Dear Parents and Families of the Class of 2028,
Believe it or not, here we are...a year later. Ready for round two? Across campus offices are abuzz preparing for the arrival of our new and returning students. University Housing opens for returning
students at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 5 and classes begin Monday, September 8. For your
information, Fall Break takes place from the end of the day on Friday, October 17 through Tuesday
October 21. Wesleyan will host Homecoming/Family Weekend from Friday, October 24 through
Sunday, October 26. Please remind your student not to finalize travel plans for Fall Break or the end of
the semester until they have consulted with professors about the timing of midterm or final exams. For
more important dates, be sure to consult the academic calendar.
The sophomore year is an interesting time for college students. Though no longer new to the college
experience, there is still much for sophomores to learn as they continue to develop their college identity.
Students will soon settle into the routines of campus life and make preparations for the major
declaration process, which takes place in early spring for students who will be in their 4th semester.
Declaring a major means finding an academic home and exploring more deeply a field of intellectual
interest. While some students have known what they want to major in since high school, others seem to
change their minds every other month. Beginning this fall semester, Wesleyan will host a series of
department open houses for sophomores to meet with faculty to learn about the academic requirements
and curricular pathways for each major. I am also planning an event early this fall for the class focused
on things to consider when declaring a major. Please ask your student to keep an eye out for the
invitation!
I truly hope your student is making plans to studying abroad, typically during their junior year; they
should begin exploring options and researching program requirements as soon as possible as some study abroad programs for the fall of 2026 have early spring application deadlines. Regardless of major,
Wesleyan encourages a semester outside of the county and believes immersion in a foreign culture is a
transformative personal experience that can resonate in a student’s intellectual work in profound and
unexpected ways. While knowledge of a foreign language is required for some programs, there are other
programs for which English alone is sufficient. Please encourage your student to visit the Study Abroad
Office to learn more.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. If you plan to attend Homecoming/Family
Weekend, I hope to see you there when the class deans will have a pane session for questions and
answers. Be sure to drop in if you have the time.
Sincerely,
William M. Bisese, Ed.D.
Dean, Class of 2028
wbisese@wesleyan.edu