Bottom Line, Up Front

• The Importance of Emails and Resources

• Pre-Orientation Registration closes TODAY!

  • Payment for Pre-Orientation Program

• Move-In for Pre-Orientation Programs

• Parents and Families Orientation / Travel Planning

• DRAFT New Deac Week Orientation Schedule

• Move-In for New and Transfer Students NOT participating in Pre-Orientation Programs

• Reminder about health and immunization forms due July 1 - Important!

Dear <<First Name>>,

The Importance of Emails and Resources

PRO TIP #1: Read your emails carefully and in their entirety. We know they are long, but they are long for a reason: most if not all of the answers you seek are in them. Your professors will expect that you review course syllabi and assignments with the same care and attention to detail, so this is great practice for what is to come. 

PRO TIP #2: Ctrl+F is your friend! When looking through emails or the New Students Website, use this feature to search for specific criteria; you’ll be amazed at much more quickly you find what you’re looking for. 

PRO TIP #3: Triple check that you’ve accomplished everything on your to-do list. You won’t always receive a confirmation email or be prodded to submit something multiple times in advance of a deadline. Now is the time to develop a sense of agency and accountability. 

Pre-Orientation Registration closes TODAY!

It is hard to believe we have officially made it to the last day of June and the last day to register to participate in a Pre-Orientation program. 

For those that have already registered and been assigned to a Pre-Orientation program, be sure to make your payment by June 30, 2023 (TODAY). 

A few notes regarding your payment for Pre-Orientation: 

• The instructions regarding how to pay were sent directly to the email address you used to register for Pre-Orientation programs. 

• Your non-refundable payment confirms that you are accepting your spot in your assigned program and allows your program coordinator and the Office of Residence Life and Housing to prepare for your arrival.

• If you are experiencing technical difficulties with the payment process, please contact Orientation@wfu.edu

Move-In for Pre-Orientation Programs

We have gotten quite a few emails, phone calls, and other messages about move-in, so we want to be sure to provide a special message outside of our regularly scheduled Monday messages specifically about move-in and Orientation for students and families.

As a reminder from earlier communications, 

• Students approved to participate in Marching Band, Wilderness to Wake, or WakeWell will move in on Friday, August 18th no later than 4 p.m. 

• Students approved to participate in all other Pre-Orientation programs (including Connect@Wake) will move in on Saturday, August 19th no later than 4 p.m. 

• Any student not enrolled in a Pre-Orientation program will not be approved to move into their housing assignment until Wednesday, August 23rd.

Check-In for Pre-Orientation participants is managed by the Office of Residence Life and Housing and will occur between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (LJVM). LJVM is just off-campus and located at 2825 University Pkwy, Winston-Salem, NC.

On your program’s assigned move-in date (Friday, August 18th or Saturday, August 19th), we would encourage you to be moved in and settled on campus prior to 3 p.m. EDT if possible (see below regarding Welcome Reception).  

For those participating in a Pre-Orientation program, you may choose:

• To come to campus with the bare necessities for Pre-Orientation and then have your family bring your remaining belongings when the rest of your class moves in on Wednesday, August 23rd. This also enables your family to participate in parent and family Orientation activities; 

OR

• Move in fully on your assigned Pre-Orientation move-in date. 

Note that as a Pre-Orientation participant, you WILL be moving into your Fall room assignment.

Welcome Reception for Pre-Orientation Programs
Friday, August 18th / Saturday, August 19th
4:00 P.M. – 5 P.M.
*On-Campus Location, TBA

All Pre-Orientation participants (including Parents and Families) are cordially invited to connect with members of the campus community through an informal reception hosted by Orientation, Family Communications and the Office of Family Engagement. Remarks at 4:30 p.m.

Your Pre-Orientation program coordinators will be getting in touch with you in the next few weeks (if they have not already) to begin sharing more detailed information about your program’s day-to-day schedule, what to pack, and what to be prepared for.

Wednesday, August 23rd
8 A.M. - 2 P.M.
University Housing Check-In 
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (LJVM)

Check-in for students not participating in Pre-Orientation programs will be on Wednesday, August 23rd from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT. 

• Move-In Assistance: Move-in assistance from community staff and campus partners will be available until 12 p.m. 

• Students will receive a recommended move-in time slot with their housing assignments released on Monday, July 31st. Moving can seem chaotic, with thousands of students returning to campus in just a few days. Our recommended time slots help with the flow of traffic so you can settle into your new home as quickly and smoothly as possible.

• Students should arrive at the LJVM Coliseum no more than 15 minutes prior to their move-in time.

Students will receive check-in instructions via their WFU email address as we get closer to Move-In Day in August! 

We have had a lot of questions from Parents and Families about what they should do about the Parents & Families Orientation being provided on Wednesday, August 23rd through Thursday, August 24th. While the Orientation experience planned for Parents and Families is not required, it is strongly encouraged. 

• For travel planning purposes, family orientation activities begin on Wednesday, August 23rd and will conclude by 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 24th. 

• Families should plan to depart late on Thursday, August 24th or earlier on Friday, August 25th.)

We will be publishing the Orientation schedule later this summer via the Guidebook app. However, we know that students and families are very interested in getting a sense of what the schedule will be. Therefore, we have a tentative schedule of Orientation activities as of today, just to help you plan travel and more. Please use this as a draft, tentative guideline until our Guidebook app is launched in mid-July; items may be subject to change.

I have been told that there is still a sizable number of incoming students who have not completed all of their health information and immunization forms, which are due on July 1st.

Some students are not entering the dates of each immunization in the applicable online form; please note you cannot just upload a PDF of your immunization record; you have to input dates of individual shots in the online form.

We ask all students to log in to the Student Health Portal and ensure you do not have any pending forms, and to check your Secure messages for any immunizations or other documentation you could be missing. 

Note: you must be logged in to your WFU Google account to access the Student Health Portal. If you are having issues logging in, try connecting using VPN.

Before we wrap up this message, we want to be sure to remind you that all of the messages first-year and transfer students will receive, including this one, may be found here. 

Should you have any questions about our Pre-Orientation programs or New Deac Week and you have not been able to find the answers on the New Students website, please do not hesitate to contact orientation@wfu.edu.

Best,

Cherise James, Ph.D.
​Director of Orientation, New Student and Transitions Programs