Month: June 2021

Welcome from Student Academic Resources (SAR)!

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Student Academic Resources (SAR) provides academic support and resource information for all students on campus. In addition to providing direct academic support, the office coordinates the Deans’ Peer Tutoring Program and Accessibility Services. Dean Laura Patey and Crystal Rose Hill-Farrell can assist students in developing academic skills or connecting with other resources on campus.

Additionally, the Peer Technology Specialists are available to meet with students to provide technology consultations and training on the numerous digital tools and technologies available to Wesleyan students, which can increase productivity and learning. Students who believe that they would benefit from academic support, are interested in learning more about the digital tools available, or have questions about Wesleyan’s academic resources, are encouraged to contact SAR anytime!

What Do Academic Peer Advisors (APAs) Do?

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This post serves to introduce you to Wesleyan’s Academic Peer Advisors (APAs), students who work under the umbrella of the Office of Student Academic Resources to enhance students’ access to academic resources and promote their academic success.

APAs are here to serve as a resource to all Wesleyan students and available to address any concerns you may have, ranging from queries about course selection to questions about getting involved on campus! Over the summer, we are available to answer your questions via email (peeradvisors@wesleyan.edu). Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

During NSO, which will be taking place mostly virtually before arriving on campus, APAs will focus on helping students plan and schedule their fall semester courses. We are part of a large network of academic support that you will be able to access once on campus, which includes pre-major advisors and deans.

Throughout the entire academic year, we will continue meeting with students individually as well as hosting group workshops. We are as available as students want us to be, whether you’d like to meet once a week, once a semester, or once a year! Also, we are always extra available during the Pre-Registration and Drop/Add periods of each semester, and you will see us work in conjunction with other offices on campus.

In our one-on-one meetings with students, we help with various academic skills like time management, organization, study strategies, and reading or note-taking, as well as with course registration, major planning, and a variety of other academics-related skills and topics.

The APAs are here to enhance your access to academic resources and help you reach your academic goals at Wesleyan. All of our bios are posted on the website (with our emails), so if you read through them and think that you would connect well with a certain peer advisor, feel free to reach out to them directly. Otherwise, as we said before, we are available at peeradvisors@wesleyan.edu to answer any and all of your questions that you might have — please do not hesitate to reach out!

While this was just a quick overview of our roles on campus, we are happy to help with whatever we can. We look forward to working with you, and welcome to Wesleyan!

Required Documentation for International F-1 and Non-US Citizen Students

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All incoming F-1 international and Non-U.S. Citizen students must complete the appropriate process to become enrolled as payees at Wesleyan.

Visit the following path on WesPortal and follow the instructions provided to become a payee:

WesPortal>Campus Applications>Documents Required by Non-US Citizens-Undergrad

Note: You must complete this documentation process regardless of whether you plan to work on campus.

Please contact Christine Rodrigue, in International Compensation and Taxation, at ict@wesleyan.edu with any questions. 

Do You Think You’ll Want to Go Abroad?

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Wesleyan considers study abroad to be an essential part of a liberal arts education for students majoring in any subject. And while we are uncertain as to all of the programs that may be available at the time you may wish to go abroad for academic study, you still have an opportunity to plan based on your current interests. It might seem really far off, but many of the non-English speaking programs require 2 or more years of language, so if you want to go abroad during junior year, you should consider taking the language for the country you want to study in your first year.

Note that many languages require that you begin a language during fall semesters. We encourage you to explore existing study abroad programs, and you may contact studyabroad@wesleyan.edu with any questions that come up.

Thinking about the 3-Year Option

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Are you interested in possibly saving 20 percent or more of the total cost of your Wesleyan education?

It takes hard work and careful planning to graduate in three years, but the reward is a significant reduction in the cost of the degree and a head start on life post-Wesleyan. While the Three-Year Option is not for everyone, this more economical path to graduation may be of genuine interest to students who are willing to earn extra credit during winter or summer sessions, or during the academic year.

There are many ways to navigate the Three-Year Option, but all pathways require a carefully thought out plan for completing one’s major and earning the 8.00 additional credits that are needed to reach 32.00 credits by the end of the sixth semester.

If you are seriously thinking about pursuing the Three-Year Option, please schedule an appointment with Dean David Phillips as soon as possible. Dean Phillips will review your academic record and help you design a personalized plan for navigating the next three years, tailored to your educational goals.

Contact Dean Phillips at dphillips@wesleyan.edu to schedule an appointment.

Free Coursera Course for New International Students at Wes: Academia, Culture and Campus Life – Opens 7/1

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International students can enroll in Academia, Culture and Campus Life: What to Expect at Wes starting on July 1st. This five-week course will be offered for free on Coursera. It introduces you to people that work with and resources for international students, shows you around campus, talks about academic life at Wesleyan, and gives you an opportunity to meet each other. You can find more information about the course on the OISA Facebook page. 
https://www.facebook.com/WesleyanOISA

Placement Tests at Wes

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All new students who are interested in taking math or language courses should take the appropriate placement exams by July 6.  To access the exams, go to

WesPortal > New Student Checklist & Resources > Placement Tests

You will then be redirected to Moodle, where you can choose the exams you wish to take.

This video on placement tests from Rubye Peyser, former Academic Peer Advisor, offers some helpful advice on the placement exam process.

Submit Your Academic Interest Questionnaire by 7/6

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Please submit the Academic Interest Questionnaire (AIQ) by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6.

WesPortal > New Student Checklist & Resources > Academic Interest Questionnaire

The information you provide will help us assign you to a faculty advisor, and will also provide valuable information about your academic interests to your class dean.

Based upon your responses, we will do our best to assign you to a faculty advisor who shares an academic interest with you, or who will be teaching one of your courses in the Fall. If you have any questions, please contact Dean Leathers.

Preferred Names and Pronouns

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Some members of the Wesleyan community are known by a name that is different from their legal name. Students who wish to be identified by a preferred name can enter that name in the Personal Information section of their WesPortal. You may access more information about preferred names through the Registrar’s Office. In the same section of WesPortal there is also an option to input your personal pronouns.

Notes from International Student Orientation – 6/18

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The ISO Registration form is live since Wednesday, June 16, 2021. The deadline to fill it out is Thursday, July 15, 2021. You can find the form on your WesPortal under your checklist. If you have any questions, email them to iso@wesleyan.edu.

We have extended the registration for the International Buddy Program from Sunday, June 20, 2021 to Sunday, June 27, 2021. Please make sure to fill out the sign up form so you can be matched with current international students who can help answer all your questions about the Wesleyan experience.