Campus visits are a huge part of the college application process. They help students to experience college life for the first time and make more informed decisions about where they want to study.
However, there are many parts to coordinate. From tours to interviews to meeting sports coaches, that’s a lot to squeeze into one day. For welcome centers and admissions staff responsible for coordinating these, there are a lot of moving parts to factor in.
Colleges that use online booking provide a more welcoming, user-friendly experience to visitors. This reassures parents that the institution cares for their child’s wellbeing, makes students feel more welcomed into the environment, and ensures everything runs smoothly.
Let’s take a look at the different areas where calendar-synced online booking platforms can create a better process for colleges and their visitors.
Book everything online
When colleges connect their calendars to online booking software, it makes it easier for visiting students (and their families/teachers) to plan out their day. Everything from the day they choose to visit to the activities they do on the day can be planned out in the same place, at the same time.
Should attendees connect their calendars to the booking software (or the software use Smart Invites) booking information can then be pushed to their calendars. This ensures everything they need is in one place. There’s no need for visitors to carry around reams of papers or memorize their itineraries.
Everything from the day they choose to visit to the activities they do on the day can be planned out in the same place, at the same time.
Any updates to the itinerary can then be pushed to attendees’ calendars. Organizers don’t need to make numerous phone calls, write bulk emails, or send mass text messages. It’s a simpler, more cost-effective way to inform everyone of any updates in real-time. As the calendar event is updated automatically it also means visitors don’t need to update their schedules to avoid any conflicts.
If visitors wish to change anything – such as which classes to try – when this is updated on the booking platform it can automatically be pushed to their calendar. This means there’s less effort involved on their part and they don’t need to worry about updating the appointment in their calendar.
Software could even cater for group or school bookings. The day’s itinerary can then be pushed to students’ calendars automatically. Welcome centers can even limit the number of people allowed to attend on a particular day or to a certain event, ensuring that everyone gets the attention they need and no event is overbooked.
Organize the day
College welcome centers often have set times when outsiders can visit. When the online booking software syncs with visitors’ calendars, they can be sent a time-to-leave notification before the welcome center opens. This ensures that they get there on time and have all day to explore, helping them to make a more informed decision.
Geolocation data can also be added to calendar events, helping visitors to navigate large and complex college campuses.
Information such as where to meet for college tours can also be included in the notes of calendar events. For students who are at a crucial time in their lives, this feature takes some of the stress out of navigating a new place. The more technology is used to make their lives easier, the more likely they are to feel positively towards the college and therefore decide to go there.
The opening times of places to eat and things to do around the campus could also be added to calendar events. This prevents visiting students from turning up five minutes after lunch has finished or turning up at the library before it’s even open.
When students can see their schedule in one place, they can make sure there's plenty of travel time between each activity.
They also don’t need to search in their bag for paperwork or maps or appointment information – all this information can be included in calendar events. It doesn’t matter if they don’t have a cell signal, either – calendar events are available offline.
Seeing their schedule mapped out in one place helps them to plan out their day and add in any last-minute activities they may decide to take part in. It also helps them to find information on the nearest places to take a break, have something to eat, or relax in between activities.
Schedule admissions interviews
Admissions interviews are an important and stressful time for students. It’s the final part of the evaluation, when the college admissions team meets students in-person for the first time. Giving students everything they need to know in one place helps to remove some of the stress involved so that they can prepare more in advance.
Students can choose the best interview slot based around their schedule for the day – or vice versa. The interview can then be pushed to their calendar to avoid any chances of double-bookings.
Students can choose the best interview slot based around their schedule for the day – or vice versa.
Information such as whom their interview is with or which building it’s located in can also be included in the calendar event. This gives them time to prepare, research, and ensure they arrive in enough time.
Students can use the same feature to book meetings with sports coaches, professors, and students that they may wish to speak to. All these things can be scheduled in seconds. Students can then focus on enjoying their day and not worrying about what comes next and where.
Conclusion
Calendar sync makes it easier for colleges to provide a well-organized, accessible itinerary to visitors. This gives them a positive impression and can be the difference between students choosing or not choosing to study there.
From planning out the day to experiencing the day itself, students and their relatives can have everything they need in one place. There’s no need for them to carry around mass amounts of paperwork. Everything they need can be stored in their calendar.
Colleges can notify attendees of any changes as soon as they happen. They don’t need to write bulk emails or text messages. A quick update to the calendar event, and everyone is updated.
Calendar sync is a cheaper and more eco-friendly way of organizing schedules for institutions that are always looking for ways to stand out from their competitors.
For information on how to add calendar sync to your online booking platform, contact us today.