Undergraduate Student Handbook - 2023-24

Residence Life and Housing

Table of Contents

Living residentially at George Fox University provides students the opportunity to be known in the context of a healthy, Christ-centered community. 

In Residence Life, our mission is to foster shalom in a culture of chaos. Where life on a college campus, and life in general, can bend naturally toward the chaotic, ResLife offers individual and communal support to help residents experience shalom, or: “life as God intended for it to be lived.” To fulfill this mission, we offer programs that celebrate and memorialize healthy community, and relationships that equip students with the grit and resilience required for life after college. 

Diversity in Residence Life

In the pursuit of Shalom, Residence Life is committed to a culture of civility, respect, and inclusivity in everything we do.

As a department, we value diversity in our staff and student leaders by engaging their unique identities. We cherish deeply knowing our staff and students in ways that allow us to create spaces where each is able to belong and contribute meaningfully through their authentic perspective. We are particularly mindful of our students who would identify as members of historically underrepresented communities and pursue justice on our campus. 

Seeking shalom has the potential to develop the whole person so students leave the residential community at George Fox equipped to live faithfully and authentically, to lead their communities, and serve their neighbors as agents of shalom.

Residence Life Staff

Professional Staff
Area Coordinators

Area Coordinators are full-time university administrators living residentially who have extensive training in developing students effectively in areas related to their academic, social, spiritual, and personal needs. They are qualified crisis responders and co-curricular educators, partnering with both staff and faculty to deliver the Be Known Promise to students on campus.

Paraprofessional Staff
Graduate Area Coordinators

Graduate Area Coordinators are co-curricular educators in Pennington Hall and Newlin Hall. Under the direction of the Director of Residence Life, Graduate Area Coordinators provide students with opportunities to develop community through programming, connecting to campus resources, and their live-in presence within the residence halls as they pursue their graduate studies.

Student Staff
Assistant Area Coordinators

Assistant Area Coordinators are returning residence life student leaders. They are responsible for various administrative details, staff development, and residential programming in the living areas.

Resident Assistants

Each community (floor, wing, apartment complex, house, etc.) on campus has a resident assistant, a student carefully selected and trained to contribute to the success of each student's living and learning experience. The ratio of student staff to residents averages 1 to 22.

View virtual tours of our Housing facilities

Residence Life Information and Policies

Mandatory Meetings

Three mandatory meetings take place each academic year. The first is to introduce the residential community to their area staff and to review general and specific community expectations. This meeting will take place on the first Monday night of classes. The second mandatory meeting takes place in December and goes over the checkout process for winter break. The final meeting is in April and is meant to brief students on what to expect as they checkout of student housing. This final meeting is particularly critical in terms of being aware of what needs to be done procedurally in order not to incur any checkout costs. Inability to attend any of these must be cleared by the Area Coordinator of that area. Absence from these meetings may result in a $25.00 fine.

Animals in Campus Housing and Other Buildings

George Fox University is committed to making reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. As part of our commitment, students with disabilities who have a Service Animal (SA) or who are determined eligible for an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) are permitted to house their animal in their campus room, apartment, or house. Only students with disabilities are eligible for this exception to this pet policy.

A student may qualify to have an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) in campus housing if:

  1. the student has a documented disability;
  2. the animal is necessary to afford the student with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their dwelling;
  3. there is an identifiable and documented relationship between the disability and the assistance that the animal provides.

Emotional Support Animals are not permitted in university buildings except approved campus housing.

Descriptions of the types of animals, along with additional information about animals on campus and the process for requesting an Emotional Support Animals in campus housing, can be found on the linked websites.

Outside of the above exception, only small fish are allowed as pets in student housing (in a fish tank no larger than 10 gallons). Guests are to keep other animals outside. 

Students are not able to leave bedding, food, or other supplies outside or around their living area that would attract unauthorized pets or other animals.

Keeping an unauthorized pet on-campus will result in a fine of $50/day for each day that the animal is in housing. 

Bicycles

Bicycles may be locked up at the bike racks or stored in residence hall rooms, but are prohibited from being inside other university buildings. Bicycles may not be left in hallways, stairwells or entryways, as this is a fire hazard. Carey, Edwards, Gulley, Hobson, Macy, Pennington, and Sutton Halls, as well at the Austin Sports Complex on Crestview Drive, have covered bicycle racks. Brandt, Le Shana, and Newlin Halls have uncovered bicycle racks.

Questions about bicycle safety or storage may be answered on this page, or can be directed to Campus Public Safety.

Decorations and Postings

Students may decorate their residential rooms according to their own personal tastes. All decorations, including posters, hangings, etc., must be mutually agreed upon by any and all roommates. If students are unsure about how to navigate disagreements they can reach out to their RA, AAC, or AC and can reference their roommate agreement. The following contains, but is not limited to, items that are inappropriate and prohibited from campus:

Hallways must be kept free of obstructions, so students may not have anything covering the threshold of their residential doorway. Decorations on doors may cover up no more than 20% of the door and should not protrude into the hallway, creating an obstruction. Examples of inappropriate doorway decor include, but are not limited to:

Furniture

Each student living on campus is supplied with the necessary residence furnishings (bed, desk, dresser, closet, as well as all kitchen and living room furnishings in the apartments and houses). It should be noted that furniture differs throughout campus housing. (*Please note that the university does not permit bringing personal soft furniture like couches and chairs because of the increased risk of health concerns (i.e., bed bugs).)

Lofts, both manufactured and hand-built, are not permitted in university housing. Beds must not be propped up or stacked with concrete blocks or bed risers.

Generally, the university provides only the furniture a student has in their place of residence when they check in. Vacuum cleaners are provided for use in the living areas. Halogen lamps of any kind and space heaters are not permitted due to fire concerns. Air conditioning units are not permitted in any university housing. Certain appliances and electronics are prohibitied; View the "What to Bring to Campus" page for an updated list.

University-owned furniture is not to be moved outside the room it is placed in. This includes both room furniture and furniture in shared housing areas. Under no circumstances is furniture to be disassembled. Students who move furniture out of its intended space without permission from either University Housing or Residence Life will be required to return the furniture to its original placement and may incur a fine.

Guests

Guests of students are the responsibility of the student hosting the visit. All overnight visitors are expected to check in with their RA to clear it with the Area Coordinator or Graduate Area Coordinator and to follow George Fox University policies and expectations during their visit. We encourage students to connect with their roommate(s) before hosting a visitor overnight so that they are in agreement about sharing the space.

Visitors can stay for up to three consecutive nights if approved by the Area Coordinator or Graduate Area Coordinator, but cannot stay for more than six nights in a given month. Visits by prospective students should be arranged through the Admissions Office or the Athletics Department. No person of the opposite sex is to stay overnight in a student's room, apartment, or house.

Pranks

While there are many fun and creative activities to engage in while living on campus, students are encouraged to promote an environment where respect for property and each individual community member is valued. Therefore, pranks are discouraged.

Quiet Hours

The quiet hours for all campus housing are daily from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. During this time, the noise level should be appropriate for those students who are studying or sleeping. Questions regarding what is appropriate can be directed to members of the Residence Life staff.

In keeping with our responsibility toward one another, students should be mindful of their neighbors, keeping the volume of their music and movies at a considerate level. If it can be heard in another apartment or room, it is too loud. Bouncing of balls and other noises that are disturbing to the community are also prohibited.

Use of musical instruments such as drums, bongos, electric guitars, etc., is prohibited in all student housing, unless they are being used for an activity approved by the Area Coordinator such as a worship gathering.

Visitation

George Fox University allows some visitation access to residence housing to members of the opposite gender. Although some residents would ask for more visitation hours, there are also others who want to maintain their privacy. The visitation hours, as stated below, attempt to strike a balance between the two. The goal is to allow for healthy interaction in the area that students call home.

Residence Halls and Suites:

Sunday-Thursday         12PM-11PM

Friday-Saturday           12PM-12AM

No person is permitted on the wing/floor, hallways, or stairwells of a living area of the opposite gender except during open-house visitation hours. The door to the student's room must be open at all times when visitors of the opposite gender are present.

Houses and Apartments:

Sunday-Thursday           12PM-12AM

Friday-Saturday             12PM-2AM

Room doors must be open at all times when visitors of the opposite gender are present.

Those found in violation of this policy may be held accountable through the community accountability process.

Work Requests

Work requests can be entered by students for their specific room and in houses and apartments, for any shared spaces in their living area. Students can access this form through the “Maintenance Requests” tab on the Housing and Community Life Portal. If a student has questions about the Maintenance Request form, they can contact University Housing.

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