Let’s Get Virtual – OAR Spring Events

We are excited to unveil the Office of Admissions and Recruitment’s Spring 2021 virtual event plan. After evaluating our Fall 2020 events and considering our goals for spring, we decided to develop three branded tracks of sessions (Prospective, Admitted, Counselor) that allow each audience to choose what events they will attend from a variety of general and specialty/targeted sessions. There will be no multi-hour/multi-day yield events, mainly because those are less effective in a virtual space. Between the demands of school/work/life and Zoom fatigue, our audience needs succinct, pertinent information that fits into their schedule. All events will be 60-minutes or less and scheduled on weeknights and weekends. Our event content will consist of panels and information sessions. Between January and May, the Events Team will organize a variety of Q&A panels for both admitted and prospective students. Each panel can stand alone, and the content will not be duplicated in another panel or session that our office offers (campus partners who participate may choose to host some programming as well). We will offer each panel/session multiple times (varied days/times) so that our audience can build an event schedule that addresses their specific needs at a time that works for them. This also allows us to connect with our audience throughout the semester (vs. once at a single event). In addition to panels, there will be a wide variety of admissions information sessions (transfer and freshman), specialty prospective student sessions, admitted student information sessions, and partner sessions. The goal is to work closely with schools/colleges so they can develop their own yield efforts and empower other campus partners (e.g. OSFA) to offer events/sessions that will contribute to and complement our event schedule. We will promote each session to the entire population within a specific track (Admitted, Prospective, Counselor) and encourage them to self-select into the event(s) they want to attend. We will ensure the Visit Bucky description and all communications clarify the scope and goal of each session, including events that do not require advanced Visit Bucky registration, such as Instagram Live AMAs. Communications will be sent on a regular basis, and we will work with Justin to create an impactful and engaging social media plan to both promote and enhance our session content. This will include working with our WAVS on Instagram Ask Me Anything’s, Instagram “Day in the Life” stories, short video content, and more. We will also convert our Open House Campus Directory to an evergreen “virtual resource fair,” where students can browse through the directory on their own time to learn more about our campus partners. There will be copy, videos, photos, and contact information for our partners. If you would like more details about our spring event schedule, including more information about why we have chosen this direction and/or details about our exact offerings, please let Rachel Tatge know.