Background
Wake Forest University undergraduate students often face challenges in traveling from campus to participate in service work in the local community. This difficulty often arises based on the lack of free, accessible transportation to and from schools and community centers.
The university does offer various options for students who do not have cars, but, as we seek to demonstrate, each of these options has its limitations. Some students have sought to address this issue through carpooling and ride-sharing, but these options are rarely as flexible or reliable as students prefer. Students often discuss the inconvenience of getting to and from their cars parked away from campus during the school day, including waiting for shuttles and finding available parking spaces, during a limited amount of time in the midst of their already busy schedules.
Alternatively, multiple university departments and organizations offer vans that students can be trained to drive for free. Zipcars are also available on campus, with a small fee, for general student use, and Wake Forest shuttles run within a mile radius of campus on a regular basis.
Nevertheless, we believe there is an opportunity for a university-wide solution to better address this growing concern of free, accessible transportation for students who seek to serve the communities around Wake Forest, particularly given the university motto of Pro Humanitate.
We have learned that numerous university stakeholders are working to address this issue, and we have met with many of them to gain a better understanding of transportation initiatives and proposals currently under consideration.
While we believe the university may be moving in the right direction to fill certain needs and already have in place a number of useful approaches to help solve various transportation issues across campus, our class discussions have focused on eliminating as many barriers as possible for students who seek to volunteer their skills and talents beyond the Wake Forest campus. These barriers include the time, cost, and reliability of transportation. We believe this need is important across student sub-groups, but particularly among the university's growing international student population, first-generation college students, students with demonstrated financial need, students without driver's licenses, and students with visual or physical disabilities.
The university does offer various options for students who do not have cars, but, as we seek to demonstrate, each of these options has its limitations. Some students have sought to address this issue through carpooling and ride-sharing, but these options are rarely as flexible or reliable as students prefer. Students often discuss the inconvenience of getting to and from their cars parked away from campus during the school day, including waiting for shuttles and finding available parking spaces, during a limited amount of time in the midst of their already busy schedules.
Alternatively, multiple university departments and organizations offer vans that students can be trained to drive for free. Zipcars are also available on campus, with a small fee, for general student use, and Wake Forest shuttles run within a mile radius of campus on a regular basis.
Nevertheless, we believe there is an opportunity for a university-wide solution to better address this growing concern of free, accessible transportation for students who seek to serve the communities around Wake Forest, particularly given the university motto of Pro Humanitate.
We have learned that numerous university stakeholders are working to address this issue, and we have met with many of them to gain a better understanding of transportation initiatives and proposals currently under consideration.
While we believe the university may be moving in the right direction to fill certain needs and already have in place a number of useful approaches to help solve various transportation issues across campus, our class discussions have focused on eliminating as many barriers as possible for students who seek to volunteer their skills and talents beyond the Wake Forest campus. These barriers include the time, cost, and reliability of transportation. We believe this need is important across student sub-groups, but particularly among the university's growing international student population, first-generation college students, students with demonstrated financial need, students without driver's licenses, and students with visual or physical disabilities.
Discussions with University Stakeholders
To better understand the current state of transportation at Wake Forest University as well as student engagement in the local community, we sought to answer the following questions:
In attempting to answer these questions, we engaged with individuals from the following offices, programs, and departments as well as community partners, including:
- How big of a problem is transportation in regard to off-campus volunteer and service work for students?
- What has been done in the past to overcome barriers?
- What are current initiatives in place to address transportation issues?
- What are some challenges in addressing transportation issues?
- Is there a holistic solution that serves the entire university rather than a single division?
In attempting to answer these questions, we engaged with individuals from the following offices, programs, and departments as well as community partners, including:
- Department of Education
- Office of the Provost
- Office of Student Engagement
- Office of Sustainability
- Parking and Transportation Services
- Pro Humanitate Institute
- Wake Downtown
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
- Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce
- Winston-Salem Transit Authority
Supporting Wake Forest Students and Organizations
This proposal has the potential not only to impact individual students who seek to serve local schools and communities but also to support the work of student organizations and initiatives. These groups include but are not limited to:
Student Organizations
Project Launch
Wake (Saturday) Academy
Students for Education Reform (SFER)
Girl Up
Women in STEM
Best Buddies
HOPE
Alexander Literary Organization
Student Initiatives
Big Brothers Big Sisters
El Buen Pastor
Connecting Campuses
Science Olympiad
Speas Robotics Club
Project Pumpkin
Discovering Education through Student Knowledge (DESK)
Student Organizations
Project Launch
Wake (Saturday) Academy
Students for Education Reform (SFER)
Girl Up
Women in STEM
Best Buddies
HOPE
Alexander Literary Organization
Student Initiatives
Big Brothers Big Sisters
El Buen Pastor
Connecting Campuses
Science Olympiad
Speas Robotics Club
Project Pumpkin
Discovering Education through Student Knowledge (DESK)