It’s Monday morning and four high school students wait patiently as they are given forms to fill out before starting a tour of TJC. Each year hundreds of students and parents come to TJC to see what the campus has to offer. Touring the college gives students a hands-on feel for their potential college environment.
Tyler Junior College offers two options to view the campus. Visiting the campus is the most common way for potential students to get familiar with the school. A virtual tour is also provided on TJC’s website.
“I think they are really beneficial to students,” said Ashton Brown, admissions recruiter.
Campus visitors who sign up can take a tour that generally lasts one hour. The tour starts with a video that shows different department instructors explaining what their potential students will get out of attending TJC. To tour the housing department, students are advised to schedule an appointment. Students who want to stay on campus are taken through the residential and housing department. This allows them to see the size of their potential living arrangement.
“This tailors the tour for the potential students desires,” said Roshonda Loftin, staff technician. “It’s optional for the students that may stay on campus.”
The tours start in the White Administration Building and are given by the admissions office. After a small introduction, the potential students are then handed off to a student worker. Touring the school with a current student allows the potential students to see the school from a student’s perspective.
A tour of the campus consists of many stops, such as Rogers Student Center where the prospective student can speak with an advisor and also view the cafeteria and game room.
A high school student who decides to take the tour on campus can receive a college day letter. This letter is given as a pass to be absent from school for a day.
Starting this semester, students that call in to set up a tour will be rewarded at the end of the tour with a TJC shirt.
An admissions packet is also given during the tour to provide the potential students with more information on what the campus has to offer.
An evaluation sheet is given to visitors as a way to receive feedback on how TJC can improve the campus tour. The evaluation contains questions on how the tour helped influence the potential student choose or not choose TJC as their college.
The virtual tour of TJC is on the official website. This allows potential students to see a brief visual of each building on the main cam- pus as well as the Tyler Junior College West Campus.
The virtual tour is designed for future students to view the school without having to see the campus in person. This is beneficial to potential students who may not live in Tyler or don’t have the time to fit a campus tour in their schedules.
On the website students can see a slide show of pictures that show each building and common areas of the school.
Campus tours are given Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the tour, students have the option to talk to an advisor.
“It doesn’t matter how many people sign up for the tour,” Brown said. “It’s better to make an appointment with the admissions office.”
Students can set up an appointment at the admissions office by calling 903-510-2523.
