‘Every faculty member should go on campus tours’

I never thought I would go undercover until two of my kids started looking at colleges to attend. Over the past two years, I’ve accompanied them on six visits to different campuses. The experiences have given me a glimpse into how colleges in the US present themselves to prospective students and their families, one that faculty members don’t often get. 

I kept my faculty identity carefully hidden on these visits to ensure I had the same experience as the other parents. I think I succeeded – and it was truly eye-opening. My kids and I learned that there are certain things colleges definitely should do, and others they definitely should not do, to present themselves in the best possible light. 

How not to welcome prospective students to your campus

Let’s start with what not to do: 

1. Don’t do information dumps

The worst campus visit was a three-hour event, the first half hour of which was a person reading the entire general education curriculum from a PowerPoint slide. The second half hour was a lengthy discourse on certain policies that only apply to one or two programmes. Nobody was interested in this information, and even if they were, there was no way anyone could absorb it all. And besides, as my kid pointed out later, it was all on the website. The worst possible way to convey information is to dump it, and it’s the fastest way to make a family not care about your school. 

2. Don’t project a lack of interest 

On that same visit, the final hour was a campus tour. This is normal; the level of disengagement from the tour guide was not. The guide maintained a consistent distance of 20 to 30 steps in front of the tour group, spoke in a mumble and never engaged any individual in conversation. I don’t mean to blame the guide; it was probably more the fault of the script they were asked to follow. Still, if the guide isn't interested in being there, why should we? 

3. Don’t just point out facilities 

Some of the campus tours ended up being just architectural field trips. “That’s the library. Over there is the recreation centre. And there’s where you’ll take your science classes.” Physical facilities are important. But they are just containers for the true college experience, and my kids and I want to know about that experience. Also, this approach backfires if the facilities are outdated or in disrepair, as was the case more than once. 

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Tips for running a successful campus tour

On the other hand, the best visits had characteristics that other schools would do well to imitate: 

1. Be real, and talk about the whole academic experience

The best visits spoke honestly and often about all aspects of the academic life of campus, including the challenges of success. On one visit, our student tour guide was asked how hard classes were. To my great appreciation, they answered, frankly, that college is hard work, requires a lot of sacrifice, and if a student doesn’t motivate themselves, they will fail. This was not at an elite private school where such an answer would be de rigeur. As a parent and faculty member, this was music to my ears. And even the kids on the tour, including mine, seemed to appreciate the message that they would grow at this school, and that their intellect was respected. 

2. Give personal attention 

This can be hard to implement and easy to forget on a campus visit. But giving personal attention is not impossible. We visited a university with more than 10,000 students where each family had their own personal student tour guide for the entire morning, and one-on-one meetings with department chairs and academic advisers. This let us make personal connections, have unscripted moments and ask questions we wouldn’t normally ask as part of a larger group. As a parent/faculty member, this gave me the impression that this school likes personal interaction – a positive sign for both the social and the academic aspects of sending my kid to that institution.

3. Frame your school as special, but also accessible 

Perhaps the best campus visit we did was to a large flagship state university. In a room with 200 families in it, we answered trivia questions about the history and culture of the university, while discussing answers with the people around us. My kid managed to get the Instagram handles of at least three to four other kids to stay in touch. This simple activity did two things. First, it presented the university as a place with a distinct culture and its own mystique. But second, it showed my kid that he could be part of that culture. This is a hard balance – many schools have mystique but are also exclusive; many are welcoming but not particularly different from other places. 

In the end, what both parents and kids want is a college that is distinctive from all the others, but also one where kids believe they will fit in and thrive on all levels. Not coincidentally, this is also what faculty want for students. When colleges grasp this idea and build their programming for prospective students and families around it, higher education is putting its best foot forward. I would encourage every faculty member to check out their own institution’s programming to see how this is being done, even going to other campuses, too – perhaps by going undercover themselves. 

Robert Talbert is professor of mathematics at Grand Valley State University, US.