The University is tweaking its campus tours to reflect new global and academic opportunities at Duke.
Over the past several years, feedback received by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has prompted administrators to ensure that campus tours place more emphasis on Duke’s academic offerings, Provost Peter Lange said. The suggestions for improvements to campus tours came from several different sources, including alumni involved with the admissions process and surveys of prospective students and their parents.
A recent nationwide survey, as well as earlier feedback, suggested that Duke’s reputation did not fully reflect major changes to the academic program over the past decade, particularly initiatives such as DukeEngage and the growth of certificate programs, Lange wrote in an e-mail Monday. The responses indicated that prospective students wanted more information about academics or were simply not aware of the new programs, he added.
Last week, Lange met with student tour guides and admissions officials to discuss the renewed focus on academics, said junior John Mekjian, co-head coordinator of Duke Tour Guides. At the meeting, Lange encouraged tour guides to foster a broad understanding of campus life that includes academic experiences both inside and outside the classroom.
“We have been deepening and enriching these [experiences beyond the classroom] over the past decade, and we want to be sure they are fully reflected in the tours,” Lange said.
Although tours do not have a fixed script, the student guides are trained with a manual that gives an outline of information to cover. The manual’s section on academics has been expanded based on Lange’s recommendations, Mekjian said.
“We will encourage guides to talk about their favorite professors... their study abroad experience or where they hope to study abroad,” he added.
Mekjian noted that there will not be any changes to the physical tour route itself.
Admissions officials noted that a renewed focus on academics will help applicants more fully understand the resources available for Duke students on campus.
“Everyone already knows about basketball,” said Samuel Carpenter, assistant director of undergraduate admissions. “[Applicants] are not writing their essays about being Cameron Crazies—they’re writing about DukeEngage or doing research, and we want to make sure they get that information [from the tours].”
Carpenter attributed the heightened interest in academics to the competitive nature of undergraduate admissions, noting that visiting students want to know more about specific programs relating to their areas of study. To accomplish this academic shift, tour guides will speak about their own academic pursuits, Carpenter said.
“[The tours] will draw on the anecdotal experience of the tour guides and try to offer some examples,” he said. “We want to encourage [prospective students] to think about their own academic experiences and how they might relate to Duke.”
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