In the age of iPhones and Google Maps, an ordinary campus map isn’t going to cut it anymore in the competitive college admissions world. In order to keep up with trends from competing schools and provide campus information to GW applicants, the university introduced the new virtual campus tour last Friday. It can be accessed at www.virtualtour.gwu.edu or directly from the GW website.
The program was part of a complete website overhaul in order to improve the University’s overall web presence that has been taking place gradually during the past few years.
The virtual tour essentially provides a three dimensional architectural rendering of the campus and information which can be accessed at the click of a mouse, making virtually exploring campus concise and interactive. The program will allow students to know what various buildings look like, their locations, and their functions. The map also includes several guided tours where users may select various topics such as athletics or student life, and the program take users on a journey to all the locations involved.
When asked about the funding for the project, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services Leah Rosin said that the cost of the map was kept relatively low since most of the development was done in-house and did not require much help from outside vendors.
“It really is supposed to capture the experiences here in GW so we will be constantly updating our photos and videos which means the tour itself will be different everyday,” she said.
While the main consumers of this tour will be future applicants, it is also designed to aid current staff and students by providing schedules for events and other on-campus activities in real time with updates from the university Twitter feed and calendar.