EDUCATIONAL SESSION TRACKS

Opening Doors: Group Visits, Community Outreach, and Building Partnerships

Building strong relationships with off-campus partners, including schools and organizations, is a critical aspect of our work in improving access to higher education. However, hosting group visitors in addition to families can be a challenge, from overnight programs to school buses filled with eager elementary school students. Share your approach to group visits, including unique program options and strategies for building positive community relationships

Meeting in the Middle: Middle School Week Patrick Fredicks, Assistant Director of Admission for Campus Visit Programs, Fort Lewis College

There has been an increase in the number of groups wanting to visit colleges over the past year since they haven't been able to for a while One group that has been a challenge has been middle schools. Their staff wants a campus tour, the students just want to have fun, and the college staff can't make everyone happy. Or can they? Come learn how to create a middle school week that makes these types of visits manageable, meaningful, and fun for all!

0 to 100: Success and Challenges When Reintroducing Group Tours

Ruben Nuñez, Director, Associate Director, & Neelam Savla, Associate Director, University of Southern

California

At the University of Southern California, for two years group tours had not taken place on campus Come learn about how we reintroduced group tours to the public, our student staff, and campus partners and were able to welcome close to 5,000 students (grade 912/community college) between 150+ programs in the Fall semester. Additionally, we will review how we prioritized promoting accessibility around our group tour programming and working towards developing a comprehensive program that intentionally and appropriately involves our campus partners The session will take you from the initial relaunch in Summer 2022 through this Fall 2022 semester and all the successes, challenges, and unanticipated opportunities that arose and improvements in place for Spring 2023