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) by financial aid standards.
• Your aid eligibility is dependent on your enrollment status.

For federal and state aid, the basic requirements are those stated above as well as the additional requirements that follow:

• You have not been convicted of a federal or state drug conviction. If you have, there are additional requirements that may or may not make you eligible for federal aid.
• You are not an incarcerated student.
• You have a valid FAFSA for the academic year receiving aid.
• You are an eligible U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident, citizen of the Freely Associated States or other eligible noncitizen.
• You are not in default or owe an overpayment on a Federal Student Aid grant or loan (without a repayment arrangement).
• You have a valid Social Security number (SSN).
• Men are registered with the Selective Service (unless you meet a federal exemption).
• Pell Grant recipients must be in an undergraduate program of study.
• Pell Grant recipients must not be in an involuntary civil commitment following incarceration for a sexual offense.
• Pell Grant recipients are eligible up to the maximum number of Pell Grants received.
• Federal TEACH Grants require an annual completion of a service agreement and entrance counseling.
• Federal loan recipients must be at least half time in the awarded term to be eligible for the loan funds.
• Stafford Loan recipients are eligible for loans up to the maximum annual and cumulative limits designated by the federal government and as stated above.
• Parent PLUS loans are loans made to parents on behalf of the student. Credit eligibility is required and determined by the federal government.

As federal, state and institutional rules and regulations are constantly changing, your above right and responsibilities are subject to change at any time. It is your responsibility to know the above requirements for aid.

If you have any conflicting information in relation to the above requirements, you have the right to appeal this decision with your financial aid counselor.

Financial Aid Disbursement

Financial aid is disbursed to student accounts after all eligibility requirements for the award have been met. Generally, things that can prevent a disbursement from occurring are:

• An invalid FAFSA
• Missing documents
• Incomplete FAFSA Verification
• Overawards
• Improper enrollment
• Insufficient GPA
• SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) not met
• Starte date of your first class

In general, the first disbursement occurs 10 days prior to the start of your first class in a given term and every week thereafter in the term. On and after the first day of the term, all eligibility criteria of the fund must be met in order to be disbursed.

Upon having any loan funds disbursed to you, you will have 10 days from the date of disbursement to have the funds returned. To do so, you must submit your request to us in writing within this 10-day window. If you want to return your loan funds after the 10-day window, you must do so by paying the lender directly.

Federal Student Employment (Work-Study) for Undergraduates

Federal student employment (or Federal Work-Study) is awarded to students on a need-based criteria. If you are awarded a federal student employment award, it does not mean that you will be given or disbursed these funds up front.

To receive federal student employment funds, you must be employed by an eligible school employer and perform the work required to earn the funds. Students are paid via paycheck or direct deposit. You may also request to have a portion or all of your salary applied to your student account.

George Fox stresses the importance of teaching job-finding skills in the job application process. To start the process:

• Log into Handshake through the IDEA Center link on your my.georgefox.edu account
• Under the job search, select “On-Campus Student Employment”
• Look for any jobs you may be interested in applying for and read the instructions carefully
• Complete an application, located on the Student Employment web page, and send it to the supervisor doing the hiring as instructed in the job posting.

Upon being hired for student employment, it is your responsibility to sustain the position with your supervisor. The pay rate for most George Fox student employment jobs is generally the Yamhill County minimum wage.

If you are not able to obtain a job through federal student employment, you may ask your financial aid counselor to delete it off your award package. Be aware that doing so will prevent you from receiving any federal student employment funds. Also, having your counselor delete it from your award package does not necessarily qualify you for additional aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Please visit the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy page for details on SAP standards.

Withdrawing & Return of Federal Student Aid funds

Visit our Policies on the Remove of Instutional Charges and Financial Aid page for complete details on how the removal of institution and federal aid is handled. 

 

Study Abroad Programs: Federal Student Aid

A student who chooses to study abroad is eligible for Federal Student Aid through George Fox. Study abroad students are students who choose to study at another eligible institution while maintaining enrollment at George Fox.

To study abroad, the student must make sure that all classes being taken at the visiting institution can be transferred and applied to their degree. This approval must be done by an academic advisor or enrollment counselor. As a study abroad student, the student is responsible for having his or her grades transferred before their next term starts (or soon thereafter if the terms are continuously rolling). 

Study Abroad Through George Fox University Programs

Study abroad through George Fox University must be coordinated through the study abroad office, which in turn works with eligible consortium institutions. As a study abroad student in the approved colleges that George Fox works with, a student is eligible for all financial aid (excluding work-study) that they would normally be eligible for as a George Fox student (institutional, state and federal aid).

The student is charged as a George Fox student (an additional fee may be applicable, depending on the study abroad program), and enrollment is maintained at George Fox.

Study Abroad Outside George Fox University Programs

To study abroad at a school outside of George Fox University’s study abroad partnerships means that the student is attending another eligible institution while maintaining enrollment at George Fox and wants financial aid for this study. In this case, the study abroad is coordinated through the financial aid office. This financial aid consortium agreement is approved on a case-by-case basis.

It is George Fox University’s financial aid policy to not enter into consortium agreements with another school unless it is an approved study through the study abroad office. Also, be aware that an approval to pursue a consortium agreement by George Fox University does not mean it will be approved by the visiting institution.

Every school has the right to approve or deny consortium agreements. In this case, a student is eligible for federal student aid only. The student will be responsible for making sure George Fox receives the bill from the visiting institution and must follow through in making sure all classes are transferred after the term is completed.

Upon receiving a bill from the visiting institution, George Fox University will send a check for the student’s federal aid to that institution.

Penalties for Drug Law Violation

A federal law suspends eligibility for students with drug convictions that occurred during enrollment periods while receiving federal student aid. Federal and state convictions for the possession or sale of illegal drugs will result in suspended eligibility of federal aid.

Convictions that were removed from your record or occurred before you turned the age of 18 (unless you were tried as an adult) should not count toward this suspension of federal aid eligibility.  

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) apply to students who are or were enrolled at George Fox. No one shall have access to, nor does the institution disclose any information from, students' education records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution with direct educational interest, to persons or organizations providing students' financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. All these exceptions are permitted under the Act.

Students are afforded the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is:

• A person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position
• A person serving on the board of trustees, or
• A student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. Upon request, the university may disclose educational records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

At its discretion, George Fox may provide "directory information" in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Directory information is defined as that information which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. The university construes the following information to be "directory information":

• Parents' names and addresses
• The student's name, permanent address, local address, temporary address, email address, telephone number, date and place of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, major, dates of attendance, full-time and part-time status, degrees and awards received, class year, the most recent previous school attended, photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, and for members of athletics teams, height, weight, and position played.

The university also considers photographs to be directory information. As such, release of photographs also is permitted.

Students may restrict the release of their directory information to third parties by annually submitting a signed and dated statement to the registrar's office within the first two weeks of the semester. Otherwise, all photographs and information listed above are considered as "directory information" according to federal law. Non-directory information, notably grade records, is released to third parties only on written request of the student, or otherwise required by law (e.g., subpoena).

The law provides students the right to inspect and review information contained in their education records, to challenge the contents of their education records, to have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory, and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if they feel the hearing panel's decisions are unacceptable. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

The registrar's office at George Fox has been designated by the institution to coordinate the inspection and review of procedures for student education records, which include admission, personal, and academic files, and academic, cooperative education, disciplinary records, and placement records.

Students wishing to review their education records must give a written request to the registrar listing the item or items of interest. Only records covered in the Act are made available within 45 days of the request. Education records do not include student health records, employment records, alumni records, or records of instructional, administrative, and educational personnel that are the sole possession of the maker and are not accessible or revealed to any individual except a temporary substitute. Health records, however, may be reviewed by physicians of the student's choosing.

Students may not inspect and review the following as outlined by the Act:

• Financial information submitted by their parents
• Confidential letters and recommendations associated with admission, employment, or job placement, or honors to which they have waived their rights of inspection and review, or
• Education records containing information about more than one student, in which case the institution permits access only to that part of the record that pertains to the inquiring student

Detailed information about FERPA

Who to Contact with Questions

If you have any questions about the above financial aid consumer information/disclosures, please contact your financial aid counselor. You may also request a paper copy of this consumer information by asking for it at the financial aid office during normal business hours. Our office is located on the second floor of the Stevens Center on the Newberg campus.

Our contact information is:

George Fox University
Financial Aid Office
414 N. Meridian St. #6068
Newberg, OR 97132-2697

503-554-2302