"The Exquisite Minutiae of Campus-Visit Day" -- the college's perspective

[Kareni]

An enjoyable article from the Chronicle of Higher Education:

 

The Exquisite Minutiae of Campus-Visit Day

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nan in Mass]

A bit of minutiae that I noticed and felt reassured by at our campus visit - there was bungie around the tops of the cafeteria trash cans keeping the bags from slipping down LOL.

 

I also liked that they had all the students and family members accounted for, with packets for each student with lunch tickets for everyone registered (including siblings and grandparents), times and places for interviews, and a map, as well as the normal advertising stuff. I liked that they had worked out an efficient way for traffic to flow through the cafeteria at the buffet and that that extended to getting rid of one's tray, with a big open trash can for dumping the tray once you had taken the dishes off. (I hate having to do it through a small door in the top of the trashcan.) I liked that there was someone standing by the hatch directing people. I liked that there was enough staff that when I came back into the cafeteria later looking for a cup of tea, there was someone around to ask, and that they went off, heated me a cup of water in the microwave, and found me a teabag and milk. I liked that there were students standing on every corner of the paths, waiting to direct people and answer questions. I know the traffic flow, people moving, making sure everyone knows where to be and what to do part seems rather trivial, but for this particular college, it wasn't. My son is now in the middle of the Atlantic on the school's training ship and I feel much more confident that they will be able to get him into a lifeboat and not lose track of him in an emergency because I have seen their people tracking and people moving abilities in action. And if they keep even their trashcans clean and neat, it probably extends to all the equipment on the ship and those accidents are less likely to happen.

 

I also have been reassured by the staff's attitude towards my youngest son. They seem all to be teachers. They all have gone out of their way to explain what they are doing, from the boatyard people to the grounds keepers. They let him play with the simulators and one of them even let him drive the fork lift when they were moving lines.

 

Thank you for the article!

 

-Nan

Edited May 12, 2010 by Nan in Mass