The 2020/2021 academic year is approaching and many prospective students are contemplating what university to attend, or, in some cases, if to invest in their tertiary education at all. COVID-19 has had a major impact on educational institutions worldwide - how they operate, deliver services, and attract new students. Seeking to better communicate with potential students, parents and guardians, UWI St Augustine held its second annual round of Virtual Open Days from June 22 to July 6, to provide an online, open house experience of the campus, its programmes and personnel.
“A Virtual Open Day provides an opportunity for prospective students and their parents to learn more about the university application process, programmes of study, student life, student support services,” says Shanelle Glasgow, Team Lead of Projects and Events within the Marketing and Communications Office.
Glasgow adds, “It has great reach. Anyone from anywhere in the world can participate once they have an internet connection. It is especially useful for prospective students as they also get the chance to have questions answered in real-time.”
The UWI Virtual Open Days were first held in 2019. This year, there were 10 open days - Undergraduate Admissions, Postgraduate Admissions and sessions for the Campus’ eight faculties.
“[The open days] received a fair amount of interest,” says Glasgow. “We had people logged on from islands throughout the region, the US and even the UK. The benefit of these virtual events is that the sessions are recorded and uploaded to YouTube. So that even after the live event, within a matter of days each session had hundreds of views. We had in one instance over 500 prospective students registered for a session.”
Universities and institutions of higher learning across the world are looking at ways to survive the pandemic
This year’s Virtual Open Days were particularly important as UWI, like most other universities, is forced to contend with the fallout from COVID-19. Glasgow says, “Universities and institutions of higher learning across the world are looking at ways to survive the pandemic” and people, including prospective students and their guardians, “are interested but trying to navigate tough financial times with job losses and high levels of job insecurity”.
However, there is a bright side for universities as the need to adapt spurs them to make better use of processes and technology for online learning and student recruitment. In any case, despite the post pandemic environment, education will continue to give graduates not only a competitive advantage in the job market, but also a greater opportunity to contribute to the repair of society after the damage of COVID-19.
Campus Principal Professor Brian Copeland told attendees to the undergraduate open day just this. “[At UWI] you will begin the process of applying new knowledge to world problems,” he said, “at a time when the need for the voices of the Caribbean has never been greater.”
The Virtual Open Days can be viewed at the UWI St Augustine YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/uwistaugustine.
