A Day of Engagement: XU Preview Day

February 6, 2025

Close to 500 prospective students had registered for the event on Groundhog Day, including almost 200 who expressed interest in CAS majors.  This first Preview Day was reserved for early admits. The two remaining events on April 6 and April 27 will be for all other admitted students. 

At this Preview Day, faculty had two opportunities to interact with prospective students directly.  The first was through the 19 sample classes that were scheduled in three separate blocks of 30 minutes each.  Thank you to the eight CAS faculty who offered such classes—William Anyonge, Tim Brownlee, David Gerberry, Jonathan Gibson, Mack Mariani, Maggie Myers, Ashley Theuring, and Amy Whipple. 

Because many students had indicated interest in multiple majors, the plan was not to try and match students with specific classes but rather encourage them to sign up for classes whose titles they found appealing.  The titles of the CAS sample classes included “The birth of the ‘teenager’,” “Graphic novels and comics,” “Creation, mythology, and truth,” “Mathematics is NOT about learning formulas,” and “What came first—the chicken or the amniotic egg?”  I was tempted to sit in on some of those, but I would have stuck out: these classes were for students only—their parents attended other sessions during that time—so that they would get to experience directly the intimate setting of Xavier classes.  The student self-selection process may not have worked out entirely as planned, but most prospective PPP majors found Mack’s class and many prospective graphic design majors assembled in Jonathan’s class.  All classes were well attended, the students were engaged and very active participants, and faculty feedback was generally very positive.

Following feedback from previous years, Admissions had decided to discontinue the fair at which all departments were staffing tables.  In its place, each college now has an hour to engage with prospective students.  Owing to the size and the intellectual diversity of CAS, we addressed the families in two large sessions.  The first session was directed at students interested in biology, chemistry, and pre-professional health, and there was standing room only in Logan Hall.  Annie Ray reports that the students were “lovely and excited.”  The second session was for students interested in the humanities, the social sciences, fine arts, and mathematics.  We attracted a respectable audience that didn’t feel lost in Cintas’ large ballroom.  We began with a short presentation of the great opportunities that Xavier offers, focusing on the liberal arts, experiential learning, study abroad, internships, honors programs, and student research.  The highpoint was our panel of four extremely eloquent students who offered a wealth of experience and insights.  A big thank you to Lanie Blood, Dillon Mavunga, Mattie Cieplak, and Olivia Meintel, who did a fantastic job answering many questions, mostly from parents.  Five of our department chairs engaged with the families afterwards and provided specific information about their programs—thanks Amy, Liz, Jonathan, Joshi, and Thomas! 

DIFT and physics & engineering had reached out to the interested students beforehand and offered tours of their facilities, in lieu of the college-wide session.  These families were very appreciative of the highly individualized attention that they received from Blis and Justin.  Overall, we rocked!

For all the positive experiences, there were still a few glitches.  For example, many students don’t know what the labels “Arts & Sciences” and “Professional Sciences” represent, and we had a number of families in our large session in Cintas who were interested in psychology.  Similarly, there was some confusion about which programs were included with the Biology/Chemistry session, which should also not be labeled “Health Professions.”  And faculty who teach the sample classes need more detailed information about the event.  Communication is difficult.  Sigh.  We will address those issues before the next XU Preview Day on April 6.

Overall and especially from our perspective, the Preview Day was a resounding success.  A big thank you to everyone involved, for all your efforts!  We have shown our early admits the many ways in which Xavier University can provide them with an outstanding experience.  We have given them many reasons why they should come.  Now we will count deposits.

Dr. Florenz Plassmann
Dean