INCOMING FAMILY NEWSLETTER |
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Hello, incoming families! |
Move in is coming very soon and we are excited to welcome you and your students to campus later this month.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to connect with Parent & Family Programs through our website, social media, and email. Throughout the year, we share updates and provide information about ways to get involved and stay engaged with the W&M Family.
Starting in September, we will switch to sending monthly newsletters to each Class (e.g., Class of 2025, Class of 2026) with relevant news from around campus. We love using our newsletters to keep families appraised of campus happenings relevant to your students.
Again, we cannot wait to have you on campus in a few weeks. If you have any questions before then, please reach out at families@wm.edu.
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S. Mark Sikes, Ph.D.
Vice Dean for Student Success
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August 21: Last day to pre-register for Parent & Family Orientation (see below)
August 25-26: New student residence hall move-in
August 26-27: Parent & Family Orientation
August 26-30: New Student Orientation
August 31: First day of classes and Convocation
September 5: Labor Day (classes cancelled)
September 12: Last day to add/drop
September 24-25: Family Weekend
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Register for Parent & Family Orientation
August 26 - August 27
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Welcome to the family! This is an exciting time and we are preparing now for your arrival in August. William & Mary views our relationship with you and your student as a partnership. Through this partnership, we seek to create the optimal support system for every student. Our relationship begins at Parent & Family Orientation where you will gain helpful information to support your student during the critical first year. |
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We are excited to share our Parent & Family Calendar for the 2022-2023 Academic Year! This calendar contains important academic dates, highlighted resources, and William & Mary
traditions.
We hope you will use this calendar as a resource to connect with your student and support their W&M experience.
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Parent & Family Resource Guide |
The William & Mary Parent & Family Resource Guide is designed to be an interactive overview of frequently referenced resources.
The digital pdf will be updated once per year and posted to our website for those who wish to print out our Resource Guide. The 2022-23 guide is available at the link below.
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Supporting Your Student Blog |
Check out our posts from the past academic year. More posts will continue to be shared throughout the next year! |
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Family Friday Webinar: Residence Life and Move-in
August 5, 2022 | 4-5 PM EST
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With move-in less than one month away, we invite you to join us this Friday to learn about the ways that Residence Life works to create student community and belonging through self-determination for all students. Bring your questions about move-in, residence halls, community building opportunities, and Resident Assistants. |
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Opening Convocation: August 31, 7pm |
Continuing a tradition that was reinaugurated during the university's tercentenary in 1993, William & Mary begins each fall with our Opening Convocation to celebrate the start of the academic session. Early in the evening on the first day of fall classes, faculty, staff and students gather at the Sir Christopher Wren Building to signify the beginning of the academic year and to officially welcome all of our entering William & Mary students. |
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For students wondering how to spend their first weekend at W&M, the Office of Student Transition Engagement Programs (STEP) has created a calendar of events that members of the campus and local community have shared with STEP that may be of interest to students as they begin to explore and engage in your surroundings. The calendar will continue to be updated over the next few weeks! |
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The W&M Counseling Center welcomes the Class of 2026! |
The William & Mary Counseling Center is aware of the adjustment issues many students experience as they start their college careers. We are here to support your students, whether they have experience with counseling services in the past or not. The Counseling Center offers different type of services including Initial Consultations, Individual Counseling, Group Therapy, Crisis intervention, Psychiatric services, Workshops on different topics, and Outreach Programming. We provide individual therapy on a short-term basis, offering sessions on an every-other week basis. Students who need longer-term therapy, weekly individual counseling, or specialized services, are referred to community therapists. Our Mental Health Services Coordinator is available to meet with students to facilitate the referral, taking into consideration insurance issues and clinical needs. Students can talk with a mental health professional after-hours and on weekends for urgent related needs by calling the Counseling Center’s number (757-221-3620). |
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Federal and state laws, as well as ethical practice guidelines, prohibit therapists from speaking with parents, professors, deans, friends, etc. about a student’s treatment without their written permission, except in very specific cases. Exceptions to confidentiality include: • Cases where a student may come to harm themselves without additional help. • Students disclose any abuse of a minor, elderly person, or person(s) that due to disabilities can’t protect themselves. • Records are subpoenaed by a judge. |
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Nod: A Workout for Your Social Life |
Joining the W&M community is an exciting transition and we can’t wait to welcome your student to campus! One of the biggest concerns new students express is making connections and authentic friendships in their new environment. Loneliness can be a significant factor contributing to student attrition, poor mental health, and substance abuse. To ease this transition, we’ve provided free access to the NOD app, a tool available to all students to strengthen social skill-sets. Download NOD in the App Store or Google Play, login with your W&M ID. |
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Tribe Card is the official form of identification for students, faculty and staff and an essential part of their life here on campus, providing access to meal plan, residence halls and more. Returning students should double check they have their Tribe Card before they return to campus. New students will receive their Tribe Card when they check in for housing. |
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W&M Dining: All Access Meal Plan |
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What is the All Access plan? Based on consistent feedback from students and research from peer institutions, the All Access plan has been developed to allow students more flexibility with how they use their meal plan. Students with All Access now have unlimited meal swipes for Commons and Sadler - want to swipe into Sadler for coffee and a muffin before class? Use a swipe. Need a banana from Commons before working out? Use a swipe. Do you eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day? There is no more need to budget your swipes throughout the week/semester.
The plan also introduces Griffin Deals which can be used at select retail locations to create your own meal combination. Students have two Griffin Meals per day which can be used for a variety of options at Marketplace, Tribe Truck, Student X-change, Tribe Market and Boehly Cafe. Additionally, All Access plans include $400 Dining Dollars to use at any dining location such as Daily Grind, Chick-fil-A, Bake Shop and more.
Please note - Freshman and Sophomores registered for on-campus housing are automatically enrolled in the All Access plan and no further action is required on their part.
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To commemorate this exciting time, we are pleased to offer "Class of 2026" gear through our online store.
Gear selected for "pick-up" can be picked up at select times during Family Orientation.
A limited quantity is available while supplies still last.
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Download the W&M Mobile App |
William & Mary offers a convenient app that allows you to access essential information anywhere, anytime on your mobile device – available for iOS, Android and mobile web. W&M Mobile provides a variety of campus information and services for the university community. The W&M mobile app will also prove extremely helpful for you and your student when they arrive on campus this fall, with quick links to access their course schedule, grades, and emergency notifications.
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Parent & Family Programs on Social Media |
We want parents and families to have all of the resources necessary for their William & Mary experience to be as enriching and rewarding as possible.
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Parents, grandparents and others play a key role in providing all students with the academic and personal tools that allow them to flourish. You may have been active in your student’s PTA programs throughout their childhood or provided all those “extras” for teams, scouts, dance and more. While family engagement is less hands-on in college, your support remains equally important. Among the ways you can serve William & Mary students is your annual gift to the Parents Fund which advances William & Mary’s mission to prepare students to learn, lead, and live with integrity and purpose. The Parents Fund is an unrestricted annual fund that supports the university broadly and initiatives within five key areas:
• Campus Living – Residence Life and orientation programming
• Career Development & Professional Engagement – internships, workshops, and trips
• Health & Wellness – Counseling Center, Health Center, Campus Recreation
• Student Engagement & Leadership – student clubs and organizations, leadership development, community service
• Student Success – TutorZone, Student Accessibility Services, Center for Student Diversity
Thanks to the Parents Fund, the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement helps students navigate their next steps into the professional world – a pillar of Vision 2026. Your gifts to the Parents Fund provide students essential job, internship, and professional workshop opportunities, along with personalized guidance. Also thanks to the Parents Fund, a Counseling Center clinician is always available to students via phone. Students can access 24/7 tele-therapy by calling (757) 221-3620. This simply would not be possible without the Parents Fund.
As you prepare for the new academic year, please plan to make your annual gift to the Parents Fund and thank you for all the many ways you support your student and their peers.
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P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
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