Western Michigan University offers new app for prospective students to take self-guided tours

The WMU Campus Tour App is available on both Android and Apple devices and will enable prospective Western Michigan University students to take either self-guided tours or virtual tours of the campus. It is one way in which WMU administrators are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic while encouraging new student recruitment. The app employs GPS technology and features narration by WMU students. The app also allows prospective students to get a glimpse of spaces that they currently can not tour in person due to statewide restrictions on building occupancy.

As colleges across Michigan and much of the country work to quickly adapt to changing protocols and orders brought about by the pandemic, WMU has maintained a focus on recruiting new students and finding inventive ways to provide a complete picture of life at the university. The WMU Campus Tour App employs GPS technology to guide visitors through a tour of campus landmarks including academic buildings, residence and dining halls. Each stop is narrated by a WMU student ambassador. Some stops on the tour provide a virtual look at spaces in buildings that are currently off-limits to visitors. The app is an important tool for WMU admissions staff in outreach to prospective students. In a release from WMU, Assistant Director of Admissions Chelsea Yordy explains, "We know there are people who still need conversations and experiences, so we thought about how we can facilitate it in a new, exciting way and then continue to refresh the experience. There are a lot of new things we've designed and we have been a leader in providing those experiences."

Other newly developed recruitment tools include virtual experiences and information sessions. The virtual information sessions cover the various schools and major programs available at WMU. Sessions are offered for both incoming freshman and transfer students and require registration. Another virtual option is the Bronco Break Room in which participants have the opportunity to spend time with current WMU students in an informal setting. They can play games, listen to music, and simply get a feel for campus life outside of academics. Associate Director of Admissions Recruitment Marketing and Communications Megan Anderson spoke of the virtual tools added by WMU for prospective students, "This gives us an additional option to give families, on campus or not, to learn more about Western and get a feel for what life is like as a Bronco." Despite the pandemic, WMU is seeing an eight percent increase in applications received.