First Open House event went very smoothly

This year the Open House organizing team, Carey-Ann Pawsey, Christine Layne and Megan Ainscow from the Communications Office and associate deans Mylène Saucier, Brid Nic Niocaill, Bassel Attalah and Timothy Miller, implemented some new ideas to improve the Open House experience for both visitors and staff.

Their main change was creating two events to alleviate the crowding that has occurred at Open House events in the past. Programs in Science, Medical Studies and Engineering participated in Open House on Oct. 20. This Sunday, Oct. 27 from 1 PM to 4 PM is dedicated to programs in Creative & Applied Arts and Social Science and Business Technologies.

“Excellent organization,” said Director General Diane Gauvin. “Thank you to the Comms team and thank you to all employees who dedicated their Sunday to answering questions from potential applicants about programs in Science, Medical Studies and Engineering.”

An estimated 8,000 people visited Dawson last Sunday. They went to info sessions about pre-university science programs, Computer Science Technology and How to Apply; met faculty at technical programs information tables and visited staff from Continuing Education, Academic Advising, the Student AccessAbility Centre, Athletics and Financial Aid. In addition, current science students led guided tours of the science labs and learning spaces and visitors took the new self-guided tour of 15 stops around the College.

A survey was created for visitors to share their experience so the team can continue fine-tuning things for next year. To date, 55 per cent of survey respondents said they came to Open House for more information about specific program(s) and 82 per cent said they are more likely to apply to Dawson after attending Open House. Some areas identified for improvement include improving the flow of people through the College.

Here is a sample of comments from visitors about what they like best:

• “The people answering questions about the programs were very thorough.”
• “I appreciate the fact that all my questions were answered within the presentation, and I left the Open House sure of my decision about which program to apply to.”
• “How everyone was so friendly and kind, I got a lot of useful information that helped me have a general idea about the program I’m interested in.”
• “By being inside the school and imagining myself becoming a student there made me want to work harder to get into the school that I want. Dawson is one of my top choices.”
• “I had a different idea of this school before coming. But after the Open House, I see that I could belong there. The programs seem enriching and innovative.”
• “I’m going to apply because the school can give me the opportunities to pursue my ideal dream with all the resources that I was able to see on the campus. It’s been my dream college since I was a kid and the open house just solidified my choice.”
• “Dawson proved to me that it is a student centred college and feeds student interests with adapted projects and programs.”