Articles
Higher Education
Tour AU Aims to Help More Students Tour Campus
By Cait Etherington
September 24, 2018
Anyone who has ever applied to college or helped a teen go through the process will be familiar with the college campus tour. The tours are a critical part of the college application process. For some families, it’s even a ritual–a purposeful family trip marking the end of childhood and beginning of one’s early adult years. But given the high stakes of college campus tours, is it possible that virtual versions will ever replace the real thing? American University recently teamed up with Sony Electronics Inc. to launch Tour AU–a mobile app designed to give would-be enrollees and parents a chance to go on a college tour, even if they can’t afford to visit in person.
The Purpose of Campus Tours
To appreciate why Tour AU is needed, it is first important to consider the role of the campus tour itself. From the perspective of colleges and universities who are increasingly eager to attract “new admits,” campus tours should offer potential students a firsthand glimpse at just how fun life is on campus. For parents, tours are designed to assure them that the campus is a safe and serious environment that is well worth the tuition and residence fees they will end up paying over the coming four years. But do campus tours work?
Research suggests that campus visits are among the most important factor in recruiting students. As reported in 2018 article by Scott Secore in Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly found that comparable studies carried out across campuses have reached this very conclusion. As Secore writes, “Despite the prominent roles social media and the internet play in everyday life, people still conduct themselves in a physical world.”
The problem with campus visits is that while some families can visit multiple campuses, others are put at a disadvantage. In fact, families without the time or money to visit campuses in person not only are left to make decisions based on less complete information but also can be penalized. The National Association for College Admission Counseling found that approximately 15 percent of four-year colleges consider “demonstrated interest” as a key factor in admissions decisions and over twice that percentage view “demonstrated interest” as something of “moderate importance.” While by no means as big a factor as grades, this finding suggests that even the ability to visit a campus may determine whether one is ultimately admitted.
The Tour AU Mobile App
American University recently launched the Tour AU mobile app. Billed as the first “‘all-in-one’ admissions app” that offers a one-of-a-kind campus tour and student-specific information, AU hopes their new app will offer more college-bound students and families a chance to experience what AU has to offer, even if they can’t afford to visit in person.
As Sharon Alston, AU Vice Provost of Undergraduate Enrollment, said in a press release issued on September 20, “The experience a student has on their campus visit is a critical component to their college choice process.” Among other features, Tour AU will enable prospective students to wander around a campus via VR 360° videos while overhearing actually students talk about their campus experience. Tour AU also incorporates augmented reality to help any one experience AU campus life more fully.
AU partnered with Sony Electronics to develop the app. Mike Fasulo, president and chief operating officer at Sony Electronics, is also excited about the app’s potential to impact student choice. He notes that in the 21st century, all aspects of the campus experience are shifting and this includes how students make decisions about which college they will attend.
For anyone hoping to virtually tour AU, the Tour AU app is already available on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
I am a former summit learning teacher in Holyoke, MA. I can tell you, unequivocally, that the entire platform stinks. It is not even a curriculum, it is a hodgepodge resources lifted from Khan Academy, youtube, Engage NY, IXL lessons, scanned textbook pages, and other unrelated sources. These materials are often not aligned to common core standards, they are often of poor quality, they include numerous broken links. Students are expected to independently take notes as they work, but no consideration has been given to the lexile levels of readings so the material is often completely inaccessible to students. The math curriculum is devoid of any meaningful direct instruction. Many students disengage within a couple of weeks and spend most of their time browsing the internet or gaming instead of learning. As they fall behind, they see their home screen turn more and more red, causing greater frustration and discouragement. Students become so screen addicted that they rebel any time a teacher attempts to give them direct instruction. Worse yet, the necessity of teacher training in the platform’s usage necessitates the hiring of several consultants and coaches, many of whom explicitly state that their primary objective is to prove the platform viable so that it may grow to more school districts. Ultimately, school administrators are pressured to increase scores of online tests (many of which students attempt literally dozens of times over), so they pressure teachers to take tests with their students to ensure a passing grade. Essentially, schools are falsifying data to ensure Summit’s growth. Given that Summit pitches its product as a turnaround model for struggling urban schools, its practices are essentially exploitative.