Working with a company that has created great tours for other academic institutions, such as McGill University and the Sacred Heart School of Montreal, the Communications Office is preparing to launch a new self-guided tour for visitors, especially for prospective students and their families.

The hope is to make the tour experience better and to open up the possibility of touring Dawson any day you choose during opening hours. We will be suggesting that students interested in Dawson come after school to do the self-guided tour and make it into a "Dawson Experience" by combining it with enjoying a snack in the cafeteria, taking in a play by our Professional Theatre students or watching a home game of the Dawson Blues.

The tour is available in English and in French and has audio files in both languages narrated by Dawson Theatre graduates. The idea is that they walk around the campus with their phone and ear buds. Texts are also available. The departure point is the Atwater Metro Station entrance and the tour takes visitors to 15 general-interest stops. People with reduced mobility will be invited to contact the Student AccessAbility Centre to set up a personal tour.

The tour is not yet final and there is still more work required. For example, a few more photos will be taken this weekend, and signage will be going up around the college. However, we wanted to give our colleagues a sneak peek before we roll out our web page and start promoting it.

• English tour: https://dawson-college.webflow.io/en
• French tour: https://dawson-college.webflow.io/fr

If you have feedback, feel free to email: commsoffice@dawsoncollege.qc.ca

At the end of September, 900 Dawson students took part in a survey conducted by Léger Marketing for the Fédération des cégeps du Québec. Students across Quebec aged 17-24 were asked a series of questions about their perceptions of CEGEP. The results for Dawson were shared with the Communications Office before the holiday break.

Some of the things Dawson’s Head of Communications Megan Ainscow found interesting:

• The top reason that students chose Dawson was because they have heard favourable things about it (67%)
• 84% of students say they are satisfied with their program
• 75% of students do not wish to have courses at night and 90% do not wish to have courses on weekends
• 88% of students say it suits them to study in person, and 57% of students say distance learning does not suit them

Members of the Dawson community who are interested in reading all the results (and are signed in to Microsoft 365) can check out the survey data here.

We have already had a few snowfalls and winter will soon be here officially.

Dawson will communicate any decision to remain open or, in exceptional circumstances, to close using the following channels:

• Employees: All Dawson email from the Communications Office (commsoffice@dawsoncollege.qc.ca )
• Students: Mandatory document on Omnivox (My Dawson Portal)
• Public: alert at the top of the Dawson College website’s home page
• Additional channels may include the College’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the media, especially radio

The College will do its best to inform employees and students before 6 AM if there is a weather situation to monitor.