{"id":181,"date":"2012-08-08T09:55:45","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T14:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/?p=181"},"modified":"2012-08-08T09:55:45","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T14:55:45","slug":"campus-tour-guides-play-important-role-in-showing-ur-to-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/2012\/08\/08\/campus-tour-guides-play-important-role-in-showing-ur-to-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus tour guides play important role in showing UR to visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By Chrissy Wengloski<\/p>\n

When Addy Asante, a junior tour guide, asked the five prospective students in her tour group about their academic interests, four of them mentioned pre-med studies.<\/p>\n

Asante therefore shared some of her personal experience as a pre-med student with the students while they stood in the Gottwald Center for the Sciences. She talked about the helpfulness of the pre-med advising and the advantages of the program. She also listed other science programs housed in the building.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Asante\u2019s description of the social science departments within Weinstein Hall was limited to: \u201cpretty much all the different social sciences you can think of.\u201d She immediately moved on to discussing the environmental sustainability of the building.<\/p>\n

The content of campus tours at the University of Richmond has sparked intense conversations among School of Arts and Sciences faculty members and admissions officials this fall.<\/p>\n

A predominately email-based discussion stemmed from the art departments and elicited responses from other members of the Arts and Sciences faculty. The conversations were led by professors who have observed tours, such as Tanja Softic, an art professor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral of us in the arts, the chairs of the art departments, we were disappointed to not see any tours in the Modlin Center,\u201d Softic said. \u201cI think that not including the Modlin Center, or sometimes just a mention of the Modlin Center and the strengths of our arts programs, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s in our interest as a university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathrin Bower, professor of German Studies, also discussed how her department is poorly described on tours when it is mentioned at all. Her program is housed in the Carol Weinstein International Center, which is frequently visited by tours because of its proximity to the admissions office.<\/p>\n

According to Richmond\u2019s website, the German Studies program not only provides students with language skills, but also introduces them to \u201cGerman culture and history through courses on literature, film, theater, history and philosophy.\u201d On the tour, the program is often simply referred to as a \u201clanguage program,\u201d \u00a0Bower said.<\/p>\n

There are \u201cmany people in my department who would find that to be overly reductionist,\u201d she said. Lacking descriptions \u201ccan affect the students that are interested in Arts and Sciences adversely,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Bower believes that overly simplified descriptions of programs, or neglecting to mention certain arts and sciences programs at all, can cause prospective students and families to assume the programs must not be strong or valuable. Arts and Sciences professors are concerned tour guides often group their programs together with phrases such as \u201cthe humanities,\u201d \u201csocial sciences\u201d or \u201cscience majors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe that any admissions tour can give a full picture, that would be unfair\u2026but I think it\u2019s the first face of the university; it\u2019s the first smile, the first welcoming gesture,\u201d Softic said. \u201cAnd therefore I feel it should be representative of the school in its totality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another major concern of arts and sciences professors is what some say is an unbalanced portrayal of the Robins School of Business and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies over the School of Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n

David Leary, a psychology professor and former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, pointed out that \u201cit\u2019s not a surprise that people ask about the leadership school,\u201d considering people are unfamiliar with the concept. He also said that the majority of top liberal arts colleges do not have business schools. Therefore, both the leadership school and the business school would be key points of interest on a tour, but they are not more important than arts and sciences, Leary said.<\/p>\n

Leary was also quick to point out that E. Claiborne Robins, the namesake of the business school, was an English major during his undergraduate years at Richmond.<\/p>\n

Members of the arts and sciences faculty who are aware of imbalance problems on tours are nonetheless supportive of student tour guides. Political science professor Stephen Long called tour guides bright, intelligent students. Softic described them as highly trained and committed.<\/p>\n

The role of tour guide is valued among these faculty members. Leary said perceptions of campuses are ultimately \u201cup to the attitude of the tour guides and what they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Richmond\u2019s campus, the tour guide is the point at which content, effectiveness, and emotions concerning the tours revolve. The tour guide is often the first University of Richmond student with which a prospective student and family come into contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they get to associate a face and an experience, kinda get to step into my shoes for that hour or so that I\u2019m with them,\u201d said Carolyn Dombrowski, a sophomore tour guide. \u00a0\u201cThey get to experience my passion, my love for the school. Facts, rankings, all that sort of information is very important when you\u2019re giving a list of schools, but in terms of actually differentiating one school that you really love and really want to go to \u2013 I think it\u2019s the tour that seals the deal there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tour guide role is highly desirable on Richmond\u2019s campus. Tour guides are a part of the Spider Key Society, Richmond\u2019s society of tour guides. In the fall of 2011, 130 students applied for about 50 new tour guide positions, which were added to the existing 80 tour guides. The applicants went through a series of group and individual interviews. One particular interview required them to dress to represent how they felt about the university. T-shirts, sundresses, and Spiderman costumes were among their choices, according to students who went through the application process.<\/p>\n

Amy Gray, the undergraduate admission counselor who oversees tour guides, said that they look for tour guides who are academically responsible, have a good way of explaining things on campus and have a strong ability to connect with other people. She called it a very qualitative process.<\/p>\n

Richmond tour guides are given a manual that is about an inch thick. Gray said they spend the time from their hire date in November to spring break training in group and co-tours, before they give their first solo tour. The admissions office also brings in a group called TargetX to work with the tour guides on \u201cstory-telling.\u201d Richmond\u2019s Speech Center helps them with handling hard questions such as those about the diversity, party scene, or drug use on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do give us stats,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cThey give us a whole book on stats for us to pull out if anyone has a question like, \u2018Okay, how many students go abroad\u2019 you know, \u2018What\u2019s your percentage of minorities on campus?\u2019 questions like that, we do have those resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

After finishing campus tour at Richmond, Christie Denicola, a mother of a high school junior from New Jersey, called tours the \u201cmost valuable information you can get.\u201d She also said tours allowed for her to have \u201cat least a face and a person\u2026who can answer the questions later.\u201d She indicated that she and her son only wanted general information on the tour, but planned to ask more detailed questions at a later time, if they found they were interested in the school.<\/p>\n

Although parents and prospective students may not have detailed and specific questions while on their tours, tour guides often ask for special interests of the prospective students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make the special effort to make everyone go around in the group and introduce themselves, say where they\u2019re from, what year they are, maybe what academic interests they have and then pay special attention to those when I go on the tour,\u201d Dombrowski said.<\/p>\n

On her tour with the group interested in pre-med studies, Asante demonstrated how the different academic departments within the University of Richmond may be highlighted.<\/p>\n

The first stop of the Saturday morning tour was Queally Hall and the Robins School of Business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe business school does offer some of our top majors on campus,\u201d Asante said. \u201cThe professors here are absolutely amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, she admitted to not understanding the stock tickers on the wall, when one parent asked about them.<\/p>\n

In the main academic quad, Asante mentioned that the history and English departments are housed in Ryland Hall. According to the Richmond website, 70 percent of students choose to stay in the arts and sciences upon declaring their major, but Asante simply mentioned that a lot of students will have classes in Ryland because history and English are general education requirements. She then began to discuss the movies and television shows that have been filmed on Richmond\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n

The School of Arts and Sciences has 22 academic departments and 11 interdisciplinary programs, yet the majority of programs in Weinstein Hall and Richmond Hall were vaguely described. More time was spent discussing the Speech Center and the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) than the academic programs in each of these buildings.<\/p>\n

Although the tour group walked up the hill toward the Greek Theater, past the Modlin Center for the Arts, no stop was made. Asante did, however, identify the building to her group.<\/p>\n

Softic wants students to know they can receive great art education at Richmond, but Asante pointed out during the tour that there was not time to show all of campus. Skipped stops on this tour included the Carol Weinstein International Center and the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness.<\/p>\n

Concerning which stops to make, Alex Eisenach, senior tour guide and director of marketing for the Spider Key Society, said tours should \u201cmarket to each person as well as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antoine Waul, vice president of the Spider Key Society, also emphasized the personal touch added to tours as something that makes Richmond tours unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Office of Admission really stresses that we\u2019re supposed to tell our individual stories, things that do make the tour memorable,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cI do think that maybe if you do just repeat rote responses it doesn\u2019t give the university much personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bower wondered if the personal preferences and experiences of tour guides might leave them unequipped to discuss certain programs or departments with their tours.<\/p>\n

Dean of Admission Gil Villanueva said that \u201cwe try to make sure they\u2019re armed with all that good information,\u201d when referring to specific departmental facts. Villanueva also discussed how the admissions office has moved beyond personalization of recruiting and into customization.<\/p>\n

Nancy Tessier, the vice president of Enrollment Management, said in an email interview, \u201cOur goal is to provide\u2026information that is increasingly customized to the specific interests of a prospective student as she or he becomes increasingly interested in the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cTour guides are trained in all aspects of the University, since no student can have had direct experience with every aspect of the University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Villanueva and Tessier emphasized that neither the Office of Admission nor the Office of Enrollment Management highlight any one of the schools at Richmond more than another.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe train our tour guides to be good representative of all the schools that we have,\u201d \u00a0Villanueva said. \u201cThere is no one in my department who can say we value one school over another.\u201d<\/p>\n

The admissions office does not audit its tour guides. They instead rely on comment evaluation cards to be filled out by prospective students and families after tours. Gray said\u00a0 they had faith in the tour guides which helped them grow.<\/p>\n

Bower, Softic and Long all suggested greater faculty participation as a way to better highlight arts and sciences programs. They, and others like them, have offered their services to the admissions office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe faculty are the ones that are going to have these students in their classrooms,\u201d \u00a0Bower said. \u201cArts and Sciences faculty should be given a chance to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Softic and members of the art departments met with admission representatives about their concerns and had a \u201creally good meeting,\u201d Softic said.<\/p>\n

Villanueva said the Office of Admission is striving to make sure they continued to embrace their programs with good information from faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m all game and green lights,\u201d he said about improving the current system. \u201cWe are constantly thinking about how we can improve upon what our work is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bower pointed out that the concerns of faculty members are not unique to Richmond. She did, however, say,\u00a0 \u201cit\u2019s creating an unnecessary tension between the faculty and the admissions office.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the concerns about content, faculty roles, and balance between the three undergraduate schools remain, the tours carry on. Prospective students continue to see Richmond for the first time. They continue to interact with their tour guides. And they continue to make decisions based on what they encounter on campus that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my students have said the tour made their mind up, that they were going to come here. And that\u2019s the best thing I could hope for,\u201d Dombrowski said.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By Chrissy Wengloski When Addy Asante, a junior tour guide, asked the five prospective students in her tour group about their academic interests, four of them mentioned pre-med studies. Asante therefore shared some of her personal experience as a pre-med student with the students while they stood in the Gottwald Center for the … Continue reading Campus tour guides play important role in showing UR to visitors<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12585,209],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall-2011","category-news-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}