Escaping Tradition:
A New Campus Visit Structure
Andy Marshall
University of Puget Sound
The Plan
• Our Story –
• What We Did
• What We Do Now
• Why We Did It
• Advantages
• Challenges
• Philosophy
• Data
• Discussion
Old Structure
New Structure
Why?
• Desire to shorten the information session…
• But to keep people scheduled for two hours
So make the tour longer
Why?
• Desire to shorten the information session…
• But to keep people scheduled for two hours
•BUT – Students go to class
• Can’t schedule tour guides over 1.5 hours
Why?
• Desire to shorten the information session…
• But to keep people scheduled for two hours
•BUT – Students go to class
• Can’t schedule tour guides over 1.5 hours
• Looked at – (It all felt awkward)
• Meeting space in the middle of a tour to switch guides
• Having tours wait with a counselor
• Scrapping the whole plan
New Structure
Counselor
Intro
Student Life Focus
Tour
Information
Session
Academic Focus
Tour
List form (9:00 session)
• 9:00-9:05 – Counselor Introduction
• 9:05-9:10 – Get tours started, restrooms
• 9:10-9:50 – Student Life Focus Tour
• 9:50-10:20 – Counselor Information Session
• 10:20-10:50 – Academic Focus Tour
Advantages – The schedule works
• The schedule works
• More time on tour
• Less in a boring talk
• Breaks built in = less stress
Advantages – The schedule works
Old Format – Ideal
Old Format – Actual
• 9:00-10:00 – Info Session
• 10:00-10:50 – Campus Tour
9:00 – 10:05 – Info Session
10:05-10:15 – Bathroom Break/Find the
people that get lost
10:15-10:59:59 – Campus Tour
11:00-11:10 – Late for class visit
Advantages – Multiple voices
• The schedule works
• More time on tour
• Less in a boring talk
• Breaks built in = less stress
• Every guests has two tour guides
•2>1
Advantages – More movement = less boring
• The schedule works
• More time on tour
• Less in a boring talk
• Breaks built in = less stress
• Multiple tour guides
• More movement
• Less boring
Challenges
• Coordination of tours
• Timing
• Late Arrivals
• Liberal Arts is not divided into
Academics and Student Life
• Convincing counselors to change
Philosophy
• Story based experience
• Be authentic
• Be powerful
• Be memorable
• Students are, by definition, unique. Counselors are not
• The Campus Visit should be different
• Market without marketing
Philosophy – Why This Order?
Counselor
Intro
Student Life Focus
Tour
Information
Session
Academic Focus
Tour
Philosophy
• Student staff is extremely important
• Turing over part of the “info session” to them
• Good, but requires attention
•
•
•
•
Hiring
Training (continuous)
Structure
Management
Data
One Tour vs Two Tours
Prefer Two Tours
Prefer One Tour
No Response
Data
Rate Campus Visit 1-5?
5
4
3
2
1
No Response
Data
Rate Campus Visit 1-5?
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
5
4
3
2
1
No
Response
Data
Were All Your Questions
Answered?
Yes
No
No Response
Data
• Rate Visit 1-5?
•
•
•
•
•
2 – 6%
3 – 2%
4 – 20%
5 – 72%
No Response – 1%
• Format Preference
• Prefer Two Tours = 90%
• Prefer One Tour = 4%
• No Response = 6%
Data – over time
• Average Campus Visit Rating
• Summer 2015 – 4.37
• Spring 2016 – 4.56
• Spring 2017 – 4.58
• Prefer Two Tours
• Summer 2015 – 77%
• Spring 2016 – 100%
Spring 2017 – 100%
Discussion
Andy Marshall
Assistant Director of Admission
Campus Visits and Events
253-879-3992
[email protected]
@PugetSoundAndy