Cheers to the Admissions team for hosting Metropolitan State University of Denver’s most successful Open House ever Feb. 25. The event drew 1,653 people, including 674 prospective students. This exceeded the fall event’s attendance by more than 1,000.
The event included numerous breakout sessions, allowing students to explore MSU Denver’s academic programs, scholarship opportunities, campus life and student services. Specialty tours introduced prospective students to the Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute, the Hospitality Learning Center and the World Indoor Airport.
Spring Open House 2023 by the numbers:
- Registered: 1,296 students; total registrants including guests – 3,052
- Attended: 674 students; total attendees with guests – 1,653
- This marks a 52% attendance rate for students and 54% attendance rate overall.
- For comparison, the fall 2022 event saw 1,566 registrants with guests, 654 total attendees (41%) 262 students
“We had overwhelmingly positive feedback from guests,” said event coordinator Alysha Rowzee. “Some of it was so heartwarming it genuinely brought me to tears.”
Organizers gathered a number of comments from attendees to the survey question: “After attending Open House, do you see an opportunity for you to belong at MSU Denver? Why or why not?”
A few comments attendees shared:
- “MSU (Denver) offers a diverse array of perspectives and backgrounds, which is where I want to learn and grow as a social worker.”
- “It seems to be a very welcoming community and it’s very diverse :)”
- “I love the atmosphere and the friendliness of the staff.”
- “The diversity and commitment to students and their advancement in education is admirable, and I want to learn and grow in that environment.”
- “Yes. It’s homey; it feels like somewhere I belong not only just something I qualify for.”
- “I feel like going to the Open House encouraged me and showed me all the opportunities to take. It showed me it is a community I want to be a part of.”
- “I saw that this campus caters to a wide variety of students from various backgrounds.”
- “I love the closeness of everything on campus, and how friendly all of the staff were. There are so many available resources that make me realize that college won’t be impossible.”
- “I do see myself belonging to MSU (Denver). The diversity and how open all the students and staff are makes the environment very comforting and something I am excited to look forward to.”
- “The Open House helped me see the kind and welcoming community there is on campus, which help me realize I want to be a part of that.”
- “I have gone to a few other of these open houses. This was the only one that did not feel elitist in some capacity. I am thoroughly excited for my future at MSU (Denver).”
- “MSU (Denver) seems like a good school with a passion for their students. Everyone I talked to was friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about education and the university.”
Rowzee and the planning committee attribute the success to taking a slightly different approach, including:
- Expanding postcard mailing to include students in the entirey of Colorado
- Sending parent-specific communications
- Collaborating with University Communications and Marketing to advertise the event on social media.
What happens next?
To maintain connection and momentum, all attendees received an emailed thank you and feedback survey. Two survey respondents have been chosen randomly to receive a $500 scholarship.
Rowzee is also gathering feedback from staff and faculty volunteers to continue improving and growing the event.