USC Admission announced Wednesday that it is canceling all campus tours and information sessions from Thursday to March 29 amid concerns regarding the coronavirus.
Although no cases have been reported among the USC community, the university is taking preventive measures due to the threat in Los Angeles County. USC Admission listed on its website that virtual admission information sessions will be offered and that students can experience a virtual tour presented by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Graduate Programs.
The virtual tour shows viewers 16 different University Park Campus locations. Besides general campus spots like Tutor Campus Center and Doheny Memorial Library, the majority of the tour is dedicated to showcase Viterbi lab spaces.
“I would never suggest any kind of virtual tour, it couldn’t replace a visit to a community,” said Director of Admission Kirk Brennan. “We hope that it is seen as a reasonable stopgap and we acknowledge that it focuses on Viterbi facilities. But it’s one thing that we felt like was a reasonable link to provide students given the sudden cancellation to at least get some glimpse of what campus might be like.”
Brennan added that the admission office is planning on creating other virtual alternatives in case future admission campus events, similar to ExploreSC, and Admitted Students Day gets canceled due to escalating coronavirus concerns. Some possibilities include chatrooms and webinars.
“We want to make sure that prospective students can connect with the community, not just see the facilities but also feel a personal connection to the place that they might call home,” he said.
Brennan said that they’re expecting to solidify these plans in the following weeks.
Sara Collins, a tour guide and senior at USC, said the cancellations are less than ideal, but necessary due to the circumstances.
“I think there’s something about really being on campus, seeing USC’s environment and really being there in person,” said Collins. “But you can’t get that when you are doing it online. However, I think given the circumstances, we are doing the best we can.”
Collins added that giving tours virtually would change the way she conducts her tours.
“I can’t really personalize it if I don’t know who is watching,” she said.
Steven Sturges, a first-year applicant from the state of Washington, said in an interview with USC Annenberg Media that he thinks campus visits are an important factor for many prospective students because that gives them the opportunity to see the university as a whole.
“[Knowing what a school’s campus is like] is pretty important,” he said. “On a scale from one to 10, it’s probably a seven or eight simply because it gives you the general idea of the atmosphere and the culture.”
Although Sturges was not planning to tour USC soon because he has already visited, he stated that he wouldn’t be surprised if the tour cancellations affected other students’ commitment decisions.
“I say it will simply affect students due to the lack of opportunity to see the culture for what it is,” Sturges said. “With the cancellation of these tours, I imagine that this would affect some of their decisions, although not in an extremely drastic way.”
On the website, USC Admission stated that it will be making accommodations to students whose schools and application processes have been disrupted by the coronavirus.
“We are able to accommodate the contingency plans implemented by other schools, including the use of virtual classrooms and finishing the school year remotely,” the site stated.
USC Admission is allowing first-year applicants to submit self-reported fall grades to the applicant portal in case their current school is unable to submit the required mid-year report. Transfer applicants who withdraw from any of their classes may be unable to transfer right away. Brennan stated that first-year admission decisions are still expected to be sent out by mail on March 26 and released online on March 28.
Prospective students who are facing difficulties providing materials required by the application due to the coronavirus are able to reach out to their respective USC admission counselor. Each applicant will be handled on a case-by-case basis.