Residential living is a vital part of the educational experience at North Carolina Wesleyan University. The Residence Life staff is committed to creating a high‑quality living environment that supports student engagement, personal development, and academic success. Growth occurs through active participation in hall activities, where students learn to respect the rights and responsibilities of community living and develop the skills necessary to become responsible, contributing 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 64 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 Community Leaders, 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.

Professional staff members share responsibility for supervising the Resident Advisors and Community Leaders (undergraduate paraprofessional staff), supporting the living, and learning environment, while also assisting with emergencies, and conduct meetings, and completing a variety of administrative tasks. Resident Advisors (RAs) and Community Leaders (CLs) are carefully selected and trained student leaders who work directly with residents. They help students adjust to university life, navigate campus resources, mediate roommate concerns, communicate policies and campus events, plan educational and social programs, and maintain community standards by enforcing Residence Hall and the Villas at Wesleyan townhome Policies. RAs provide duty coverage in the residence halls from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. each night including weekends. In addition to nightly RA duty, Residence Life maintains professional staff duty coverage to support RAs, assist students, and respond to situations in collaboration with Security when needed.

The Residence Life program operates within the Division 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 for the department, serve as liaisons with custodial and maintenance teams, ensure health and safety standards within the halls, oversee the residence hall conduct system, and manage administrative processes such as room selection and community/individual damage billing. Both the Dean and Director maintain offices in the Student Affairs Office (Suite 111) in the Hardee’s Building, 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 their own personal schedule under certain conditions and limitations.

1. Personal schedules should not encroach upon the rights of other residents.
2. As a courtesy, each resident should notify (for emergency purposes only) their 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:

1. Have at least 60 credit hours and a minimum 2.75 GPA;
2. are married (copy of marriage certificate required);
3. are residing with a parent or guardian within 50 miles of the Rocky Mount campus (verified by address on file);
4. are 22 years of age or older (or will be by Aug. 31st of the relevant academic year); or
5. are considered an independent student by the Office of Financial Aid.

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. However, a Commuter Housing Waiver application must be completed each academic year. 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.), the Registrar’s Office will notify the Residence Life Office who will make a decision on the student’s residential status. Factors influencing this decision include the number of credit hours in which the student remains and behavioral concerns/conduct issues that may exist.

Students living in the residence halls are also expected to regularly attend all classes they are enrolled in. The Residence Life Office is notified via the University’s early alert system when class attendance becomes a concern. 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; however, students that are found to have missed more than 25% of their class meetings may be removed from housing without refund, at the discretion of the University. (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; 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 subsequent year by completing the housing application and participating in the room selection process by the announced deadline (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 via a group roster process which is offered prior to main campus room selection.

Requests for a particular roommate can be made through the roommate request process on the housing application 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 beginning in mid-June and then weekly thereafter. New students who have applied for housing and paid their deposit may request a particular roommate through the roommate request process on the housing application. Note that this request can only be honored if both students have mutually indicated this request and submitted each of their housing applications. New students who do not indicate a specific roommate are assigned based upon the personal lifestyle preferences indicated on the housing application. New students are typically assigned to Roberson and Petteway Halls but may also be assigned to other buildings if necessary.

Due to the fluctuations in the residential population, the University reserves the right to change the composition of its various residence halls. Every effort will be made to accommodate a resident’s request to move if the school needs to change the composition 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 desiring these halls should request such on the Housing Application and select 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.

Single occupants in double rooms will be assigned roommates as needed. This process is known as room consolidation. Students desiring to maintain the single room when capacity allows (double room as a single room) must confirm their acceptance of the additional charges in writing prior to approval of the change. The additional charge will be prorated (by week) based on the point in the term when the change is made.

All single rooms, including medical singles awarded as a medical accommodation, are billed at a higher rate on the student account.

I. Housing Agreement

Students’ signature on the housing application serves as their acknowledgement 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 agreement is binding until the end of the spring semester (Academic Year). The agreement may be shortened if the resident is in an academic program that ends before the contract expires.

J. Breach of Housing Agreement

The University’s refund policy can be found in the University Catalog. This policy also applies to housing charges. If the student officially moves into the room, but breaks the agreement during the semester by withdrawing from NCWU, the appropriate Area Coordinator must be notified and the resident must officially complete the check-out process.

1. It is the responsibility of the resident 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 their RA or Area Coordinator and properly check out.
2. If a resident moves out of their room without proper notification at any time or does not return to their room for the spring semester and has not contacted Residence Life to claim the room, staff will attempt to contact the resident. If the resident cannot be reached and does not check out, the resident will be charged for room and meals for the subsequent term.
3. If the University needs the room and the resident has failed to officially check out, the housing staff will make an effort to contact the resident. If the resident fails to officially check out and claim their personal belongings, the items will be discarded. There will be a minimum $50 charge for this service. Additionally, any damages noted will be charged to the resident’s account.

K. Personal Belongings

The University assumes no responsibility for the damage, theft, or loss of a student’s personal belongings, regardless of reason. Students are encouraged to ensure their belongings are protected by purchasing sufficient renter’s insurance coverage. There are also some homeowner policies that will cover a dependent student’s belongings in a residence hall. Students and parents should check with their insurance agent to ensure proper coverage.