Welcome to Wes!

Transition to College

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College life can be exciting, but it will differ significantly from your past experiences. New environments, new friends, new classes, new ideas, new experiences are yours for the taking.  And there is familiarity with being a student since that’s what you’ve been doing for most of your life. At the same time, you may need to adapt your study habits to fit into a less structured and more demanding academic environment. And you may be living on your own for the first time, responsible for everything from getting up on time for class to doing your own laundry to budgeting your money. A few suggestions for managing the transition in the weeks ahead:

  • Talk with friends and family members who have recently attended college about their experiences transitioning to campus life — the challenges, the joys, the things they wish they knew starting out. You may be able to glean some words of wisdom!
  • Make a plan with your parents/guardians for how frequently you will talk and email. Strive for regular, but not daily, contact. It will help you concentrate on adjusting to Wesleyan while still reducing the likelihood of feeling homesick.
  • Once on campus, seek out opportunities to get involved in one or two activities outside the classroom. Focus on quality, not quantity. You have plenty of time over the next four years to try out everything! Visit WesNest, the campus student groups website, if you want to get a head start on this.
  • Being a college student does not have to equal being unhealthy. Strive for balanced eating habits, a regular sleep pattern and a manageable workload.
  • Keep up your exercise routine. Physical activity greatly helps with reducing stress levels and with mental acuity.
  • Ask for help if you need it academically or personally. We want to help you succeed!

Welcome from the Office of Residential Life!

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Working in partnership with students and collaboratively with other members of the Wesleyan Community, the Office of Residential Life strives to provide a safe and supportive residential environment that complements and extends the educational experience of students. Student-centered programs and services are developed and implemented with an emphasis on holistic individual and community development, student leadership, individual responsibility, advocacy of academic inquiry, and freedom of thought, opinion and expression in the spirit of mutual respect. These are the hallmarks of the Wesleyan residential experience, and provide the essential foundation for a quality liberal arts education within a diverse and dynamic community. 

You can make a difference! The residential halls, apartments, and houses of Wesleyan University are places where we celebrate the uniqueness and dignity inherent in each one of us, no matter our race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, class, ability, or age.

From fall arrival day to the last day of spring exams, you will find our campus residences filled with curiosity, excitement, and lessons that will stay with you far beyond your four years here. Our student staff of Resident Advisors (RAs) live in the halls and are trained to support the first year class. They can offer guidance on classes, making friends, help with late night lock-outs, and everything in between. Maybe you want to host a poetry reading in Writer’s Block, or a crafts night in WestCo, or can’t wait to hit the volleyball court outside of Bennet; perhaps you are looking forward to a picnic in the Butterfields quad, or playing pool in 200 Church – our office is here to help make Wes your home away from home.

To learn more about our office, please visit our website. Class of 2025, we look forward to meeting you!

Becoming a Student Employee at Wes

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Are you interested in working while studying at Wesleyan?  If yes, please read on for important information on becoming eligible to work. 

If you are an F-1 International student or a non-US citizen, please go to 

WesPortal > Campus Applications > Documents Required for non-US Citizens

For all students who are citizens of the United States, please go to

WesPortal > My Information > Benefits, HR & Payroll Forms

  • Complete Section 1 of the  I-9 Form, sign, and date the form.
  • Make copies of the ID(s) needed to validate your eligibility to work (see pg 3 of the I-9 form). Be sure you have the original(s) on campus with you! 
  • Go to WesPortal > My Information > Payroll Help and attach your completed I-9 form and the copies of your ID(s) by clicking on the paperclip (Add attachments) at the bottom right of the Payroll Help form. 
  • Watch out for an email from Payroll Services, our Payroll Help ticketing system, with instructions on how to make an appointment with the Payroll department. You cannot work until you present your original ID(s) at this appointment. Be sure to bring them with you because electronic copies/pictures are not valid! 

We encourage you to review the Student Employment website for more information about job opportunities on campus.

Any Payroll related inquiries should be submitted to Payroll Help via WesPortal. You may also contact Payroll at payrollhelp@wesleyan.edu.

Payroll Staff 

Notes from International Student Orientation

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The ISO Registration Form will be live next week on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. You can access it on your Wesportal and the deadline to fill it out is Thursday, July 15, 2021.

We want to remind you to sign up for the International Buddy Program. The sign up form is due on Sunday, June 20, 2021.

Follow the OISA Facebook Page for more communications and content to enjoy over the summer!

Questions? Have a Chat with the Class Dean!

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You will receive a wealth of information over the course of the summer through weekly newsletters and blog posts, but you’re more than welcome to meet with me to discuss specific questions you have about transitioning to Wesleyan in the fall. Feel free to schedule a 15-minute Zoom meeting or a phone call through my Google calendar. You may use your new Wesleyan login credentials to sign up for one of the available time slots.

I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Dean Leathers

Summer 2021 Course Request Form

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Registration for summer FYS courses begins tomorrow! The Summer Course Request Form will will be available starting at 8:30am, EST. Courses will take place from Tuesday, July 6 through Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Fourteen First-Year Seminars (FYS) are being offered in addition to one lecture course. Check out more information about summer course offerings for the Class of 2025. 

Use the form to indicate your ranked preferences for the courses in which you would like to enroll.  We will do our best to place every student in a course, but due to space limitations we cannot guarantee placement. Every student who submits course preferences during this time period will have an equal chance of getting scheduled into a class. To access the form, navigate to:

WesPortal>Student Information>New Student Tasks>Summer Course Request Form

The form must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 21. You may return to the form anytime to adjust your rankings until the deadline. Students will be notified of their final course schedule by Monday, June 28.

No additional tuition will be charged for enrolling in a summer course; the cost is included in the regular academic year tuition fee. [Note that this program for the incoming class is entirely separate from Wesleyan’s Summer Session, which offers courses every summer with a tuition cost.] The course will be added to your academic history and applied towards the 32.00 credits required for graduation when you matriculate as a full-time student in the Fall.

Incoming first-year students are not required to take a summer FYS course. It’s an opportunity to get acclimated to academic life at Wesleyan, but we also realize some students may need a break and/or have competing obligations. We encourage you to take an FYS course in the fall or spring semester of this upcoming year if you decide not to pursue one this summer. You may check out FYS course offerings for the academic year through WesMaps.

If you have any questions, please contact Tanesha Leathers, Dean for the Class of 2025, at classdean2025@wesleyan.edu.

WesPortal and the New Student Checklist

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Black, white, and red image of WesPortal New Student Checklist; Listing of New Student Resources
The New Student Checklist on WesPortal

By now you should have received an email with information about your WesID, username, and login credentials, which will give you access to your Wesleyan email and WesPortal accounts.  WesPortal is your gateway to online tools, information, and resources related to all aspects of your Wesleyan experience.  WesPortal provides access to your academic history, general education report, and course schedule; WesPortal is used to pre-register for courses and apply for study abroad; WesPortal provides student account balance information, and is a place where you can update your personal profile and emergency contact information.  If you haven’t activated your WesPortal login credentials yet, you should do so as soon as possible.

This summer, when you login to WesPortal, you should make a point of frequently checking the New Student Checklist.  The checklist will keep you informed of required upcoming tasks and deadlines that are a necessary part of the process of becoming a Wesleyan student, including submission of the Academic Interest Questionnaire, taking placement tests for math and foreign languages, submitting health forms required by the State of Connecticut, and uploading a photo of yourself for your WesID card. In July you will be using WesPortal to pre-register for Fall courses and indicate your First-Year Seminar preferences.

Watch this helpful training video for more information on how to use WesPortal!

To-Do List

Here is a list of action-items that I recommend you complete before you arrive on campus.  Please be aware that some of these forms may have hard deadlines listed as well. Review your New Student Checklist in WesPortal early and often so you don’t miss any important dates!

  • Requesting Accommodations
  • Building Connections
    • Okay, let’s take a breather, the first four agenda items were a lot! If you have any questions and aren’t sure who to ask, then that’s what the Academic Peer Advisors (APAs) are here for! 
    • Besides faculty and staff, your peers are one of the best resources out there; take a look at the Academic Peer Advisor bios so you can start building more connections!

Important Information for International Students from Your Orientation Interns

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Congratulations Class of 2025!!!

We are your Orientation Interns and we will be working with you to ensure that you are feeling excited and prepared for your first year at Wes! If you have any questions specific to Orientation or student life, feel free to contact us at Orientation@wesleyan.edu. We are currently working remotely from our homes, but will be back on campus in July!  We will be sharing more information on the Orientation Program at that time.  We can’t wait to meet you and learn more about you! If you are interested in learning a bit about us, watch our Meet the Interns video introducing ourselves and parts of campus to you! You can also read more about us and the Orientation Leaders on the Orientation Program Website.

Some important information for international students:

  • Sign up for the International Buddy Program! The sign up form is due by Sunday, June 20 at 11:59 PM EST.
  • Tune in and watch Episode 1 and Episode 2 of our new video series titled “My Wesleyan Journey” that showcases personal, academic, and social experiences of returning international students at Wes! New episodes will be released on a weekly basis on our Facebook page.  
  • Follow the OISA Facebook page for general information, advice, pre-departure orientation sessions, and future videos of the My Wesleyan Journey.
  • Visit the OISA ISO webpage for more information.
  • Questions on immigration and paperwork: oisa@wesleyan.edu 
  • Questions exclusively about ISO (including travel arrangements): iso@wesleyan.edu 

Enjoy your summer and GO WES!
Follow us on Instagram @ wes.orientation

New Student Orientation Interns
Chaiyeon Lee ‘22
Olu Oladitan ‘24
Jose Pagan ‘22
Jade Monique Tate ‘22
orientation@wesleyan.edu

International Student Orientation Intern
Fatoumata Gaye ‘24
iso@wesleyan.edu

Welcome to Wes from Your Class Dean!

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Dear Class of 2025,

Photo of the Dean for the Class of 2025: a smiling woman in a black and white-patterned sweater.
Dr. Tanesha A. Leathers

Let me start with an introduction: my name is Dr. Tanesha Leathers, and I’m excited to serve as your class dean! During my academic and professional career, I’ve been a Pioneer, Eph, Terp, Blue Jay, and now a Cardinal. There are a few other key things you need to know about me, apart from the fact I come to you with over 20 years of experience in higher education. The following are in no particular order:

  • There’s nothing like a New York slice, and I’ve met few cupcakes (or other carbs for that matter) I didn’t like.
  • Sadly, I still root for the Mets, Jets, and Knicks, but don’t judge me if I go to a Nets game sometime in the future.
  • I love to bake and create all manner of things, and I believe laughter is the best medicine for much of what ails us.
  •  I’m happy to wax (not so poetically) about a host of random things.
  •  And, I would love to get to know more about you!

My life’s journey began in Queens, New York, where I was born and raised. I attended public schools for my primary and secondary education, and found myself in the Purple Valley to earn a degree in anthropology at Williams College. I worked in campus life for The Sage Colleges in upstate New York and at my alma mater before I began graduate work at the University of Maryland, College Park, where I earned my doctorate in American Studies. My doctoral work focused on parenting as activism in Baltimore, Maryland and the revolutionary potential of Black love. I’ve had the pleasure of working in residence life and advising at the University of Maryland and as an assistant program manager within the Summer Programs unit of the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. (Here’s a shout out to any incoming student who went through CTY’s programs at Santa Cruz, CA or Chestertown, MD.)

As a class dean, I spend much of my time advising students – discussing academic, social, and personal challenges and how to achieve personal goals. I work with individual students, professors, parents, and other Wesleyan staff to support students in their pursuit of a positive learning experience.

I provide guidance and support to all students in the Class of 2025. I’m a source of information on academic standing, choosing a major, graduation requirements, university policies and procedures, and opportunities and resources available at the university and in the surrounding Middletown community. I may not be aware of every resource that can help my students, but I’m committed to learning about new things that can genuinely support students in my class.

The class dean model enables me to get to know the whole student during their four years here. You don’t attend a university like Wesleyan just to take classes and earn a degree, though that pursuit is paramount. Part of the draw of a place like Wesleyan is to engage with amazing members of our community inside and outside of the classroom, and to embrace the concept of lifelong learning.

Wesleyan has so much in store for you and your classmates, and let me be the first in a long line of people to encourage you on this amazing journey. I look forward to welcoming you to campus this fall, but don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of any help to you before your arrival.

Enjoy your summer break!

Dean Leathers

classdean2025@wesleyan.edu