This manual is not meant to be the only information you share on a student life tour. However, it is a good jumping off point. You can adjust what you choose to share responsive to your interests and values as well as the interests and values of the guests in your tour.
Introduction/Expectations:
“Hello! Good Morning/Afternoon, My name is __________ and I’m a _____________ Major. I’m from___________ (City/State) and a proud member of the class of 20__! GO COOGS! We’re super excited that you are visiting campus with us virtually! Throughout your visit, we really want you to picture yourself on campus so we’ll be asking you questions or asking for yours. With that being said, if you could share your video and your audio, this would be a great way for you to get that full virtual experience. Test it out and go ahead and introduce yourself! [wait for intros. have small conversation. build community.]
Great! Well we are going to get started with our the academic portion of the tour. You chose the [college you're scheduled for] tour so we'll focus on that area of campus, share our experiences and then show you the most popular campus hot-spots.
Also, I am totally interruptible! We want you to get all your questions answered while we’re going through campus so feel free to just jump in and ask me questions whenever you have any. Let’s go ahead and get started!”
YouVisit will default you to start at University Drive when you first go to the website. Virtual Student Life Tour Routes should last you about 30 mins depending on the interaction of your student!
Introduction:
“Hello! Good Morning/Afternoon, My name is __________ and I’m a _____________ Major. I’m from___________ (City/State) and a proud member of the class of 20__! GO COOGS! We’re super excited that you are visiting campus with us virtually! Throughout your visit, we really want you to picture yourself on campus so we’ll be asking you questions or asking for yours. With that being said, if you could share your video and your audio, this would be a great way for you to get that full virtual experience. Also, I am totally interruptible! We want you to get all your questions answered while we’re going through campus so feel free to just jump in and ask me questions whenever you have any. Let’s go ahead and get started!”
Campus Recreation and Wellness Center
YouVisit will place you at the bottom of the bottom of the stairs next to the rock climbing wall. Utilize the pictures to point out the highlights of the rec too.
The Campus Recreation and Wellness Center is free to use for all full-time students and is accessible with your Cougar Card.
We offer many fitness facilities, machines, sport courts, and pools (outdoor leisure pool or an indoor olympic sized pool). The Rec Center offers free fitness classes, certifications, and even high outdoor adventure opportunities (for a small fee).
Go through everything we have to offer and talk about any personal experiences that you have connected with the rec and it’s resources.
Student Center South/North
YouVisit will place you at the top of the stairs where you can see all the floors that you’ll be mentioning. Pictures at the bottom are a great way to see around the building too!
Reopened in January 2015, this building is where students will begin their journey at UH.
The basement floor is composed of the Games Room, Starbucks, Center for Diversity of Inclusion, Creation Station, and textbooks at the UH Bookstore.
The first floor has tons of food options, so students have several different types of dining options. On the first floor is the UH Bookstore with all your Cougar Red needs, TDECU/ATMs for your banking needs, and lastly, the Theater for fun events put on by SPB such as movie nights and Coogs Got Talent.
The second floor contains meeting and conference rooms available for either studying or for events put on by organizations. This is also where students spend most of their orientation.
Student Center North:
Inside you can find the Center for Student Involvement where they have information about all 575+ organizations we have on campus.
There are also offices on the second floor including: LGBTQ Resource Center, Veteran Services Office, Office of International Student and Scholar Services, and Women and Gender Resource Center.
M.D. Anderson Library
Main library on campus (the others are located in different colleges/buildings). It has eight floors and a basement.
Different zones with varying noise levels on each floor for the preference of the student.
Talk about the tutoring/academic support that we offer our students:
CASA/LAUNCH/Writing Center
The Honors College is located on the second floor, next to the Rockwell Pavilion.
Applications are separate from the general admission to UH and more information can be found online to help students with questions.
Students have access to both Mac and PC computers in the library and they may also print up to 500 pages for free every semester.
The service desk also allows students to borrow laptops, charging cords, umbrellas, and other useful items in case they forget something at home.
Cullen Family Plaza Fountains
YouVisit will place you in front of E. Cullen which is a nice spot to mention the story behind the fountains as well as some other traditions that we have!
Cullen Family Plaza is a great spot to come hang out with your friends or just chill on your own. It’s great to relax next to the sound of the fountains!
The Cougar Paw is made by holding down your ring finger with your thumb and facing your palm out. The adoption of this sign dates back to 1953 in a football game between us and the University of Texas. On the way to the game, our live cougar mascot (Shasta I) got her claw stuck in the cage and injured herself before the game. The opposing team’s fans decided to mock us by doing the cougar sign upside down. We lost this game, 28-7. The next time we played them in 1968 we tied the game 20 -20. At this point we had officially adopted the hand sign. Finally, in 1976 after UT went their entire season undefeated, we beat them 30-0.
In 2012, after 23 years with a mascot, we partnered with the Houston Zoo which allows Shasta VI to stay there. Also, all University of Houston students may enter the zoo for free when they show their cougar card.
John and Rebecca Moore started dating here, they graduated, then John brought Rebecca back to these fountains and proposed to her. Fast forward to 2001 and Tropical Storm Allison came through and caused damage to the fountains. After hearing about this, The Moore’s decided to donate one million dollars to repair the fountains and they also donated the two bronze cougar statues of our mascots.
Ending your tour:
I hope that you enjoyed your virtual visit of campus!
Give them the myUH story:
Before we end this tour, I just wanna let you know why I chose UH:
Give them your UH story
Ask them if they have any final questions
Tell them bye and wish them a nice day! :)
“It was really great talking with you! I hope I answered all the questions you had right now. If you have any other questions about campus or student life, we are always here to help. You can schedule another time to chat with us. But if you have questions about your application process, you can always call us at 713-743-1010 or email us at admissions@uh.edu. Thank you for your time, have a great rest of your day and stay safe!”
2 hour long tours: 30 minutes of academic college presentation + 90 minutes of regular campus tour
Full Individual Routes:
In the Google Doc
NSM: WC->Science Hall Room 105->CFP-> Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center->CV2+Housing->Library-> CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
EXPLORE UH ROUTES:
Hilton: WC->Hilton Lobby->Lynn Eusan ->CV2+Housing->Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center-> CFP->Library (Skip other academic colleges unless guests are really interested in another college)->CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
CLASS: WC->Agnes Arnold Room 104-> CFP-> Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center-> CV2+Housing-> Library-> CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
Cullen College of Engineering: WC->Engineering 2 W205-> Library ->CFP-> Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center->CV2+Housing--> CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
McGovern College of the Arts: WC->Moores Opera House Lobby-> CFP-> Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center-> CV2+Housing-> Library-> CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
CT Bauer College of Business: WC->Melcher Hall Ticket Area-> CBB+ Casa-> Library-> CFP-> Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center->CV2+Housing-> Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
College of Technology: WC->T2 Room 386 (building in front of architecture, across from Eng)-> Library ->CFP-> Justin Dart + Career Services + Bruce Religion Center->CV2+Housing--> CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
Hobby School of Public Affairs: WC->Lynn Eusan ->CV2+Housing->Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center-> CFP->Library (Skip other academic colleges unless guests are really interested in another college)->CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
Nursing: WC->Health II Room 2220->Lynn Eusan ->CV2+Housing->Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center-> CFP->Library (Skip other academic colleges unless guests are really interested in another college)->CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)
Architecture and Design: WC->Architecture College Atrium-> Library ->CFP-> Justin Dart+ Career Services+ Bruce Religion Center->CV2+Housing--> CBB+ Casa->Student Center North->Student Center South-> WC (If guests appear interested and time permits, talk about WC+ McCallister’s+ Cougar Card Office services)