1. PLANNING A SUCCESSFUL PREVIEW DAY PRESENTED BY: TODD KOCH University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Admissions

2. UAFS Background  4-year, public university  1928 – 2002: Junior College  2003 Enrollment: 3,400  2012 Enrollment: 7,500  Fort Smith is 2 nd largest city in Ark with population of 90,000  High percentage of Non-Trad students

3. Ask Yourself:  Who are you trying to target?  HS seniors, HS juniors, HS sophomores, HS students in general, College transfers  When do you want them on your campus?  First Saturday of month, weekday, weekend, etc.  What type of information do you feel is important?  Fin Aid, Admissions requirements, Degree programs, etc  Why is this important to the prospective students?  How often do you need Preview Days?

4. WHO?  Are you trying to target locally or regionally?  Market your Preview Days for specific classes: seniors, juniors, sophomores, transfers

5. WHEN?  You want to set up your preview day around major holidays, sporting events, organizational trips to avoid conflicts of interest amongst students.  For instance, avoid Fridays in the Fall semester due to football games; avoid “Fall break”, Thanksgiving break; FBLA, etc.  UAFS selects first Tuesday or Thursday in November and April.  This allows greater population to attend: it is between holidays, after Spring Break, after EOC exams

6. WHAT?  Pertinent information that needs to be covered:  Fin Aid: university scholarships, FAFSA, Academic Challenge Scholarship  Admissions Req: App fee, deadlines, NSO’s  Advisors: Degree programs, Undecided  Housing: Benefits of living on-campus

7. WHY?  This gives students the opportunity to walk onto campus, maybe for the first time  Get a feel for the campus environment, class settings, buildings  This could be the final checkpoint in their decision-making process

8. HOW OFTEN?  Decide what works best for your staff and the prospective students  If multiple dates throughout semester/year seem plausible  Maybe only have time for 1 or 2 dates a year  UAFS selects 1 day per semester: Seniors in Fall, Juniors in Spring

9. Planning  Create a checklist of everything that needs to get done before the event  Contacts for speakers  Marketing publications  PR and media releases  Room Setup  Allow catering/food services for meals  Nametags and lanyards

10. Day of Event  Sign-in:  Stubblefield Center  Welcome from Chancellor, Admissons  Informational Sessions:  Fin Aid, Advising, Admissions deadlines, Housing, decision-making process  Lunch on Campus Green  Sign-in:  Stubblefield Center  Separated from students, welcome from Chancellor  Information Session:  Admissions, Fin Aid, Student Services, Advising, Student Panel  Campus Tour  Lunch on Campus Green StudentsParents

11. Senior Den Day 2012

12. Measuring Success  Keep record of registration  Compare to actual number that attended  Offer incentive for coming!!  Lanyards, T-shirts, Free FOOD!  Attendance correlates to Enrollment  Students that show expressed interest

13. Den Day Attendance Senior Den DaysJunior Den Days

14. Making Improvements for Future  Surveys  Include a survey for attendees to fill out at end of day  This will let you know what they liked, didn’t like  Word-of-mouth  Ask parents and students to spread word about information given  Include more University offices in event  Input from staff/speakers is key  What they saw/heard could improve next year’s event

15. Thank you for attending this session! Hopefully, some of the information will be beneficial for you and your University! QUESTIONS / INPUT