Parents & Families E-Newsletter
January 2021

Email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser »

WakeParents & Families

E-newsletter from the Office of Family Engagement

Wait Chapel

After a very long winter break, we are turning our attention to the start of the semester and our students’ return to campus. It will be wonderful to have everyone back; we have missed you!

There is important pre-arrival information that students must attend to before they can return to campus and to Winston-Salem. As laid out in the January 9 message, undergraduate students are required to:

  • Submit a COVID test (of an approved type)
  • Self-quarantine and monitor for symptoms for 14 days prior to accessing campus or other Wake Forest facilities
  • Return to using the SneezSafe tool for daily symptom screening for 14 days prior to accessing campus or other Wake Forest facilities
  • Provide flu vaccination documentation in the Student Health Portal or receive an exemption

We are working on additional communications to students with information about what will look different this spring; anticipate that to come soon. To assist with questions, the Call Center (336.758.7500) is open again; it runs each weekday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Eastern; we will also have special weekend hours January 23-24 from 10 a.m - 2 p.m. We urge parents and families with questions to contact the Call Center, not individual administrative offices (who need to be free to work directly with students).

At the start of each semester, I like to draw your attention to our Parent and Family Communications Guidelines and Philosophy. This document describes how we engage families in ways that are helpful to their students' development, so students can develop autonomy and independence. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see specific situations that would prompt the University to send emails to families to communicate important campus information.

You remain our greatest partners in fostering our students’ success. Thank you for being with us in this important work. We can’t wait to see your Deacs!


Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. ('92, MA '94)
Executive Director of Family Communications


Upcoming Dates and Deadlines

January 16-22
Virtual Panhellenic (sorority) recruitment

January 23
Move-In for students moving on to campus for the Spring 2021 semester; appointments will be required, additional details to come.

January 24-26
Residence Halls open for returning students for the Spring 2021 semester (no appointment required)

January 27
First day of undergraduate classes

February 2
Last day to add first-part-of-term class

February 10
Last day to add full term class

February 12
Last day to drop first-part-of-term class

Please check here for more parent and family dates: parents.wfu.edu

Academics

From the Office of Academic Advising (OAA):

  • Classes begin on January 27. The following dates can be found on the academic services calendar:
  • The last day to add a first part-of-term class is February 2.
  • The last day to add a full-term class is February 10.
  • The last day to drop a first part-of-term class is February 12.
  • The last day to drop a full-term class is March 4.
  • Any student who plans to be part-time for the current semester should visit our website to fill out a part-time status petition form as soon as possible.
  • Any students who have incomplete courses from the Fall 2020 semester (or the last semester of attendance) must turn in all work for these courses by February 25. Grades for incomplete courses that are not completed by this date will automatically roll over to Fs.
  • The Office of Academic Advising in Reynolda Hall 125 is closed at this time due to the ongoing pandemic. Academic Counselors are available Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to meet with students virtually via Zoom, Google Meet and/or Webex. Students are encouraged to call the Office of Academic Advising at 336-758-3320 to schedule an appointment with a counselor. Students may also call and ask to speak with the first available counselor via phone for urgent matters.

Visit our website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter for updates and other important information!

From the School of Business: Projects Still Needed for Capstone Seminar Course - Senior mathematical business students are required to work on a real project their last semester, and we are looking for a few more projects. Organizations would provide a brief problem statement that our students can address, using tools they’ve learned in previous statistics, management science, and other business courses. Dr. Alireza Lari would work with the organization to finalize the problem description, objectives, review the data that is available, and outline tentative deliverables. With guidance from Dr. Lari, students work in teams to deliver a suggested solution. If you are interested or would like to learn more, please contact Dr. Alireza Lari laria@wfu.edu.

Help your Deacs find a quiet place to work this spring: Does your student need private study space to take online courses or simply be alone to work on a project or study? Room is available if they plan ahead and reserve a space by consulting the Wake Study Space website. There, students will be able to find resources for private and public study space, including unscheduled or under scheduled College classrooms (open Jan. 25); late-night spaces; and reservable ZSR rooms and single-occupancy carrels. This website is kept up to date as study space hours evolve to meet student need, state executive orders, and/or University operating status. This is particularly useful for students who have online courses and roommates in a shared space, or want to avoid the tents in colder winter weather.

Events

The Association of Wake Forest University Black Alumni (AWFUBA) and the Office of Alumni Engagement are thrilled to celebrate fifty years of the classic and beloved memoir, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, written by Dr. Maya Angelou. Families are invited to join us virtually on Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 4 p.m. Eastern. Read more details and register here.

From the Office of Personal and Career Development: As the Spring semester kicks off, so does another recruiting season! Over the next few weeks, students have access to numerous career workshops and events that they should take advantage of:

  • Career & Grad School Virtual Workshops — This week and next, 8 virtual workshops are being held to help students with their resumes, grad school search, internships, and job search. Students can register for these workshops here.
  • Diversity Matters & Student-Athlete Career Development Night - Feb. 2 @ 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Diversity and inclusion matters to employers and they want to tell Wake Forest students why. ALL students who are looking for full-time employment and identify as diverse should attend this event. Students need to register here if they’d like to attend this award-winning event.
  • WFU Spring Career Fair — Feb. 3rd @ 2 pm Eastern. Dozens of employers from a wide range of industries are looking to hire WFU students. This is our largest recruiting event this Spring and all students seeking full-time employment or internships should attend. Registration is necessary for students to attend this event.
  • Do you have hiring needs or would you like to participate in our events? Please contact Dana Hutchens from our Employer Relations team at hutchens@wfu.edu

From the Student Health Service: As students gear up to return to campus for spring semester, there are key requirements that must be met prior to returning. If your student has not received and submitted documentation of a flu shot this season, they will be required to do so before gaining access to campus. Learn more at go.wfu.edu/flushots. For the safety of our community, we also require that all undergrad students receive pre-arrival COVID-19 testing and submit the results via the Student Health portal. View details and important dates at go.wfu.edu/prearrival.

From the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life — The Office of Student Engagement will host a webinar on fraternity recruitment on January 19 at 6:00 p.m. Please submit any questions to: adamseh@wfu.edu.

Resources

COVID information and preparation:

  • One of the lessons learned from the fall is that when students got the call that said they needed to go into quarantine or isolation, they felt overwhelmed and it was hard to think clearly about what they needed to take with them. It would be helpful for students to have a bag pre-packed with as many of these items as possible so they are ready to go if needed. Most commonly-forgotten items were: textbooks, chargers and power cords, over the counter medicines (like fever reliever, cough and cold medicine, etc.), feminine hygiene products, and other toiletries. Read more.
  • The COVID-19 Notice has been updated to reflect the University’s ongoing efforts to respond to the pandemic during the spring semester. Key updates include information regarding the approach to asymptomatic testing of students and encouragement that individuals receive a COVID-19 vaccine when available.

Residence Life and Housing has published its January updates for families. This includes reminders on COVID policies, information about spring move in/returning to campus, and more. View the updates.

From Student Financial Services:

  • Billing for the Spring 2021 semester began on December 1. Spring tuition was due January 1, 2021. Please ensure your student has established you as an authorized payer in DEAC so you will be notified via email each time a statement is available. Please visit theSFS website for more information.
  • Each year by January 31, Wake Forest makes available an IRS Form 1098-T to all students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year. Current students can consent to receive this form electronically and provide proxy access for third parties to view online (instructions below). For more information and the Form 1098-T, please visit the Tax Information page.
    1. Log into WIN and then navigate to 'Personal'
    2. To provide (or remove) consent, click on the '1098-T Electronic Consent' link.
    3. In order to provide consent, read the consent, click the checkbox and then press the 'Submit' button. To remove consent, uncheck the checkbox and press the 'Submit' button.
    4. Once consent has been submitted or the user selected '1098-T Tax Form' from the 'Personal' menu, the user must select the tax year.
    5. Once the desired tax year is chosen, press the 'Submit' button and the 1098-T will be displayed. Click this guide for additional assistance: Accessing Electronic 1098-T Forms via WIN
  • To print the form either:
  1. (a) Print directly from your browser and change the page settings to print in landscape orientation.
  2. Copy and paste the page into a document editor (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.) and print from there.

From the Office of Wellbeing - Wake Forest University has a commitment to holistic wellbeing through the THRIVE initiative, a campus-wide effort to make wellbeing part of every experience in the lives of our students, faculty, and staff. During this difficult time, many students are experiencing uncertainty in their financial wellbeing, which certainly can impact multiple areas of a student’s wellbeing. To help address this, the Student Resource Committee developed a new Student Financial Resources website where students can find information about loans, scholarships, medical assistance, professional development, textbook assistance, and more. Information is also provided about local off-campus and community resources. The website includes a form to provide feedback or request additional assistance for students who may need it. This list will be updated frequently and we hope this one convenient place to find a list of resources can help reduce access barriers for Wake Forest students who are in need assistance.

From Campus Dining: when students upgrade their meal plan between January 13-31, they get a choice of an additional 10 Old Golds OR $50 Good Uncle Truck credit and $50 Food Dollars. Visit this site for more.

Campus Safety

Wake Forest University Police:

  • An updated copy of the 2020 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is now available on the Wake Forest University Police website.
  • The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) announced they were serving as an Independent Credentialing Body for campus police and public safety agencies granted by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Departments wishing to receive this certification must be in compliance with two key principles:
  • The State or local law enforcement agency’s use-of-force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws; and
  • The State or local law enforcement agency’s use-of-force policies prohibit the use of chokeholds — a physical maneuver that restricts an individual’s ability to breathe for the purposes of incapacitation – except in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law.
  • Departments would have to apply for certification. Wake Forest University Police Department (WFUPD) has now been certified within the DOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. With WFUPD having received this certification, we are eligible to receive DOJ discretionary grant funding. WFUPD currently holds accreditation through IACLEA and was one of the first universities to do so.

Parents and families can sign up to receive crime alerts on the Wake Ready website, in addition to downloading the LiveSafe app. While crime alerts are sent in real time to students, faculty and staff, they are not for others. For those registered through Wake Ready, crime alerts are emailed daily at noon, but only if new alerts have been posted in the previous 24 hours.

Any emails that are sent to students, faculty, and staff are archived on the Family News website. Wake Forest University Police: Parents and families can sign up to receive crime alerts on the Wake Ready website, in addition to downloading the LiveSafe app. While crime alerts are sent in real time to students, faculty and staff, they are not for others. For those registered through Wake Ready, crime alerts are emailed daily at noon, but only if new alerts have been posted in the previous 24 hours.

Any emails that are sent to students, faculty, and staff are archived on the Family News website.

Parents & Families Page

Parents and Families Page is your portal to news and information specifically for Wake Forest families.

Want the Daily Deac parent blog to be sent automatically to your email every day? Subscribe on the main Daily Deac page by typing your email address in the Subscribe box and following the instructions. The Daily Deac is our blog for parents and families. It’s a great way to get a snapshot of life at Wake Forest.

A message about how we disseminate campus news to parents and families: Any emails that are sent to students, faculty, and staff will be posted on the Family News page.  Those are not routinely emailed to all families.  If you wish to check for family news items often, you may wish to bookmark that page so it is easily available.

See a list of campus resources and our FAQ page.

Contact the Office of Family Engagement at parents@wfu.edu or 336.758.4237.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Some staff members are working remotely, and some offices are working a reduced schedule. However, if you have an urgent need to reach someone at the university because you have a concern that must be addressed quickly, we have designated the University Police as our 24/7 contact. They can assess the situation and determine who best to address your concern. The 24-hour contact number for University Police is 336.758.5591 (non emergency) or 336.758.5911 (for the kinds of emergencies where you would normally call 911). University Police can get in touch with on-call duty staff 24-hours/day.


Follow WFUniversity on Instagram to see the latest campus photos:

Change your address

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe

Privacy Policy

Make a gift today »

Wake Forest University
The Office of Family Engagement
1834 Wake Forest Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
1.800.752.8568