Pirates Aboard! | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This article was created by ECU News Services.

Admitted Student Day a success

    With close to 5,000 guests in attendance for Pirates Aboard! Admitted Student Day, campus was buzzing with activity on March 28. Future students and their families spent the day gathering information from financial aid, orientation, and campus life, touring campus and residence halls and engaging in afternoon academic sessions.

    Dr. Dave Meredith, director of undergraduate admissions, said he was pleased with the event. "We counted 1,916 admitted students in attendance. We also know that our partner ECU Transit bused at least 4,895 people from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to campus," he said.

    "To provide some context, the first family showed up at 7:30 a.m. and we completed registration by 10:30 a.m. That means we registered an average of 10.6 students and delivered 27 people to campus every minute for three straight hours."

    The change from a spring open house to an admitted student focused event showcased the best that ECU has to offer while building a sense of Pirate pride in the new students, said Dr. John Fletcher, associate provost for enrollment services.

    "We know that students who become engaged with campus early are more likely to attend, thrive and ultimately graduate from their chosen higher education institution," Fletcher said. "Pirates Aboard! Admitted Student Day is just one example of what East Carolina University is doing to give our incoming freshmen and transfer students the opportunity to make connections on campus before they step foot in the classroom."

    While an official survey will be sent to guests and campus partners to measure the event's success, the majority of comments were positive and several admitted students stopped by the admissions service center to pay an enrollment deposit — securing their spot in the fall class.

    Additionally, social media monitoring and smartphone application metrics point to how well the event was received. "If social media is any true gauge of an event's success, then we nailed this one," said Nicole Wood, director of communication for enrollment services. "More than half of our attendees used the smartphone app Guidebook to plan their day and our communication intern's live-blogging approach kept the audience up-to-date and engaged with the day's activities. For the majority of the day, the hashtag #ECUPiratesAboard was trending in our geographic area."

    Planning for next year's Fall Open House and Spring Pirates Aboard! Admitted Student Day is already in the works with dates to be announced by the end of April. For more information about visiting campus visit www.ecu.edu/admissions/visit.cfm or call the Undergraduate Admissions office at 252-328-6640.


ECU students, left to right, Hunter Sullivan, Tedrick Taylor and Keisha Okeiga address questions from the audience during Admitted Student Day. (Photo by Patrick Fay)


Crowds of visitors stream into Jarvis Hall during Admitted Student Day on campus March 28. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)