Parent Newsletter

From the President

Dear Parents,

The Wheaton College Trustees recently made a remarkable journey to our westernmost campus: the Wheaton College Field Station in the Black Hills. As far as I have been able to determine, the Trustees had not met at the Field Station since 1955. So, it was high time for us to make a visit, for our biennial retreat.

Together we enjoyed the stunning beauty of South Dakota in early summer. We held a powwow with local Lakota leaders, including our own Reverend Jonathan Old Horse, who is taking classes at Wheaton and hosts many of our students at his church in the summertime. We also went on geology, biology, and sustainability field trips with undergraduates who are at the Field Station for classes or research this summer. We also managed to find a little time to do some serious business, such as reviewing the Community Covenant and advancing our ten-year strategic plan.

Connecting with students is always the biggest highlight for our Trustees, though. These gifted leaders are as committed to the total well-being of each student as any of our staff members, faculty members, or administrators. It felt good to see them learning, worshiping, playing, and even dancing with our students under the blue skies of South Dakota.

Please include our beloved Trustees in your prayers as you think of Wheaton College over the summertime.

In Christ's Service,

Philip Ryken
President 

Wheaton College Trustees at the Wheaton College Field Station in the Black Hills.

Campus Housing

The Residence Life team is thrilled to welcome your student to campus in the fall!

New Student Arrival Times
Campus housing opens to new students when they arrive for the Passage experience they selected. Specific times can be found here.

Continuing students
Continuing students are invited to return to campus beginning on Sunday, August 24 through Tuesday, August 26, between the hours of 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Consideration for arrival without charge, prior to August 24, is given only to continuing students who are sponsored by a faculty or staff member and who are a required participant in activities which necessitate being on campus. Examples are fall athletes, student teachers, and members of student leadership teams.

All other early arrival requests will be subject to denial or a nightly charge. Approval will be considered, with a nightly charge, for students meeting these criteria:

• Students arriving early to begin a for-credit internship
• International students
• Significant travel hardship

Students requesting early arrival must submit their request here. Questions may be directed to residence.life@wheaton.edu.

Check-In Process

2. New students will arrive at their residence hall and get their key at the welcome desk. Students will then go to their room and complete their check-in paperwork and give it to their RA. ID cards will only be available at the residence hall front desks for new students arriving on Aug 13/14 and for returning students arriving on Aug 24. Transfer students will arrive on Friday, August 22 and will pick up their ID cards at the Banks Welcome Center. Returning students living in a campus apartment or house will go to Public Safety during their specific check-in time to get their ID cards.
   
   
3. Unpack and settle into housing.

Meal Plans

Meal plans for returning students begin with breakfast on Monday, August 25.

Student Financial Services

Fall Semester Billing and Payment

Fall 2025 billing statements will be published online in the Billing & Payment Gateway in late July with a due date of August 27, 2025, the first day of regular classes. Students and their authorized users will receive an email when bills are ready to view and fall payment plans open for enrollment. Students need to grant parent access to the Billing & Payment Gateway under their profile for Authorized Users. Once authorized, parents will receive two automated emails with login credentials which will allow access to account activity, on-line payments, and payment plans. This also gives our office permission to speak with parents about their student’s account. Students log in to the Billing & Payment Gateway through the Wheaton Gateway, while Authorized Users log in here.

All billing statements reflect charges and credits/anticipated credits as of the date and time that they are published. Any subsequent charges or credits after the statements are published (such as changes to registered classes, meal plans, parking registration, etc.) will be reflected in the amount due and account activity as they are posted and will be included in the following month-end billing statement. We recommend that students and parents log in after receiving a billing notice email to review the account activity for changes. A billing notice will be sent each month that there is a balance due, a credit balance, or any activity on the account, including a payment that brings the balance to $0.00.

Please visit our website for more information on billing, payment, and payment plans, and our Costs page for details on 2025-2026 tuition, meal plans, and housing costs.

GradGuard Tuition Insurance

Insurance can be purchased on a semester-by-semester basis to cover costs of tuition, housing, meal plans, and some additional fees should your student need to withdraw from Wheaton. Covered reasons include injury, illness, mental health condition, death of a tuition payer, or loss of employment of a tuition payer. After bills are published, an offer to purchase insurance through GradGuard will be displayed when logging in to the Billing & Payment Gateway. Tuition insurance must be purchased prior to the first day of regular classes, August 27, 2025, so we encourage you to review the GradGuard page for Wheaton College now so that you can make an informed decision when the offer to purchase is presented. Questions about tuition insurance coverage should be directed to GradGuard at https://gradguard.com/support.

2025-2026 Financial Aid

Students should log in to their Wheaton Gateway Financial Aid Dashboard and complete any outstanding requirements to avoid delays in receiving their offer and to ensure that their aid will be reflected on their Fall semester billing statement. Emailing sensitive information is not recommended, so required documents not submitted by electronic forms, such as tax returns and W-2’s, should be scanned and uploaded using our Secure File Transfer.

Please encourage your student to monitor their Wheaton email account over the summer! This is our main method of communication regarding any missing items that we need to complete their offer. We will email your student and send a postcard to their home address when their financial aid offer is ready to view and accept on their Financial Aid Dashboard.

Please direct questions to Student Financial Services at sfs@wheaton.edu or 630-752-5700.

Important Information from Athletics

Varsity Athletics Insurance

Every varsity student-athlete is provided with secondary excess accident insurance. Each student-athlete is required to carry an active primary insurance policy, with proof of that policy being submitted to the Sports Medicine department prior to the beginning of each school year. Student-athletes are responsible for notifying and updating the Sports Medicine department if their primary insurance lapses or switches during the school year. 

The secondary policy applies to all injuries that occur while student-athletes are participating in activities that are part of the NCAA countable days, supervised strength and conditioning sessions, and travel to and from practice or competition. Injuries must be reported to a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) within 60 days of occurrence. The secondary policy carries a $1,000 deductible per injury, and the statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury. 

All medical services need to be rendered through the athlete’s primary insurance “in-network.” Services rendered in the “out of network” category without permission from the Athletics Department may not be covered by the secondary policy. Please reach out to the Sports Medicine department at sports.medicine@wheaton.edu with any questions.

Wheaton Athletics App

Sign up to have live results, news, and more sent directly to your phone from the Wheaton Thunder app on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Wheaton Thunder Sports Network (WTSN)

Live broadcasts of many Wheaton sporting events are available on the Wheaton Thunder Sports Network (WTSN). WTSN is available on YouTube and can be found on Smart TV’s and streaming devices by searching Wheaton Thunder Sports Network on YouTube.