Open Days at SDU

Main idea

Outline

Open Days is situated at the campus where the potential students will meet study programmes from all 5 faculties and support services.

The event consists of 4 main activities:

• Presentations: There will be presentations of the different programmes where you will learn about the academic content and the career opportunities for each programme.
• Stands: At the stands the potential student meet the different programmes. You will find students, lecturers, and student counsellors who are prepared to answer all your questions.
• Student Area: In the student area you will meet the student organisations. Here, you will get a sense of the local student life and insight into which activities and organisations you can become part of.
• Guided tours: During the day you can join a guided tour around campus and see a local housing offer.

Main purpose

• To come and see the facilities. Demystifying what a university is both to potential students and their parents
• To invite the parents in as potential reflection partners
• To match expectations and talk about the educational choice as your own choice and of interests
• To showcase not only study programmes but also student unions, various support services, housing options (off campus housing)
• Academic appetizer

SDU Student Services organizes the event along with representatives from each faculty.

Goals

• To support a safe and calming feeling about starting at the university.
• To develop a sense of belong and confidence through student representatives. You do not have to be a certain type to enter university. Diversity.
• To facilitate a common ground for potential students and their parents to talk about the educational choice.
• Academic appetizer and sort of buy-in

Students involvement

Students are involved in different activities throughout the day.

We have students present at stands and presentations to answer questions about specific study programmes, the transition into university and various aspect of student life. Furthermore, we have student assistants working as info points in and off campus e.g., parking area, giving directions, and campus tour guides.

They also have a coordinating role, and evaluate, give feedback and inputs and the end.

Inspiration and evidence

Open Days originates from similar events on other educational institutions.

Success criteria

To make Open Days a successful event, you need:

• Interested and well-prepared potential students with good conversational questions
• Well prioritized content
• High quality conversations at stands and presentations with well-prepared staff
• Materials that facilitate reflections about the educational choice e.g., what to do at the Open Days event and what to do at home

Potential students can sign up for a newsletter from our admission office that includes matching of expectations leading up to Open Days (and similar events) like “before, during and afterwards”.

Effectiveness

It is difficult to track the effectiveness, but SDU has a study start survey that asks new students about various topics, including participation in recruitment events such as Open Days.

Do you feel you can effectively provide the support that students require?

Would you recommend this to other institutions?

strongly agree

Evaluation

The event is evaluated through user surveys and number of visits at the stands and presentations.

An internal evaluation on organization, coordination, practical issues, and staff feedback.

Communication

• Newsletters that potential students can sign up for
• Campaigns at SoMe, transportation platforms, public spaces. Etc.
• SDU webpages

Timing

Open Days at SDU are currently held a couple of weeks prior to the application deadline in quota 2 in mid-March.

Resources

Open Days are heavy on all sorts of resources.

Staff of different areas of expertise, students and staff from all of the study programmes, communication staff for promotion and printing materials, organising group, etc.

At SDU we work on the Open Days events all year round. Planning, adjusting according to feedback, coordinating, hiring student assistance, delivering, and surveys.

Transferability

We think it is easily transferable to other contexts or groups.

Definitely transferable – Already a typical event in various shapes and sizes at most educational institutions.