The Daily Bruin

Many thanks to those of you who have already given your consent to receive your W-2s online. If you haven’t, please consider doing so to enable us to make it available to you sooner, and to make it accessible to you in MyGFU (self service) when you are ready to print it.

This will save the university the time and expense of purchasing and stuffing paper W-2 forms and envelopes (over 2,000 last January). And of course, it is also friendlier to our environment. In the future, there will be a $5 charge for replacement W-2s issued and mailed in hard copy.

In order to receive a W-2 in online form only (instead of receiving a paper form), the law requires that you give your consent. This should take you only about 30 seconds to do, so I encourage you to take care of it as soon as possible — perhaps right now.

1. Log in to mygfu.georgefox.edu
2. From the menu at left, select “Self Service”
3. Select “Payroll and Compensation”
4. Select “W-2/W-2c Consent”
5. Read the statement and check the box to give consent
6. Enter your GFU password as a confirmation of your identity and click “Continue”
7. Click “OK”

You’ll receive a confirmation e-mail of your decision shortly after completing this process. And just to be clear, you will only have to do this once — not every year.

For undergraduate students from Oregon, it is especially important that you file your 2013-14 FAFSA soon. Each year, funding for the Oregon Opportunity Grant runs short for all students that would otherwise qualify. Oregon Student Access Commission (OSAC) oversees this program and must limit funding to early eligible FAFSA filers.

Regardless of whether or not you have actual 2012 income figures for you and (if dependent) your parents, please file before the end of January using an estimate. Those that file in February will most likely not be considered for the grant, which for a typical full-time student is nearly $2,000. Please don’t miss the potential help for your college costs.

Questions? Contact Terri Crawford at tcrawford@georgefox.edu

FoxTALE will be unavailable from 6 a.m. to noon (Pacific Time) on Monday, Jan. 7, for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have questions, please contact the IT Service Desk.

The financial aid staff will be off campus working on Monday, Dec. 17, so we’ll be unable to meet with students or take phone calls. Please stop by or call again on Tuesday. Thank you for your patience.

Today is payday! Your paycheck will be in your campus box by 10 a.m. If you forgot to sign your time sheet, a hold slip will be in your box and you then need to come to HR to pick up your check. If you have Direct Deposit, your pay will go to your account just like always!

Have a wonderful break, and we’ll see you next year!

– HR

Becoming a teacher? Please contact Beth Molzahn in Graduate Admissions to learn your next step toward an Initial Teaching License via the Master of Arts in Teaching program right here at George Fox!

E-mail: bmolzahn@georgefox.edu or phone: 503-554-2264

Is there someone at George Fox who has made a difference in your academic career? Someone who ignited a spark to make you want to learn or attend class or who has acted as a role model? Take a moment to write an e-mail, e-card, or traditional “thank you” card to that professor, tutor, administrator, classmate, or other person. Try to be specific as you describe how this person has contributed to your life.

Newberg students can stop by the SUB to write a note; Portland Center students can stop at the Information Desk. Of course, one can make or buy one’s own card.

It’s time to sign up for MLK Serve Day 2013! I know it seems early, but it is just so we can prepare for the approximately 1,000 volunteers that day. Will you be one of them? Our 2013 MLK Day will have a special focus on literacy.

Did you know that…

• Only one-third of all students entering high school are proficient in reading
• Only about 15 percent of African-American students and only 17 percent of Hispanic students are proficient in reading entering high school (NAEP Reading, 2009)

Register here today to be a part of the largest collective movement in the nation on MLK day!

The details:

When: Jan. 21, 2013
Time: Meet in Stevens at 6:30 a.m., where we will bus to Portland together
Why: Promote literacy in accordance to Dr. King’s dream

Becoming a teacher? Please contact Beth Molzahn in Graduate Admissions to learn your next step toward an Initial Teaching License via the Master of Arts in Teaching program right here at George Fox!

E-mail: bmolzahn@georgefox.edu or phone: 503-554-2264

More than 250 students will receive undergraduate and graduate diplomas at the university’s midyear commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 15, in the Wheeler Sports Center. Seating begins at 1 p.m., and the ceremony will start at 2 p.m.

Tickets are not required; however, seating is limited to 10 guests per graduate. At 1:45 p.m., a live broadcast of the ceremony will be available to watch at this link.

Dr. William M. Schniedewind, a professor of biblical studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a 1984 alumnus of George Fox, will serve as commencement speaker. He holds the Kershaw Chair of Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Studies at UCLA and is chair of the school’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Don’t forget! Textbook Buyback is this week, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the BlueZone Store in the SUB.

To provide students and families with updates and important information for December, Student Financial Services has posted online the most recent version of our newsletter. Please visit this link to read the SFS News archives. The most recent edition is “December 2012.”

You can also sign up to automatically receive future newsletters.

Please join us for the Portland Center wassail party this afternoon (Monday)! Stop by the lobby between 2 and 6 p.m. for Christmas treats, hot beverages, and a good dose of holiday cheer!

For those who missed the presentation entitled “The State of Diversity at George Fox University” made during Cultural Celebration Week, the video recording has been uploaded to the Multicultural Programs folder in George Fox’s iTunes U.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Joel Perez at ext. 2305.

Please join us for the Portland Center wassail party! Stop by the lobby between 2 and 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 10, for Christmas treats, hot beverages, and a good dose of holiday cheer!

Is there someone at George Fox who has made a difference in your academic career? Someone who ignited a spark to make you want to learn or attend class, or who has acted as a role model? Take a moment to write an e-mail, e-card, or traditional “thank you” card to that professor (or other person). Try to be specific as you describe how this person has contributed to your life.

Newberg students can stop by the SUB to write a note; Portland Center students can stop at the Information Desk. Of course, one can make or buy one’s own card.

The state of Oregon is giving student employees a raise in 2013! The minimum wage is going up 15 cents per hour to $8.95, and this will be reflected on the Feb. 15 student payroll.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

– HR

The fourth annual MLK Day of Service will take place Monday, Jan. 21. We will meet in the Stevens Center parking lot at 6:30 a.m. and bus up to Concordia, where the day will begin with a rally to provide an opportunity to reflect, celebrate and remember Dr. King.

Following the rally, students will serve in the community until 2 p.m. and will arrive back on campus around 4 p.m. This service day is a multi-institutional collaboration among colleges and universities and the convening organization Oregon Campus Compact. This event is one of the largest mobilizations of college students in the country on MLK Day.

Register here to participate in the day!

FoxTALE will be unavailable from 6 to 8 a.m. (Pacific Time) on Monday, Dec. 17, for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have questions, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Hello!

Please make sure that you turn in your signed time sheet to your supervisor after your last shift of the month (Friday is the 30th). If you forget to turn in your time sheet on time, you may not get paid on payday. Payday is Friday, Dec. 14, which also happens to be the last day of finals.

If you will be leaving campus before the 14th, and you will need your pay before you return in January, (which I bet you do!) I suggest that you sign up for Direct Deposit. If you choose to sign up for Direct Deposit, the form needs to be to HR by Friday, Dec. 7.

Thank you and have a wonderful Christmas break!

– HR