Parent Newsletter - July/August, 2022

From the President

Dear Parents,

A signature part of every new student’s welcome to Wheaton College is Orientation Week, which enables new students and their parents to better understand the Christ-centered residential learning community they are entering.

For many years, nearly half of the incoming class has opted also to participate in a week-long “Passage” experience prior to on-campus Orientation. “Passage” students benefit from this head-start with classmates, student leaders, and faculty mentors, and thus are better positioned to flourish at Wheaton.

Desiring this wonderful benefit for all new students, this August we are launching “Wheaton Passage.”  We look forward to welcoming all new students and their families on August 3^rd for “Wilderness Passage” and on August 10^th for “Northwoods Passage,” “Equestrian Passage,” or “Urban Passage.” New transfer students will arrive on campus on August 14 for a Passage experience in the City of Chicago.

Supporting this program for 500+ new students are 150 student leaders—including my daughter Kathryn, who is this year’s student director for Orientation—and over 50 faculty mentors. Then on August 17 and 18, more than 250 student leaders will receive training for campus roles that make a difference for our student body. All new students will return to campus on August 19 to complete their Orientation together prior to the start of classes of August 24.

Soon afterwards, our campus welcome will extend to our returning students as well. We are preparing for and very much looking forward to welcoming all our students to campus next month.

In Christ’s service,

Philip Ryken
President 

Virtual Parent Town Hall

After the school year begins, you may have questions for our president and senior administrators. On Wednesday, September 7, you are warmly invited to join a Virtual Parent Town Hall with President Ryken and members of his Senior Administrative Cabinet where you will have the opportunity to ask questions via Slido.

Event links and Slido information will be forthcoming, but mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 7, 2022, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. CDT.

As always, if you are unavailable to join live, the session will be recorded and made available following the event.

Passage Orientation Textbook Requirements

Before the Passage Course (CFM 134) begins in August, students are required to read Embracing the Love of God (ISBN: 9780061542695) and complete the pre-work in the workbook called Wheaton Passage 2022 (ISBN: 9798765707876). Please encourage your student to order their Passage books from the Campus Bookstore. Any questions about Wheaton Passage can be sent to passage@wheaton.edu.

Advising and Registration for Incoming Students

Academic Advising looks forward to working with our new students this summer!

Incoming students are encouraged to read First-Year Advising and Registration information and contact academic.advising@wheaton.edu with any questions or make an appointment with an Advisor. Students should complete their Fall registration by the end of July.

If your student is new, please encourage him or her to check and use their Wheaton College email account. The appointment link requires students to use their Wheaton College login and password; any technical questions should go to AIT.Service.Desk@wheaton.edu. 

Student Health Services

Student Health Services (SHS) provides primary care services to all active students. Physicals, rapid bacterial/viral testing, allergy injection therapy, ADHD and mental health medication management are some of the many services offered. The Health & Wellness Fee charged to every degree-seeking undergraduate student at the start of each semester covers the cost of all provider visits at SHS and the Counseling Center. Graduate students can opt-in to the fee or pay per visit. F1 VISA-holding students are not charged the fee as they are required to carry the insurance that covers visits at SHS. Any prescriptions, supplies, or lab work may incur additional costs that will be billed directly to the student account.

As a reminder to all new incoming students, all medical entrance paperwork was required to be completed by July 1. Please reach out to Student Health Services at student.health.services@wheaton.edu with any questions or difficulty submitting paperwork.

Wheaton College strongly recommends that all students enroll in a health insurance plan with coverage in Wheaton. International F1 VISA students are enrolled, and their student account billed for accident and illness coverage, through a partnership with LewerMark insurance; the LewerMark plan is optional for qualifying MK/TCK students.  For any insurance related questions or concerns, please email health.insurance@wheaton.edu.

First-Year Parents: An Important Note from the Registrar

The transition from high school to college is an adjustment for both parents and students. Many parents are accustomed to school portals that let them track their student’s daily assignments and grades. In college, however, the responsibility shifts to the students and many parents find this shift to be a stretching experience. Here are guidelines about student records:

• FERPA (the Federal Education Records Privacy Act) limits what information the College can share with the parents of an enrolled student.  The College cannot share grades, attendance, or progress, change a student’s schedule, or give registration information to parents without the student’s express written permission. This permission is set up through an Authorization for Release of Information Form. Students will get information about this form and its use during Orientation.
• It doesn’t hurt to start practicing empowering your student to seek assistance from College personnel when they have questions or needs. Even before they move to campus, you can start encouraging your student to navigate and contact the appropriate office whose staff can answer their questions directly.
• Students may invite parents to access certain portions of their record online (final grades, transcripts, financial aid awards, etc.) by completing the Proxy process in the Student Portal Banner Self-Service menu.  This sharing allows parents to view student records online. The instructions for setting up proxy rights will be sent to new students in early August via their my.wheaton.edu email address.

Campus Housing for New and Returning Students

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 Sunday, August 21 through Tuesday, August 23 between the hours of 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Consideration for arrival without charge prior to August 21 is given only to continuing students who are sponsored by a faculty or staff member and who are required to participate in activities that 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
• Travel hardship

Siblings of new students or student leaders (charge is waived if it complies with our sibling arrival policy - contact Residence.Life@wheaton.edu for more details.)

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

Meal Plans

Meal plans begin with breakfast on Monday, August 22. If your student is not an athlete, or is not here for leadership training, meals may be purchased when the dining hall is open.

Check-In Process

1. Students will first move into their residence hall, complete the check-in paperwork and give it to their RA, then pick up their ID at the hall front desk. Students living in a campus apartment or house will go to Public Safety during their specific check-in time to get their ID.
2. Unpack and settle into housing.

CVC Advice: Use Handshake to search for part-time jobs and internships!

Is your student looking for a part-time job or internship for the fall semester? On-campus and local business job postings can be found on Wheaton’s virtual job board, Handshake. Encourage your student to log in with their Wheaton College log-in credentials and, if they haven’t yet set up their profile, it only takes a few steps to activate. First-year and transfer students will receive an email in early August with instructions for setting up their Handshake account.

Students can narrow their search for part-time jobs using Handshake’s search filters such as Location, Part-time, On-campus, Work study, Work authorization, and Industry. Most on-campus roles are posted by mid- to late-August and they fill up quickly! Don’t have your student wait to apply, especially if they have Federal Work Study funds.

Summer is also the perfect time for your student to prepare their resume for the schoolyear. Luckily, our career resources are available all summer long:

• Your student can schedule a 30-minute 1:1 virtual appointment to receive coaching on any topic from understanding their strengths and vocational interests, all the way to negotiating a job offer. Like all CVC resources, coaching appointments are free for students. Just have them log into their Handshake account with their Wheaton credentials and click on the “Career Center” tab to request an appointment.
• If your student has a quick question about their resume, cover letter, or how to search for a job or internship, they can drop by our virtual Drop-Ins Zoom room, open Monday-Friday from 1:00-4:00 pm Central Time.
• All our how-to resources are available online for students who want to take things at their own pace. Start reading our articles here.
• For all general questions, please email the CVC at cvc@wheaton.edu. 

A Note from Athletics

The Athletic Department looks forward to the upcoming 2022-23 Wheaton Athletics campaign.

Families of varsity student-athletes in 2022-23 should have received an email from the Wheaton Sports Medicine staff regarding insurance and other sports medicine-related information. If you did not receive the email or have questions, you can contact sports.medicine@wheaton.edu or athletics@wheaton.edu for more information.

Be sure to download the free Wheaton Athletics app on the Apple App Store or on Google Play. This app has access to notifications of results, news, stories and much more.

For complete information on Wheaton’s 21 varsity athletics teams, be sure to visit athletics.wheaton.edu for schedules, recaps, videos and much more. And follow Thunder Sports on Facebook (facebook.com/WheatonAthletics), Twitter (@Wheaton Thunder) or Instagram (@Wheaton_Thunder).

Thunder fans can watch many home events on the Wheaton Thunder Sports Network. Links to all broadcasts, both home and away, as well as livestats can be found on the Wheaton Athletics website once the season begins. 

For information on Wheaton’s club sports be sure to visit the club sports website.

How to Pray for Wheaton in July and August

• For incoming first-year and transfer students as they get ready for Wheaton Passage and the beginning of their time at Wheaton;
• For strength and perseverance as students finish internships, jobs, ministry trips, and study- abroad programs;
• For faculty and staff as they prepare for students to return to campus;
• For wisdom and discernment for President Ryken, the Trustees, and the Senior Administrative Cabinet as they guide the College through the 2022-23 academic year

With thanks for your involvement and prayers, 

The Wheaton College Parent Engagement Team