UNC WOW (Weeks of Welcome) Program Submission Guide
Thank you for considering submitting your UNC WOW event(s). This year, UNC WOW is August 16-
September 1. UNC WOW is a vital part of welcoming new and returning students to campus. This guide
provides instructions for planning and submitting your event(s) for UNC WOW 2024.
-New Student & Family Programs (NSFP) and the WOW Board
Foreground Information: WOW and Heel Life
We work closely with Student Life and Leadership (SLL) to offer the UNC WOW schedule exclusively on
Heel Life. This partnership provides the most flexible and wide-reaching means of programming and
sharing events with students. UNC WOW has a dedicated category on Heel Life, making it easier for
students to find WOW events and for us to advertise with a unique link/QR code. The UNC WOW
schedule in full will not be shared in any other form. This online schedule provides the most flexibility in
editing events and plans as we approach August. The online schedule also allows greater opportunity to
share and promote events from NSFP, WOW Board, and program sponsors.
Please note the following preliminary requirements to submitting events for the UNC WOW 2024
Schedule:
• UNC WOW 2024 events may only be submitted by registered student organizations and
University departments/offices.
• Events submitted as part of UNC WOW 2024 should have some element of supporting new
incoming students in their transition to Carolina.
o For example, if your organization is having special open meetings for new members,
that would be in line with offering new students engagement opportunities.
• As the UNC WOW Schedule is offered exclusively through Heel Life, participating
organization/office must have a dedicated Heel Life page.
o For registered student organizations: your page’s presence is associated with your
yearly renewal with SLL.
o For University departments/offices: if you do not already have a page (you can use the
Search function on the site to look up your office), you may request to create a page
with SLL (email studentlife@unc.edu for more information).
▪ Once approved, you will be able to build your page and submit events,
described further in the process guide. For helpful tips on building out your
page, visit the link below and scroll to the bottom of the web page for the
University Department section:
https://carolinaunion.unc.edu/departments/student-life-leadership/student-
organizations/resources-officers/heel-life
Having events tied to pages creates continuity for student attendees. It also allows higher promotion
and engagement opportunities between you and them.
Part One: Pre-Planning and Support
When planning your program(s), reflect on how your office/organization’s goals relate to welcoming
new and returning students to Carolina’s campus. Think about the following:
• What do you want to offer students that would promote a sense of belonging, learning a new
skill or resource, or connecting them to other Tar Heels?
• What event(s) has your office/organization offered before that students attended and enjoyed?
Can they be re-utilized?
• What are common questions your office/organization gets from new students? How can an
event help resolve those questions and/or help students find answers?
Each organization and office can put forward a meaningful program that is inviting, inclusive, and
engaging – no matter its resources.
Concerning when to host your event(s), we have some advice and information for you to consider:
• With continuation of Housing Move-in Appointments, Floor Meetings, Transfer Student Kickoff,
New Student Convocation, and FallFest occurring on Sunday, August 18, we will not be
accepting events onto the UNC WOW schedule that occur between 1-10pm ET on Sunday,
August 18.
• We strongly encourage events to occur throughout the UNC WOW period (August 16-
September 1). The WOW Board intentionally programs predominantly on the first week to allow
organizations a chance to settle before leading week 2 of WOW events with other organizations,
groups, and teams.
NSFP and WOW Board are presently planning the following events. Some of these programs are easily
formable for many organizations/offices. We ask that if you want to plan one of these or a similar event
based on the descriptions below, reach out to us at [email protected]. We would love to partner with
you and share space rather than compete with exact events – potentially at similar/same times.
WOW Programs for WOW 2024
Kickoffs
• Kickoffs are a meet-and-greet-type event. Kickoffs are events geared to help students meet one
another through engaging activities, shared information from current students, and other
opportunities such as games and refreshment spaces. Kickoffs historically are held based on
shared-population information, including Transfer, Out-of-State and International, and Culture.
Professor Meet and Greet
• This is a great opportunity for incoming students to speak with professors from many varying
departments at UNC! Students will be able to rotate and converse with different types of
professors before classes start to learn about academic opportunities and getting ready for
college classes at UNC.
WOW Social Programs
• WOW Social Programs are unique events geared to help students connect to each other and
Carolina through intentional themes and interests. The WOW Board has a schedule of social
programs using the following events:
o A Night at the Museum
▪ An immersive exploration of Ackland Art Museum after-hours, exclusive to UNC
students. Create your own art while exploring this campus treasure, and the
treasures found within.
o WOW x Rec After Dark
▪ Join us for a night of games with new friends, where we’ll be playing on the
ground and in the air with the help of Rams Head Climbing. Bring a team or join
one on-site!
o WOW Dive-in Movie
▪ We want your WOW to be fun and you as well. We’ve got a dive in movie with
food to help you start your semester off on a good note. We’re all in this
together!
o The Price is Right!
▪ What better way to make new friends than with mildly competitive games and
free food? Join us for a special “The Price is Right” game this WOW, with
refreshments, surprises, and a night with some of your new friends.
o Paws & Poses: Puppy Yoga
▪ Take some time to unwind with a group yoga class – with puppies! Whether
you’re a pro or new to yoga, we’re excited to have you join us for this new
WOW program.
o WOW Field Day
▪ Get moving or relax with refreshments in this Field Day experience on Hooker
Fields. Many games, activities, and prizes await!
o Rock the Hill Concert
▪ To celebrate the end of first week of classes, we’re hosting a special concert
featuring local talent and variety of genres. Come celebrate with friends and
enjoy the show!
Part One (continued)
So you’ve figured out which event(s) you can best plan. That’s great! Whether you’re partnering with us
directly or indirectly, we are so glad you’re joining us for UNC WOW, and students will be glad too!
If you want to participate as an event sponsor and/or partner in UNC WOW but aren’t sure what to do
or how to get there, here’s a list of options for reaching out for support from the WOW Board and NSFP!
• For quick and/or detailed questions:
o Email [email protected]
Part 2: Planning and Preparing Your Event Submission(s)
Our event submission process utilizes the event submission portal on Heel Life. Each office and active
organization with a Heel Life page will be able to submit its event(s) through this tool, making the
submission process streamlined and user-friendly! If your office/organization does not have a Heel Life
page, you must make one before submitting an event. For information on how to make a Heel Life page,
please see the foreground section at the beginning of this document.
Event submissions will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis, up to and through UNC WOW 2024
(August 16-September 1). There is no rush to submit your event(s), but we do encourage submitting
your event(s) timely as we launch the WOW schedule in early summer to share with new students and
families at New Student & Family Orientation. This launch is purely to make the main schedule link
public and does not constitute a deadline for event submissions. However, the sooner your event(s)
is/are submitted and approved, the more likely incoming and returning students are to find it and RSVP!
We partner with SLL to review each event submission for criteria in alignment with this manual and
related University guidance. If an issue arises with your event submission that could prevent its approval
or addition to the WOW schedule, we will reach out to seek a solution with you.
Anthology (Heel Life’s service-provider) offers several articles on how to manage your organization’s
Heel Life page and submit your event(s). We recommend exploring the featured articles that Student
Life and Leadership has compiled. We have also curated a selection of helpful articles below for quick
reference relevant to event submissions:
• Events and Event Management Guide
o https://engagesupport.campuslabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001594463-Events-
Walkthrough
• Creating a New Event in your Organization
o https://engagesupport.campuslabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204033924
For UNC WOW 2024, we recommend the following settings when submitting your event(s) to create
continuity throughout the WOW schedule:
• For “Show to”: select “The Public”
o Our WOW links/codes send students directly to a category filter. If they log-in before
reaching the page (due to events being private), they will be redirected to the main Heel
Life event calendar, which is different than the WOW schedule.
• If applicable/relevant, click “Allow attendance … to be shown on the Co-Curricular Transcript”
• Be sure to select “UNC WOW (Weeks of Welcome)” and other relevant tags in Event
Categories and Perks. Students can filter search for these!
• For “Who can RSVP”: select “Anyone”
• For “Post Event Feedback”: while we don’t require you to collect assessment data to participate
in WOW, this is a great way to get feedback on your event. RSVPs (and even emails you upload
later) can be sent a survey immediately after the event! All answers are collected anonymously.
• For “Event Cover Photo”: we encourage you to upload a photo/graphic that will attract
students. Visit the events page on Heel Life for ideas!
Again, if you need any support in the submission process, please reach out to NSFP or the WOW Board.
Part 3: Promoting Your Event(s) and Program(s)
Throughout the summer, NSFP and the WOW Board will be building the WOW schedule from event
submissions and sharing the schedule, starting with new students and families at New Student & Family
Orientation in early June. Event sponsors are welcome to change their event details during this time as
well as promote their event(s) on social media and other communication platforms.
You can use News articles in Heel Life to create posts that showcase your event(s). Here is a how-to
guide on using the News tool.
You can follow the WOW Board on Instagram @unc_wow to view our summer posts for WOW.
To recap this manual, here are some key takeaways:
• The WOW 2024 schedule will be exclusively listed on Heel Life. Organizations and offices that
want to submit an event(s) require a Heel Life page to do so. (View “Foreground Information”
section)
• The WOW Board welcomes partnering with organizations and offices to facilitate events and
programs rather than competing for space and attention. We encourage specific partnerships
for events we are presently offering. (View Part 1)
• View the listed hyperlinks to resources that can help you plan, submit, and market your event(s).
(View Parts 2 & 3)
• Event submissions will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis, up to and through UNC
WOW 2024 (August 16-September 1) with a main schedule launch in early June. (View Part 2)
• The WOW Board is happy to provide support!
o You can email us questions at uncwow@unc.edu
