Our Visit Days showcase what we offer

Friday, 20 March 2015

Visit Days are important activities in the undergraduate recruitment calendar, allowing us to showcase our campus, accommodation and academic facilities to offer holders at a time when they are deciding which university offers to accept. This year's Visit Days are well under way and the first of five centralised days was held on Saturday 14 February with further centralised days taking place over the coming weeks in February and March.

Led by a collaborative team of colleagues from Admissions and Marketing, Communication and Engagement in partnership with departmental teams from across the University, the Visit Days are a significant team effort, enabling us to show our University at its very best!

Academic and service colleagues give up their Saturdays to staff visit days and make them a success, working many six-day weeks at this time of year as a result. A big thank you goes to all colleagues supporting Visit Days and thereby ensuring the University can recruit high-calibre students.

The varied itineraries for each day include student-led campus and accommodation tours, sample lectures. All visitors enjoy a hosted lunch; for offer holders this takes place in their department in the company of current students. For accompanying parents and guardians, lunch with Senior University staff and academics takes place in the Students' Union.   Reflecting the 21% increase in undergraduate applications to Reading this year, Visit Day bookings have also increased, with many more bookings being received so far this year.

Working closely with colleagues in schools, departments and other central services, the University's central Conversion Team creates and delivers an extensive plan of initiatives to encourage offer holders at all levels of study to pick Reading as their firm choice of university. In addition to Visit Days, activities include sending a range of visually rich direct email communications, both to promote the University and to provide critical information to offer holders at key times of year, as well as student-led telephone calling campaigns.

We share information about conversion plans principally via the Admissions Community of Practice website, mailing list and events. If you would like to become a member of the Admissions CoP or find out more about central conversion plans, please get in touch with us by emailing conversionteam@reading.ac.uk