Last week, Rylan Nelson and his family drove down from Wenatchee, Washington to help him move into George Fox University. It’s a rite of passage for many college freshmen, but his family barely had to lift a finger.

As pop music blared and a drumline beat nearby, resident assistants greeted him before he could even close his car door. University staff gave Nelson a campus map and handed over his dormitory keys. All the while, a line of student and faculty volunteers unloaded boxes, bags and furniture from his vehicle and carried them to his room.

“It’s been great,” Nelson said about his arrival at school. “They moved all my stuff in.” His next order of business was to settle in and meet his new roommate.

Helping move freshmen like Nelson into their dorms is part of the liberal arts and Christian university’s “welcome weekend” — three days of orientation designed to kickstart connections among fellow students and faculty.

University leaders say fostering this sense of belonging is core to the school’s growth from a small Quaker college to the state’s largest private university. George Fox is expecting record enrollment this school year, more than 4,350 students.

“Don’t count out this little school in Newberg, because it’s not a little school anymore,” George Fox Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing Lindsay Knox said.

Colleges in Oregon and across the U.S. are dealing with increasing uncertainty this school year due, in part, to years of declining enrollment and unprecedented federal cutbacks from the Trump administration. But despite the turmoil, George Fox is attracting more students than ever to its campus. University leaders credit the school’s expansion to its commitment to both student needs and to its roots in the Christian faith.

“George Fox makes a promise that each student will be known spiritually, personally, academically, and we’ve had that promise in place for 15 years,” Knox said. “It really resonates with families.”

Making George Fox known

George Fox is growing and it wants to get even bigger.

Increasing visibility is one part of the university’s plan. People living in the Portland metro area might be familiar with the school’s billboards that are peppered across the region. The navy and gold signs, a nod to the school’s colors, tout degree programs like nursing, engineering and business.

Nursing is, in fact, among George Fox’s most popular majors for students. Knox said the school is attuned to the academic interests of students as well as demands from the local and state workforce.

“If we need more nurses in the state of Oregon, then we want to have a thriving nurse program,” she said.

The transition to offer more professional and graduate programs is one reason for the university’s growth. Another is the university’s move to offer online bachelor degrees to non-traditional, older students. These are typically students who already have some college credits under their belt.

“It’s a growing market for us. We have, at any given time, about 300 to 350 accelerated online degree students,” Knox said. “We’d love to have more.”

But perhaps the largest pillar supporting the institution is its faith.

Education centered around Christianity

George Fox students aren’t required to subscribe to any one faith to attend the university. But the vast majority of the student body identifies as Christian. That’s no small feat in a region where nonreligious people outnumber Christians, according to the Pew Research Center’s recent Religious Landscape Study. Students do have a requirement to attend a chapel or community gathering once a week.

“We’re really clear on the community we serve. It’s a Christian community and people want to be a part of that,” said George Fox President Robin Baker, as he took a break from helping move students into dorms last week.

That rings true for freshman Esther Birt, who traveled with her mother from Boardman to move into her campus dorm last Friday.

“I chose George Fox because it was a Christian college and it also had art,” Birt said. “And when I visited, the people were really nice.”

Her dorm room window overlooks the university’s new art and cinematic arts building, which finished construction over the summer.

“I think Esther’s gonna do great,” said her mother Myrene with a smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing what God has for her in the art department.”

Enrollment at religious schools appears to be making a comeback over the past few years. The Christian higher education advocacy group Council for Christian Colleges and Universities saw a bump in enrollment among its member schools in the 2024-25 school year. The Cardinal Newman Society, a Catholic education nonprofit, also reported “enormous growth” at Catholic higher education institutions last year.

Unpredictable path ahead

George Fox appears to be on a firm foundation now, but the university is facing the same higher education pressures brought on by the Trump Administration.

The university has been operating on a budget surplus for years, according to school officials. But university leaders worry that it could disappear if students have trouble accessing federal student loans.

A pivotal change made in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill caps the amount of money graduate students can borrow to attend school. This could have a chilling effect on students considering high-cost graduate programs, an area that George Fox is trying to grow. Knox said the university is keeping an eye on this situation.

“But I feel confident that we will be able to face those challenges by working with students, understanding their stories, and we can resource them in a one-on-one manner,” she said.

For now, the university’s new students don’t appear to have a lot of worries as they settle in. On the first day on campus, freshman Rylan Nelson is hopeful for the year ahead. He’s excited to play on George Fox’s basketball team and for classes to start.

“I hear it’s a lot different from high school, so I’m looking forward to being accountable for myself,” Nelson said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/28/george-fox-university-religion-majors-attract-record-students/