How Are Your Top Schools Conducting Tours?

As Omicron surges throughout the United States, colleges and universities are taking precautions to ensure safety throughout campus. Ivy League schools like Harvard and Stanford have temporarily shut down on-campus tours. The Admissions & Financial Aid Office and Visitor Center at Harvard is closed while their staff works remotely. Stanford is allowing families to visit the exterior space of the school and postponing tours until later in the school year.

Schools like Harvard and Stanford have not experienced a decrease in applications. Canceling on-campus tours for a few weeks will not impact enrollment for ivy league schools. However, Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that undergraduate enrollment for the fall of 2021 across other universities and colleges decreased by 3.2 percent.

The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts. They canceled all in-person information sessions to maintain safety but have continued small on-campus tours. The College of Holy Cross explains on their website the value and importance of in-person college visits and how they will impact your final decision.

Schools like the University of Pacific in Stockton, California, have maintained on-campus safety by requiring masks and social distancing during tours. Additionally, they are currently creating an augmented-reality self-guided tour.

At the University of Charleston in West Virginia, the university has made enormous additions to its touring options. When the pandemic first emerged, the school strategized ways for students to see their campus virtually. This has proven helpful beyond the pandemic allowing the university to reach international students who typically cannot visit campus before enrolling. Not only does the campus offer a library full of online content, but future students located near the campus can keep up with current students through live and on-demand footage.

Enrollment Intelligence Now predicts that colleges and universities that have historically seen a high demand will see minimal impact on enrollment by the omicron variant. However, lesser-known schools will experience a decrease in applicants. Enrollment Intelligence Now is an organization that advises new college Vice Presidents and Deans.

According to PlatformQ Education, after nearly two years of the pandemic, as schools and universities have moved their tours online, they have discovered the importance of high-quality content rather than quantity. Platform Q Education is an online platform that provides schools and universities a way to engage their students all in one place.