Layers of Support

A healthy forest has strong roots.

The residential commons model meets students where they are with support, encouragement and guidance. From day one, every student automatically belongs to a residential community within the broader Wake Forest community. Within each residence hall, we have created smaller groups designed to connect students to each other, to residential and academic advisers, to Faculty Fellows and to the many resources available to them as they navigate their new university. 

Any successful relationship requires effort, intention and communication to be a 2-way street. The goal of establishing deeper connections between students and their Wake Forest experience extends beyond support and into the personal empowerment necessary for each student to write their own story. 

Residence Halls and RAs

Wake Forest’s residence halls are a place for our students to call their own. Here, they will meet peers and build relationships through events, gatherings and shared spaces intentionally designed for them to establish a real sense of community. This is also a setting where they will begin to know and understand the many layers of support available to all. 

  • Resident advisers are undergraduate student leaders responsible for building a sense of community, connecting students to each other, and the resources available to help them.
  • All students will be assigned to a wing or hall within a larger residential community.

Academic Advisers and Academic Advising Group

Everyone will navigate the beginning of their college experience with guidance and support, and each student belongs to an academic advising group that will share this experience together. This will also be a setting where academic advisers frequently augment more formal, office-related interactions with an informal presence that encourages the building of lasting faculty-student relationships. 

  • Students will be assigned to a core cohort of students, typically all residing within the same hall.
  • This cohort will attend first-year activities and events together. 
  • Here, academic advisers and student advisers are available within an informal setting to increase approachability and facilitate relationship-building. 

Faculty Fellows

Strong student-faculty relationships are a cornerstone of the Wake Forest experience. Faculty Fellows are faculty members affiliated with each residence hall to foster engagement, to support and advise students, and to create experiences designed to connect residential communities. 

  • Faculty Fellows spend time each week in the residence halls, supporting students in a variety of ways. 
  • Faculty Fellows represent a range of academic disciplines, ultimately exposing students to many academic fields.
  • They will host events, trips and other activities designed to bring students together.
  • A strong and positive relationship with faculty will increase the comfort students feel when approaching course faculty for help or guidance.