BUTTE — Montana Tech’s campus looks like a ghost town lately.
Despite the coronavirus keeping students away, the Butte university keeps trying to stay in touch with its students.
“We care about our students deeply and so we want them to know we care. We miss them. It’s not easy being here and not having them here, obviously,” said Montana Tech Chancellor Les Cook.
Officials believe contact like this is important during a time when enrollment has been dropping at universities across the country.
“All of us are challenged trying to continue to personalize the experience and how students feel special and feel welcomed,” said Cook.
Staff and students answered questions from the incoming students using Zoom to speak directly to them, while still maintaining social distancing.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity for Montana Tech to learn more about how we can use virtual platforms to recruit more students,” said Montana Tech events coordinator Hailey Caprara.
While it’s a challenge for staff to try to recruit students remotely, fortunately, for these new students, they’re already familiar and comfortable with this technology.
“We’re lucky because most of these kids grew up with Sims, right, and they did avatars and those kinds of things, so they know a little be about what this is like,” said Cook.
