The class of 2012 will help shape the future at UR. The University, in turn, must do its best to attract prospective students who will be comfortable in the Rochester community.
Spring Open Campus is UR’s program for accepted applicants and is the last chance to inspire a positive feel for the University. The program is well-designed, building on the facets of UR that pull students to the school in the first place. The core of the programming is similar to other open campus events, for it encompasses city tours, tours of the campus and visits to certain classes. However, there are some features that could be added to make the program more original and more appealing to potential students.
SOC echoes UR’s tagline of a close community boasting a large university’s research facilities, especially through its attractive Spotlight Days. These five days feature spotlights on political science, engineering and more. Each offers closer interaction with the departments and incorporates other programs targeted at the disposition of the Spotlight Day attendees. This is exactly the type of programming such a day should include. The more individualized, the better.
In its attempts to personalize SOC, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions should infuse more interaction with student activities. Performances by groups such as the Midnight Ramblers and In Between the Lines are the height of entertainment, but they only begin to breach the ocean of student groups. As part of the registration process, attendees should have the opportunity to designate one of a certain number of student clubs with whom they would like to meet. The students would gain better understandings of the school and how their interests would flourish at UR, the University would solicit more interest and clubs would make stronger connections with future students.
This initiative would complement existing SOC events, like Spotlight Days, that help to forge links with potential students. If UR wishes to be further dedicated to the future, then such programs should be considered useful supplements to an already successful SOC.
