The Story Behind Campus Pro Tours
Tour Guide: Tim Hudson, Founder
Date: December 7, 2024
Prospective Student: Everyone Everywhere
Content will be available for 60 days
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Disclaimer: This is a transcript from a live tour of The Story Behind Campus Pro Tours. Any opinions expressed by the tour guide are the tour guide’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the university. No statements made by the tour guide constitute a legally binding offer or commitment of The Story Behind Campus Pro Tours.
"Some people call this the rat cafeteria,"
our student guide said.
As he pointed to a closed door that we weren't allowed to enter,
we were even more surprised. I was with my wife and our high school junior,
touring the first of three college campuses in two days around Boston.
Our student ambassador was earnest and likable.
And he had started by excitedly telling us there was an
"urban legend" about the cafeteria.
But the "legend" was just that someone claimed they saw a rat in there a
few years ago.
All the families smiled awkwardly.
All .
This unforgettable moment was one of many that raised the questions
that inspired me to invent Campus
Pro Tours the very next day.
Questions like:
Does the Admissions Staff know he just told
the five families on our tour that there might have been a rat in one of the cafeterias?
If not, how would they find out?
Did he think it was a good idea to tell us that story?
Who will tell him that's not helpful?
How did that moment or this tour
impact prospective students and their families? * * * * * * * * * * *
Before I continue, I should introduce myself.
I'm Tim.
This is a photo of me on the campus of
Saint Louis University (SLU),
which is where I earned my PhD.
It's a beautiful campus
that I've chosen to use
as I walk around and tell you the story of how Campus Pro Tours began.
So the map and photos you see are from SLU,
and not the college that has the "rat cafeteria." * * * * * * * * * * *
Also,
you're reading this story
in a uniquely memorable format: the personalized transcript
with clickable annotations that I invented for Campus Pro Tours
and Campus Pro Talks.
Everyone who participates in an event on campus using one of our solutions
and shares their email gets their own personalized annotated transcript just like this one
.
And if it's a tour, they get the map view as well (link up at the top right). This annotated transcript is a powerful artifact that ensures
visitors can be more fully present during the tour because they don't have to worry about maybe missing something the guide says. So they build stronger memories
and have it as a reference after the tour or presentation is over.
Campus Pro Tours and Campus Pro Talks are also a valuable source of data because Admissions Staff
can view all the annotations made by participants
in order to learn where visitors took pictures on the tour (they can't see the actual photos, though),
where they asked questions,
what
questions they asked during the tour,
and, of course, what the guides said.
* * * * * * * * * * * Now back to our story...
That night, after hearing about the "rat cafeteria," I thought of more questions:
Why is this campus tour basically the same as the tours I took when I was a high schooler looking at colleges?
Have guided tours really not changed at all in decades?
My hearing is good, but there were many times during the tour when I was too far from the guide,
or he was too quiet; so
what does someone do if they are deaf or hard of hearing
(DHH)
and wanted to participate in this group tour?
And a factual question about the college I couldn't specifically remember: What percentage of juniors and seniors did he
say lived on campus?
* * * * * * * * * * * The next day, our student-led campus tours at two other colleges
thankfully
didn't have any "rat cafeteria" moments.
In fact, the second campus we toured was easily our favorite college among all the colleges we were considering.
My wife, son, and I all agreed it was the best!
But I immediately realized there was no way for the Admission Staff to know that their school had
skyrocketed to become our top choice right then and there.
And even if they could somehow know it was our favorite,
they had no way of knowing specifically what it was that won each of us over.
The things that stood out most to my son
were distinct from what stood out to my wife
and what resonated most for me.
I thought the Admission Staff would probably find that information valuable
to know about us
and other visitors or prospective students.
* * * * * * * * * * * Experiencing these three guided campus tours at top colleges
reinforced the fact that - despite the importance and impact of guided tours -
they somehow haven't changed much in decades.
And I saw opportunities to make them better.
So I sat down that night and wrote down the
key problems I had seen with in-person guided campus tours.
* * * * * * * * * * * First, we were often unable to hear what our guide was saying, either
because of distance,
wind,
city noise and traffic,
or because the student guide's voice was too soft and didn't carry.
In addition, deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) visitors couldn't have participated in the tours
we were on.
I figured colleges probably have separate tours
for
DHH guests. But the typical guided campus tour is not
equitable by default,
which means accessibility requires pre-planning from both the campus and the visitor.
Even on campuses
that choose to use wireless microphones, speakers, or earpieces for their tours,
those still aren't accessible for most DHH
guests.
All kept
all campus tours should be accessible.
Because
when we make events more accessible for the people who need it most, events become better and more accessible for everyone.
* * * * * * * * * * * Second, there's no real way for the guide
to hear
and/or respond to everyone during the tour.
Many questions that other visitors and I had went unasked, and therefore unanswered.
I overheard others on the tour say to their companions, "I wonder..."
but they didn't always bring those questions to the attention of our student ambassadors.
It was often because the guide was too far away,
there was no time provided,
they didn't think the guide would have an answer,
or people didn't want to interrupt.
* * * * * * * * * * * Third, our student guides were walking backwards. A LOT.
It always looks a bit unnatural, and as a parent, it really worried me that they might trip.
I know they were walking backwards because they wanted their voice
to carry to be heard.
But it really didn't
make it much easier to hear them.
* * * * * * * * * * * Fourth,
I'm a lifelong educator.
But you don't have to be a teacher to know that it's impossible
for any human
to remember all the verbal information they hear on an hour-long tour.
There's just too much for anyone's brain
to retain it in the short term,
let alone
the next day or next week.
And if prospective students and families are taking tours at
several different campuses in a short amount of time like we did, the information
can get very mixed up as you try to remember which things
you saw
on which campus.
* * * * * * * * * * * Fifth, it's easy to forget -
or not even hear in the first place -
the student guide's name,
major hometown, activities, and year in school.
And once the tour starts, it can be awkward to ask them again what their name was.
This is a seemingly minor issue,
but campus tours are a critical opportunity to build relationships with prospective students.
Visitors can
more effectively make those connections with their student ambassadors when they have that information readily accessible.
* * * * * * * * * * * Finally,
universities, Admissions Staff, and student ambassadors
don't have many insights into what visitors liked most on the tour,
like most about the college,
or whether the tour made prospective students more likely to apply or enroll.
Admissions Staff
also
don't get enough feedback about each tour that they can share with guides
that help
student ambassadors improve.
Maybe a
post tour survey is sent out, but those often have low response rates,
and
a lot of time passes between the end of the tour
and when visitors complete the survey. That's why Campus Pro Tours requires participants to complete a brief pre- and post-tour survey if want their personalized, annotated transcript of the tour like you're reading right now.
* * * * * * * * * * * Less than seven months after writing these six problems down,
I launched the first version of Campus Pro Tours.
That launch version
had many incredible features that evolved from the original idea,
including the
map functionality and photo album you can access at the top right of this page.
* * * * * * * * * * * As a native St. Louisan,
I wanted to use local companies to help build my business and product.
So
I
hired a St. Louis-based software development company to turn my vision into a reality.
That vision has now expanded to include my second product,
Campus Pro Talks,
which can be used for any live presentation, lecture,
or class.
Together,
my solutions instantly make any in-person live campus event more accessible, engaging, and memorable.
* * * * * * * * * * * We'd love to help you make a difference for guests on your campus, so let us know how we can help.
Visit our website at www.campusprotours.com or by clicking our logo at the bottom of this page.
You can also email us:
Hello [at]
CampusProTours [dot] com.
Thanks for reading!
-
Tim Hudson, Founder
End of Transcript
Content will be available for 60 days
