{"id":44336,"date":"2017-04-04T14:50:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T18:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=44336"},"modified":"2017-04-04T14:51:55","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T18:51:55","slug":"in-the-spring-sunshine-open-house-attendance-soared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2017\/04\/in-the-spring-sunshine-open-house-attendance-soared\/","title":{"rendered":"In the spring sunshine, Open House attendance soared"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final numbers are in, and they confirm what was widely suspected: Record crowds poured into Brock University for Sunday\u2019s Open House, the most important event in the recruitment calendar.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this first year when the annual event moved from late winter to early spring, the backdrop was sunshine, green grass and April flowers as nearly 5,000 prospective students, parents and other guests made the journey from around Niagara, the GTA and southwestern Ontario.<\/p>\n

Beth Natale, Director of Recruitment, said Sunday\u2019s crowds represent a 12 per cent attendance jump over last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole campus community stepped up,\u201d said Natale, \u201cand it showed how Brock can work together as a team. Students and parents were having a great experience. They were happy, they were enjoying themselves and they loved the interaction with faculty and students.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the enthusiasm was palpable to the more than 400 staff and students who gave up their Sunday to greet visitors, answer questions about degree programs and offer tours of everything from labs and residences to athletics and food facilities. Earlier in the weekend, visitors also toured Brock\u2019s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergy levels were off the charts,\u201d said Natale. \u201cPeople were enjoying themselves, and really getting a sense of what we have to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

University Registrar Geraldine Jones said her staff on Sunday had 21 on-the-spot registrations for fall term, an unusual level of commitment on a day when most people are in information-gathering mode.<\/p>\n

Besides the buzz taking place at the Information Fair in Beddis Gym, where representatives from academic Faculties and campus services fielded questions and distributed materials, the measure of the massive collaborative effort could also be seen in other numbers for the day:<\/p>\n