The Importance of a Strong Campus Visit

Over the past several decades, an alarming trend has impacted public universities in the United States. State funding has been volatile at best,¹ but the default has been a decline of financial support.² Consequently, universities have increased dependence on other revenue streams, not least of which is tuition.³ This practice brief outlines how enrollment management and facilities management can provide a positive campus visit experience to prospective students. It is based on research outlining the importance of the campus visit and how facilities and the overall physical space can impact student views of an institution, while also considering the environmental/systems approach.

Importance of the Campus Visit

Visiting campuses is a quintessential part of the college search process for many students. Despite the influx of technology and the ability to learn about institutions instantly via computers and smarphones, the campus visit continues to play a significant role in students’ enrollment decision. This may be because an in-person visit evokes the emotional and psychological component of the decision-making process.4 At public, 4-year campuses, students who visit campus are 64% more likely to apply and 50% more likely to enroll when compared to the overall population.⁵

Campus appearance plays a role in the overall experience. This includes landscaping, buildings, and interior and exterior facility upkeep, as well as what features these areas include.

While these statistics are impactful, simply getting students to campus is not enough. Campus appearance plays a role in the overall experience. This includes landscaping, buildings, and interior and exterior facility upkeep, as well as what features these areas include. Research indicates that facilities impact student enrollment decisions.^6-8 More specifically, campus appearance could be used as a perception of the quality of the institution.⁹

Environmental/Systems Framework

Using an environmental lens can provide additional insight on how enrollment management, facilities management, and other departments can work together to craft a strong visit experience. According to Gonzalez, Kahai and Hall,¹⁰ the environmental perspective views organizations as they are situated within larger networks of entities and stakeholders. In turn, an environmental framework provides insight into the complex external economic, social, and cultural conditions and their impact on an organization. During visits, campus is the center of guests’ attention and, while every campus is individual, Hendrickson¹¹ explain that no organization is self-sufficient. Institutional survival depends on the types of relations they establish within larger systems. Campuses need to acknowledge their participation in the larger system of higher education and the student college search process. Consequently, it is important to understand the external environment in which each campus resides. Gonzalez shares that internal work is influenced by external forces, and organizations are part of a wider environment that influences them. Students often visit multiple campuses and will compare their experiences and what they see at each location. Universities need to be informed, understand what other institutions are doing, and have knowledge of other campus environments to best compete and prepare their own campus. Enrollment management and facilities management engaging in shared governance will advance working relationships toward the common goal of a positive campus visit. For example, developing a campus master plan with the visit experience in mind allows for special and unique features to be incorporated for the purpose of welcoming prospective students. Research indicates a positive association between the built environment and students’ campus tours, with institutional characteristics and facilities having a direct correlation with a student’s decision.¹²

Recommendations

Given the importance of the campus visit and the recognition of the environmental framework, it is obvious that enrollment management and facilities management should work together within both internal and external systems. There are many ways this can occur. However, the initial recommendation is to establish a committee consisting of people from these and other departments that are key stakeholders in the planning and execution of a successful visit experience. When creating the committee, it would be natural to turn to departmental leadership. However, while leadership may know what needs to be done, they are unlikely to be familiar with the limitations encountered on a day-to-day basis. It is important for this group to consist of the people most acquainted with the work—those on the front line. This is a recommendation provided by Kotter,¹³ who focuses on how to effectively lead change within an organization. Kotter recommends having leadership provide the “charge” for the group and then empowering them to develop the processes. An adaptation of Kotter’s model is provided in the Figure. The model includes many areas around campus that support the visit experience, with enrollment management and facilities management as primary players. While facilities management and enrollment management have larger representation, this recognizes these areas carry the most responsibility in how prospective students experience campus during their visit. Additionally, this approach identifies the various entities that make up the “system” that is the campus visit and it encourages collaboration to help own the process. Effectively, those on the committee become champions for the visit experience.