Residential living is an important part of the overall educational experience at North Carolina Wesleyan University. The Residence Life staff strives to provide a quality living environment which enhances student engagement and learning. Such growth comes through active participation in hall activities which allow students to become more aware and respectful of the rights and responsibilities of community living and ultimately educate students on being good citizens.
A. Residential Living and Staff
The University has eight residence halls on campus as well as an off-campus townhome community. Petteway, Roberson, Pash, Collins, Boddie, Jin, Bradley, and Taylor Halls are located on the main campus. The Villas at Wesleyan townhomes are located across from the back of campus on Calloway Drive. Petteway, Collins, Roberson, and Pash house approximately 120 students each in double rooms. Boddie, Jin, Bradley and Taylor Halls house approximately 40 students each in single rooms. The Villas at Wesleyan house 80 students in a combination of single and double rooms. All of these communities are supervised by a team of professional live-in staff members and trained undergraduate paraprofessional staff members. All residence halls are drug, alcohol and tobacco-free. In an effort to provide a safe environment for all students, the University maintains the right to search the student’s room and its contents, as well as any vehicle a student brings to campus for health and safety violations, including violations of the Code of Student Conduct.
Professional live-in staff members include Area Coordinators (AC) who are supervised by a live-in Director of Residence Life. These professionals carry leadership roles for the overall department while also supervising the Resident Advisors (undergraduate paraprofessional staff members) and Desk Attendants (Federal Work Study student employees), facilitating physical and programmatic needs for the living and learning environment, and assisting with conduct meetings. They each have an office adjacent to the first-floor lobbies in the building where they live (Collins, Roberson, and Petteway Hall, respectively). Throughout the remainder of this section these staff members will be referred to as ACs.
These professionals share supervision of the Resident Advisors (undergraduate paraprofessional staff members), aid in facilitating the living and learning environment, assist in conduct meetings and perform a variety of administrative tasks. The Resident Advisors (RAs) are students who have been carefully selected and trained to work directly with students. RAs assist students in adjusting to University life and navigating the variety of campus resources available, mediate roommate concerns, inform students about campus policies and events, plan educational and social programs and provide a general sense of order to the floor communities by enforcing the Residence Hall Policies. RAs are on duty in the residence halls from 8:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m. In addition to having RAs on duty each night and throughout weekends, Residence Life also provides professional duty coverage to serve as backup to the RAs as well as to be available to assist students or Security as needed.
The Residence Life program is part of Student Affairs and is coordinated by the Dean of Students. The Dean directly supervises the Director of Residence life. Together, the Dean and Director provide leadership to the Residence Life department and serve as liaisons with custodial and maintenance personnel, ensure proper health and safety standards of the halls, oversee the residence hall conduct system and direct the administrative functions of room selection and community/individual damage billing processes. The Dean and Director both have offices within the Student Affairs Office (Suite 111) in the Hardee’s Building, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
B. Freedom and Responsibility
Each resident has the freedom and responsibility to determine his/her own personal schedule under certain conditions and limitations.
- Personal schedules should not encroach upon the rights of other residents.
- As a courtesy, each resident should notify (for emergency purposes only) his/her roommate, AC, or RA when he/she plans to remain out of the hall overnight or over the weekend. This notification may be made via a roommate or another resident.
C. Residency Requirements & Housing Contract
In order to have the full educational experience while attending Wesleyan, all full-time students must live in the residence halls and maintain a residential meal plan unless they meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Have at least 60 credit hours and a minimum 2.75 GPA;
- are married (copy of marriage certificate required);
- are residing with a parent or guardian within 50 miles of the main campus;
- are 22 years of age or older (or will be by Aug. 31st of the relevant academic year); or
- are considered an independent student by the Office of Financial Aid.
In order for students to be eligible to move off campus, they must satisfy one of the above requirements and contact the Director of Residence Life during the announced housing application period in the spring term. They will be issued a housing requirement waiver to be completed and approved. Students should not sign a lease until they receive the email indicating their request to live off campus has been approved. Having signed a lease is not a qualification to be approved. A student would then be responsible for the campus housing charges and the lease, or would need to break the off-campus lease. These would be at the expense of the student.
Late requests made after the end of the announced period are unlikely to be considered. Any student who submits a Housing Application requesting campus housing but later seeks to be approved to live off campus instead is unlikely to be approved as NCWU’s occupancy planning is based on the number of campus housing applications received. The Housing Application serves as the binding Housing Contract for the entire academic year once it is submitted. Requests to live off campus after a student has moved in will not be considered (this includes requests to move off campus in the middle of the academic year for the spring semester).
Traditional program students admitted to NCWU for the first time or those being readmitted must complete a housing application OR request permission to waive the housing requirement (live off campus). Decisions are made typically in June and July, for the fall semester, and November and December for the spring semester.
Once a student has received permission to live off campus, this permission is granted for duration of their continuous enrollment at the University. If a student leaves NC Wesleyan and is later re-admitted, they must apply again for permission to live off campus.
Graduate Housing
North Carolina Wesleyan has limited campus housing options for graduate students offered on a case-by-case basis. Options for fall housing will be offered no earlier than July 15th. Location of residence options will vary by term.
The Director of Residence Life will coordinate and communicate all move-in and move-out dates based on housing term. Housing will be available during all breaks during the academic year for graduate students; graduate students are not required to move out during extended breaks—including winter break between terms. Students cannot leave items in the graduate housing assignment over the summer if they are not actively working or enrolled in classes, even if they are returning for the fall semester. Students must commit to a housing agreement on a semester-long basis. Should a student not meet academic eligibility requirements between A and B sub-terms resulting in suspension or expulsion, the student must vacate campus housing and will still be responsible for the financial obligation of a semester-long housing contract.
All campus living expectations/policies apply, including those found in the Student Handbook and Terms and Conditions of Residence Hall Living (both documents found on the University’s website).
D. Enrollment & Attendance Requirements
Campus housing is only available to full-time students. If a resident falls below full-time status (<12 credit hrs.), he/she must submit the Full-Time Status Waiver Request Form to a member of the Residence Life professional staff within 48 hours of this change to appeal for permission to remain in the residence halls. Residents with less than 12 credit hours who have discipline issues may be required to move off campus.
Students living in the residence halls are also expected to regularly attend all classes they are enrolled in. Frequently, names of those failing to attend are brought to the attention of the Residence Life staff by concerned faculty members and academic advisors. In these situations, the Residence Life staff makes every attempt to meet with students and assist them with any personal or institutional issues that may be negatively impacting their attendance (directly or by providing resources/referrals). When resident students continue a longstanding pattern of class absence, their case is referred to Dean of Students (or) Director of Residence Life for further evaluation. Each case is unique and is considered individually but, typically, students that are found to have missed more than 25% of their class meetings may be removed from housing. (Official University-excused absences for athletic participation, and other purposes will be taken into consideration.)
E. Occupancy Requirements
Students assigned to a room are expected to occupy their assigned space at least 50% of the time. If staff finds that a student is not meeting this expectation, NC Wesleyan has the right to require the resident to move out without a refund of charges.
F. Housing Applications
Students enrolled in the traditional program must submit a completed housing application. The application inquiries into the resident’s preferences so that appropriate accommodations and roommate matches can be made. The housing application also serves as the housing contract in that once a student signs and submits this, they are contractually bound to all charges and policies related to Residence Life for the academic year specified on the form.
G. Room Assignments
Returning residents may reserve a room for the next year by completing the housing application and participating in the room selection process by the announced deadline/individual appointment time assigned (typically, in late March/early April). While there is no guarantee that such requests will be granted, they will be honored whenever possible. Returning residents are eligible to sign up for Pash, Collins, Boddie, Bradley, Jin, or Taylor. They can also compete for space in the Villas at Wesleyan townhomes during that community’s group application process which is offered annually in March.
Requests for a particular roommate can be made, through the roommate request process on the housing page on the student portal. Roommates will be assigned to returning residents based upon mutual requests. All rooms are offered on a first-come, first-served basis during the room selection process. New residents are assigned to rooms based on the date that the enrollment deposit and housing application are received. New students who have applied for housing and paid their deposit may request a particular roommate through the roommate request process on the housing page. Note that this request can only be honored if both students have mutually indicated this request and submitted each of their housing applications. Typically, new students are randomly assigned based upon the personal information/lifestyle
preferences indicated on the housing application. New students will first be assigned to Roberson and Petteway Halls but may also be assigned to other buildings if capacity has been exceeded in those buildings.
Due to the fluctuations in the residential population, the University reserves the right to change the composition of its various residence halls. The format of the residence halls (i.e. all freshmen, upperclassmen, all female) will remain the same as the previous year unless it is necessary for the University to make modifications to accommodate more students and/or a significant change in a particular residential population. Every effort will be made to accommodate a resident’s request to move if the school needs to change the format of the halls. Additionally, the University reserves the right to change individual room placements as needed and contract with off-campus partners (hotels, etc.) when student demand for housing has exceeded the capacity of the residence halls.
H. Single/Private Rooms
Boddie, Bradley, Jin and Taylor Halls are configured as single rooms. Returning students should request rooms in these halls on the Housing Application and submit them during the room selection process; students with the highest academic seniority and grade point averages will be given first opportunity to reserve these rooms. A limited number of single rooms will be held out of the room selection process for anticipated new transfer students that have deposited by March 1st and are expected to transfer in 60 or more credit hours. Additional single room assignments will be made during the summer and any other time a single room becomes available
Single occupants in double rooms will be assigned roommates as needed. This process is known as room consolidation. Students changing their residential status (double to single) must confirm their acceptance of the additional charges in writing prior to approval of the change. Depending on when the resident makes the change, the additional charge will be prorated. The prorated rate is based on:
- 100% charge between the 1st & 4th week of the residence halls being open
- 75% charge between the 5th & 8th week
- 50% charge between 9th & 12th week
All single rooms, including medical singles, are billed at a higher rate on students’ accounts.
I. Housing Contract
Students’ signature on the housing application serves as their acknowledgment of and agreement to all fees and policies related to Residence Life as outlined in the Student Handbook and the Terms and Conditions of Residence Hall Living. This contract is binding until the end of the spring semester (Academic Year). The contract may be shortened if the resident is in an academic program that ends before the contract expires.
J. Breach of Housing Contract
The University’s refund policy can be found in the University Catalog. This policy also applies to housing charges. If the student officially moves in, but he/she decides to break the contract during the semester by withdrawing from NCWU, the appropriate Area Coordinator must be notified and the resident must officially go through the check-out process.
- It is the responsibility of the residents to inform the Area Coordinator if they are not returning for the next semester or term. It is also their responsibility to arrange for a check-out time with his/her RA or Area Coordinator and properly check out.
- If a resident moves out of his/her room without proper notification at any time or does not return to his/her room for the spring semester and has not contacted Residence Life to claim the room, staff will attempt to contact the resident. An email will be sent to the resident’s official University email account and a courtesy call will be made to the resident’s permanent home address. The purpose is to check on the well-being of the resident and determine if he/she will be returning to the residence hall. If the resident cannot be reached the resident will continue to be charged until he/she officially checks out of the room.
- If the University needs the room and the resident has failed to officially checkout, the housing staff will make another effort to contact the resident. If the resident fails to officially checkout and claim his/her personal belongings within 7 working days, the items will be donated to charity. There will be a minimum $50 charge for this service.
- Once the resident has officially checked out or his/her items have been stored, no additional room charges will be assessed to the resident (except those as mandated by the University’s refund policy). The exception to this is if there are room and/or common area damages. These damage charges will be placed on the student’s account.
