Cardinal View is one of the school’s largest recruitment events and the spring 2019 semester turnout was one of the best with more than 320 students showing up to view the campus.
“It was a great success,” Tracie Craig, director of the welcome center, said. “We had almost a 50 percent show rate. We had 324 arrive out of the 660 that registered, so we were really excited with the turnout. Things moved really smoothly. The atmosphere was positive and festive, and the guests seemed to have had a really good time — we’re pleased.”
This year’s Cardinal View was Mardi Gras themed and included beads and king cake available for all students, parents and organizations.
“People seemed to embrace the beads, the king cake and the festivities of all that,” Craig said. “It was a fun day.”
Along with the fun theme, what really set apart this semester from the previous years was the 59 student organizations and campus resources that registered for the event, Craig said.
Since she’s been the director of the welcome center, it has been the best participation from student organizations and campus resources, she said. All the extra tables were filled, and the welcome center had to put people on a waiting list due to the tight space in the Setzer Student Center atrium.
“That was an excellent turnout,” she said. “We were at capacity with student orgs and resources. The atrium in the Setzer Center was packed and there was a lot of high energy. Faculty and student involvement are critical to the success of the event and I appreciate the ones who did participate. That’s what the students come here to see. They come to see what it’s going to be like when they come here as a student. I can’t overstate the value of their involvement.”
Along with the increase in participation, Cardinal View extended the hours of the Student Org fair so that students had the chance to interact with groups for a longer period of time.
“Instead of having the org fair open only for the first hour, we left it open throughout all the breakout sessions so that people can come and go at their leisure,” Craig said. “I think that allowed them to see more traffic, because there is more opportunity. Late comers never got that opportunity before and this time around we still had people arriving as late as 11:45.
“We had a family that was stuck in traffic and didn’t get here until the event was almost over, but they still got to see the fair, because it was the last thing to close. I think that there was a great value for the guests to leave it open longer.”
Craig said the real tell will be how many high school students enroll based on attendance, something they will be keeping track of in the near future.
“We heard a lot of positive feedback,” she said. “It’s really important that the students get a taste of what it’s like to be here, and the faculty involvement and student org involvement is critical to the success of the event.
“The more they understand that their participation is valuable, the greater and greater the event will be. They are the ones people want to see. They want to know what their professors look like. They want to know what the student orgs are and what being a part of that looks like — and seeing is believing.”