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Lehigh University's brand new virtual campus tours address the needs of a wide variety of campus visitors. Specific tours for undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, international students, student athletes/sports fans and Lehigh's research facilities are rounded out by a tour of the local Bethlehem community and popular area hangouts. Creating separate virtual tours for different audiences allows Lehigh to showcase the relevant portions of their sizable campus to each visitor.
Rising use of college Web sites by a range of audiences (prospective students, parents, alumni, visitors etc.), has spurred savvy institutions like Lehigh to create compelling multimedia virtual tours that cater to individual tastes. Lehigh's virtual campus tours are presented in Flash format, and include lush panoramic scenes of campus that users control with their cursors. Panoramic images are augmented with still photos, and many tour stops supply links to related sites and campus groups. Thorough descriptions of each location help new students, parents and visitors learn about Lehigh, and encourage alumni to reconnect with the university. Alumni represent a growing portion of university Web site visitors, and virtual tours that highlight both the old and new elements of campus let alumni revisit familiar locations while experiencing the growth of the institution.
Lehigh's South Side and Bethlehem virtual tour, which showcases the local community of Bethlehem Pennsylvania, gives prospective students an idea of life outside campus, and some of the opportunities afforded by Lehigh's geographic location. Colleges all too often overlook the value of their surroundings in attracting students, and it's important to remember that most students will be spending four years at the college of their choice, so detailing area attractions is essential to establishing a complete and compelling portrait of college life.
Lehigh University's extensive array of interactive campus maps help Web visitors become actual campus visitors. Starting on the eastern seaboard, Lehigh's three telescoping regional maps and three interactive campus maps assist prospective students in getting to interviews, new students in locating their dormitories and visitors in finding their way to any campus location. The Asa Packer campus map is divided into quadrants, and clicking any of the four quadrants shifts the map view to that area. Visitors mouse over buildings or use the 'List all Locations' buttons to access any building immediately. Clicking on buildings yields more detailed text descriptions.
Boasting impressive virtual tours for each type of Web site visitor, Lehigh University is redefining the notion of a comprehensive university Web site. The CampusTours Awards Committee found this to be an excellent collection of tours, worthy of the CampusTours Four-Star Virtual Tour Award!
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