Coronavirus forces Butler Tech to experiment with virtual recruitment tours

The annual practice of having hundreds of Butler County high school sophomores bussed to Butler Tech schools to tour and decide whether they want to apply for next school year was shut down by coronavirus. Butler Tech officials instead are now experimenting with a virtual, interactive program where students, such as the one pictured, talk about their programs. (Provided Photo\Journal-News)

The annual practice of having hundreds of Butler County high school sophomores bussed to Butler Tech schools to tour and decide whether they want to apply for next school year was shut down by coronavirus. Butler Tech officials instead are now experimenting with a virtual, interactive program where students, such as the one pictured, talk about their programs. (Provided Photo\Journal-News)

Safety precautions forced by the coronavirus have shut down Butler Tech’s annual tours for prospective high school students, forcing the career school system to invent a digital alternative, which was launched this week.

Each fall, hundreds of area sophomores take buses to Butler Tech’s area campuses throughout Butler County to tour and experience what’s involved in the career-instruction classes they may attend during their junior and senior years.

Coronavirus made the traditional tours potentially dangerous, especially given the recent jump in cases, said Butler Tech officials.

The new online recruitment program moves at a brisk pace and includes readouts of remaining seconds left in each presentation and prompts to move on to interactive segments for both school parents and students.

“This is definitely a first for us and an innovative step into interactive media for recruitment,” said Butler Tech spokeswoman A.J. Huff, whose career school system is one of the largest in Ohio and serves all 10 Butler County public school districts along with Northwest Schools in northern Hamilton County.

“We hired a professional audio, visual, and lighting production company to help transform our stage (at the Fairfield Twp. campus) into a one-of-a-kind Butler Tech set where we filmed various segments of the recruitment platform. We involved more than 50 Butler Tech Student Ambassadors in the filming on all four campuses and all 26 programs.”

Students and parents can then schedule a small in-person tour or submit an application.

The virtual tour program was launched Tuesday evening and is available on Butler Tech’s website.

Matt King, recruitment coordinator for Butler Tech, said “first day of launch resulted in 1,000 users who navigated Butler Tech LIVE to see programs. This production did not feature a single adult, 100 percent of this experience is narrated by current Butler Tech students.”

“Due to COVID, recruiting for Butler Tech programs can be quite challenging. In a virtual world, zoom calls and live stream become the norm and it can be rather difficult to break through the noise, especially with gaining attention from teenagers.”

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