REC Selection Process

Residential Engagement Communities are a collection of intentional living communities that allow students to invest in learning and leadership opportunities in a residential setting, while providing students the flexibility to choose their experience. The program creates an opportunity for students to build an authentic and inclusive community, pursue service and civic interests, and foster mentorship relationships between peers. Community members, under the guidance of a faculty or staff advisor, will develop programming and take part in campus opportunities in order to create an immersive living and learning experience.

Theme Housing

The purpose of Theme Housing is to provide students with a residential learning experience around a common area of interest while working closely with a university office or department. Themes work closely with a faculty or staff advisor to develop a community that directly engages with their area of interest through intentional dialogue, service, programming, and/or intentional engagement with the Wake community.  Students, and specifically Theme Program Advisors (TPAs), are tasked with planning a community with clear purpose, goals and learning outcomes while providing Theme members with clear expectations for engagement within the community.

Students per Group: 6-12 per group. Individual group size will vary based on assignments placement.

Theme Housing Requirements: Groups wishing to establish a theme housing group must meet the following qualifications to be considered.

• Groups must partner with a relevant university department or office and identify a faculty or staff advisor from that office that will help to direct and advise the theme through regular meetings.
• While functioning as a partner of a university office, Themes are student-initiated and led by an identified Theme Program Advisor.
• Groups must demonstrate membership commitment to consistent engagement in Theme activities.

Student Leadership:  Each Theme program must identify a Theme Program Advisor (TPA), a student leader who lives in the theme and is primarily responsible for meeting Theme requirements. TPAs coordinate programming initiatives and complete program requirements with input from their faculty/staff advisor.

Interest Housing

The purpose of interest housing is to provide student organizations with an option to pursue living in a community.  Groups are required to create a purpose statement and identify goals for their housing group.

Students per Group: 8-10 students based on assignments availability

Interest Housing Requirements: Groups wishing to establish an interest housing group must meet the following qualifications to be considered:

• Students are members of an established chartered organization.
  • Established chartered organizations are groups that have been chartered and have operated for at least one full academic year at the time of application.
• While functioning as a subset of their larger organization, the interest housing group is student led and student-initiated.
• At least two members of the housing group are also members of the organization’s student leadership body (ex. executive board, leadership team).

Student Leadership: Interest housing communities function as student-led extensions of their parent organizations.  Each community must have a single identified student leader who lives in the community and acts as the Community Liaison, or point of contact between the Office of Residence Life and Housing and the group’s members.