Competition for students is even more intense with the current economy. Colleges and universities must expand recruitment and retention programs in the face of shrinking budgets. The U.S. Department of Education estimates enrollment at degree-granting institutions to increase from 17.8 million students in 2006 to 20.1 million in 2017, a 13 percent increase. How can institutions connect with these students--potential leaders and generous alumni--and to their parents, whose role in this potentially quarter-of-a-million dollar decision can’t be underestimated?
The campus tour, aptly dubbed the Golden Walk, is an effective and proven recruitment tool that can significantly increase the likelihood a student will apply and enroll to the school. In a 2007 report by higher education consulting firm Noel-Levitz, four- and two-year institutions ranked campus visit days among the top four most effective recruiting practices.
Pamela Lucas Rew, AIA, a partner at Princeton-based architectural firm KSS Architects, has designed higher educational buildings and master plans for more than 20 years. But when time came to visit colleges with her oldest daughter, she began seeing campuses in a different light--as a parent anxious for her child’s happiness, success, and safety, and as a spectator on many campus tours. Her daughter Margaret later became a campus tour leader as a freshman at Tufts University (Mass.) after a selection process more grueling than college admissions itself.
Together, Pamela and Margaret offered 10 insider tips every institution should know about campus tours.
1. Set the tone immediately.
“Ignore the trash cans,” Margaret says apologetically to her tour groups as they begin the route demarcated by her university. Though the path approaches the new dormitories from an interesting perspective, it also takes the group right by the campus dumpsters. Once a skeptical prospective student herself, Margaret knows first impressions count. She and her mother still talk about the university that kicked off the tour in a claustrophobic and empty admissions office.
Campus appearance plays a large role in students’ enrollment decisions. Sixty percent of students at four-year institutions rated campus appearance as important or very important according to Noel-Levitz. Campus tours have the benefit of forcing people to leave their cars and experience the institution on foot. As a result, the location of the admissions office is critical and must put the institution’s best foot forward. Though it is often relegated to the campus edge for convenience, parking, and accessibility, it should still embody the campus’ history and culture. At the University of Texas at Austin, for example, tours begin at the iconic Main Building, also known as UT Tower. Visitors are immediately immersed in the campus’ history and culture.
As Margaret introduces her beloved campus, she also takes care to minimize buzzwords. Honesty and authenticity ring true with students while clichés and banalities turn off students, who then tune out.
2. Will I fit in? Let students listen while parents look.
College websites may try to answer every question imaginable, but they are no substitute to stepping onto a campus lawn. Websites cannot give students the confidence that “yes, I can fit in here,” or “no, I definitely do not belong here.” Campus tours give students a chance “to look around to see who they may become friends with,” says Margaret. She fields many personal questions about her life and what she does for fun, but she doesn’t mind. Prospective students just want a sense of what their academic and social lives may look like in college.
Margaret takes her tour groups to the lawn of Tufts President’s residence, located in the heart of campus between academic buildings and fraternity houses. Its proximity impresses tour groups. “I like to acknowledge how important it is to our university president to live here and be on campus,” Margaret says. By adding personal touches to campus tours, such as faculty meetings, dorm room stays, or simply friendly, knowledgeable tour guides, institutions differentiate themselves and capitalize on this small, crucial opportunity to recruit.
