ULM combines convenience with technology in the newest addition to campus tours. Interested users can view the beauty of ULM’s campus from the comfort of their homes using the new virtual tour technology. This tech includes a 3D map of campus with landmarks that can be clicked and viewed, such as residence halls or class buildings.

The tour also consists of videos with student and faculty testimony of what life on campus is really like. The tour uses multiple videos describing specific sectors of the university.

These factors were previously provided by the team of Hawkseekers, who would give full-campus tours to interested families. Now with the use of the virtual map, participants won’t have to worry about factors such as weather or social distancing affecting their tour. For high school students unable to miss school for a tour, this is a great option. Similarly, students far away from campus can also begin to familiarize themselves with the campus without worrying about the cost of travel.

While the tour can’t replicate everything ULM has to offer, it will serve as an option for prospective students that can’t make it to Monroe. But the Hawkseeker team believes this will be an effective option despite the change.

Michael Crenshaw, a Hawkseeker, thinks that the new tours are just as effective as the in-person tours have been in the past. “There is nothing like being on campus physically,” Crenshaw said. “However, I believe the virtual tour will spark prospective students’ interests in a way that’s never been done before.”

In addition to having a wider outreach, the virtual tour will be able to display more of the campus in one showing than an in-person tour ever could.

VIRTUAL REALITY: The virtual tour allows students to visit the school from their screens.

Other members of the ULM faculty agree that the virtual tours will share a wide range of opportunities, both on and off campus—fantastic for those with long-distance interest. Director of Digital Recruitment and Analytics Horace Wilson said, “It removes time constraints and also highlights some features of the community that aren’t on campus.”