It’s hard to overemphasize the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on us and how those ripple effects are still around. In 2020, with the world shut down, schools, colleges, and universities lost one of their key selling points with prospective students: the campus tour. The inability to bring people on campus to get a firsthand look at their future was a real issue, and so many of these institutions turned instead to a rising new technology: virtual campus tours.
Virtual campus tours are delivered either through interactive photo and video online or, in more advanced versions, through VR headsets. And while social distancing is no longer a thing, virtual campus tours have online continued to grow in popularity as schools find new, tech-forward ways of enhancing the traditional experience.
Virtual vs. AR vs. VR
Let’s set out some real quick definitions so we’re all starting from the same page:
- Virtual campus tours – An umbrella term that encompasses any kind of campus tour where the prospective students are not physically present at the school location
- Augmented reality (AR) tours – These are campus tours where the prospective student is on campus and using VR glasses or mobile apps to get an enhanced view of the school
- Virtual reality (VR) tours – A type of virtual campus tour that is conducted by the prospective student putting on a VR headset to walk through the location
How AR and VR Are Being Used for Campus Tours
How colleges, schools, and universities are leveraging augmented and virtual campus tours varies a lot depending on their goals and resources.
For example, an AR tour could be a mobile app that tracks a student’s location and offers deeper information on their surroundings. It can go a step further and leverage the cameras on their smartphones so that, when students hold them up, they can see digital overlays across the physical space. A school could also provide wearable AR glasses that interact with the mobile app and student’s phone to provide detailed overlays and even gamified quests.
For virtual campus tours, at its base level, it goes beyond a simple photo gallery and includes components like:
- 360-degree, panoramic views in any direction
- Individualized, self-guided navigation
- Informational overlays and/or clickable, interactive hotspots
- Compatibility with a wide variety of devices
- Always-on, 24/7 availability
Using these features, schools can allow prospective students to “walk” into a dorm room, explore classrooms and facilities, and develop a clearer picture of what life on campus looks like. This can be done through a series of 360-degree photos (think: Google Street View) or fully immersive photos. Both online and VR headset virtual tours can allow students to sit in on a class, meet faculty and staff, let students express thoughts and interest in the moment, and even explore some of the community around the campus.
Benefits of Enhanced Virtual Campus Tours
Even before 2020, virtual campus tours were on the rise because of the number of benefits they provide. Recent reports and surveys have found that:
- Schools with virtual tours experience a 16% in applications
- Universities using virtual tours attracted and engaged 30% more prospects
- 94% of admissions staff believe virtual tours increased their productivity and efficiency
- And that’s just the start.
Expanded reach
Since virtual campus tours can be accessed anywhere in the world, that means your pool of prospective students gets a lot bigger. This includes expanding your outreach to international students who can’t spend the time and money on extensive travel. It also helps you connect with potential students in your region who may not have the financial resources to drive over to your campus for a visit.
Accessibility
Virtual and augmented reality tours increase how accessible your school is for interested students in a few different ways. For example, your campus might be compliant with the American Disability Act, but it might still be difficult for students living with disabilities to travel to you just for a short period of time. It’s also always available, throughout the day, every day, without having to schedule an appointment or rearrange their calendar to come on an appointed day. This is especially important for prospective students who are nontraditional and maybe trying to juggle higher education with a full-time job or other responsibilities.
Personalization
Depending on the prospect’s age, goals, and interests, they’re going to have different parts of your campus that are the most applicable to them. Virtual campus tours give you a much better opportunity to collect this data and utilize it to give them a more individualized experience. You can also much more easily put up translations in different languages, further expanding your recruitment pool.
Data-gathering
For schools, virtual and augmented reality campus tours can provide a goldmine of data, allowing your team to see where potential students went, how long they stayed, what they clicked on and were interested in, and additional useful information. These metrics not only give you a clearer idea of how your virtual tour is working , but also trends in your demographics and ideal customer base.
Best Practices for Creating Virtual Campus Tours
If you don’t already have a virtual or augmented reality campus tour established for your institution, here are a few things to keep top of mind while creating one:
- Know your specific goals — Always, always our first piece of advice. Decide what you want prospects to come away with, what you want to highlight, and how you’re going to stand out.
- Make it extremely visible — Any virtual tour should be able to be featured on your school’s site and social media platforms, which means optimizing it for these different channels from the jump.
- Establish featured locations and hotspots — Especially as you’re starting out, it may not be feasible to put absolutely everything on the tour. Make a list of all the potential places, and prioritize the ones that really stand out.
- Develop the relevant information — Clicking on a hotspot in either a VR or AR tour allows students to dive deeper into areas of interest. Take the time to make this content interesting and engaging, as well as relevant to them.
- Consider gamification — This is entirely optional, but integrating challenges, prompts, or digital scavenger hunts can help boost engagement and keep prospects hanging around to the end.
It’s important you establish these foundations before starting to build out the VR or AR campus tour or looking into engaging a company to do that for you.
Virtual Campus, Real Connection
Deciding on a higher education institution can be a very big decision; it’s a matter of both your finances and your future. But schools that offer virtual campus tours allow students to explore in a way that saves them both time and money, while in turn potentially improving their own engagement, enrollment, and admissions productivity. If you’re interested in learning more, you can always contact our marketing experts at EdwardsSchoen, and we’d be happy to discuss options with you on how to connect with your ideal prospective students.
