Thursday 17 October 2013

Another Open Day... Another Blog

It’s been while since my last blog, so with the advent of a new application cycle and the passing of another season of Open Days, I thought maybe now was the time for another blog about Open Days, with some reflection on their success and some thoughts on where we go from here.

Seeing Double


Of course, given the inclusion of an extra Open Day in the calendar, since this announcement there has been much debate as to how sensible the addition of an extra date was, especially over two consecutive weekends. One of the main incentives for doing this was to enhance the visitor experience. In recent years, the numbers attending Open Days have been steadily increasing and it was decided that it was in best interests of the visitor to split the main Chester Campus Open Day over two weekends.

I'm sure, to a certain degree, this debate will continue, but with the overall numbers in attendance far higher and more manageable spread over two dates, there’s a strong argument to say that we should continue with this formula next year. In reality, the extra date has now created far more choice for the visitor and, therefore, helped to increase overall attendance. This is important for us in order to maximise our chances of converting enquiries into applications, and it’s also helpful to our prospects at a time of the year when the majority of UK universities are trying to cram in their Open Days. And, given the nature of the application cycle, to move to another weekend later in the cycle would now be far too risky a strategy.