February’s Big Info session saw the highest number of attendees yet
February may be the shortest month of the year, but the recent BIG Information and Program Expo, or Big Info, was the largest the school has ever seen.
Over 4,500 people visited Burnaby Campus to learn more about BCIT programs.
(Courtesy of Ervin Cho)
For the biannual event, there were approximately 1,000 more prospective students registered than in October.
“We had just under 3,500 [registered] in the fall and 4,500 this year,” said Michael Boronowski, chief organizer of the event. “It [was] our biggest Big Info ever.”
Boronowski, who is also the manager of student recruitment and client services at BCIT, said the increase in numbers is due to how he and his team have promoted BCIT to prospective students. Organizers emphasized employment outcomes and starting salaries of BCIT graduates as the primary benefits of a BCIT education.
In addition, Big Info saw more focused prospective students coming to the event.
“Talking to our faculty who were there to speak with prospective students and their families, they said the quality of the questions they were getting were really good,” said Boronowski in a phone interview with The Link. “They said there were people who have already done their exploration, they knew what they wanted to take; they knew that BCIT is probably where they wanted to go.”
While it takes a few weeks for numbers to come in to determine which programs were the most popular at the biannual recruitment event, Boronowski said he witnessed more mature students coming to the event and showing interest in BCIT.
[pullquote]Organizers emphasized employment outcomes and starting salaries of BCIT graduates as the primary benefits of a BCIT education.[/pullquote]
“It’s not that we [saw] less high school students coming in but we [saw] more mature students coming to Big Info in February,” confirmed Borownowski.
Andrei Balles, a 22-year-old university grad from the Philippines, found the information session so helpful that he ended up registering for two courses on the spot.
“Tonight helped a lot,” Balles exclaimed excitedly. “Especially over at the student services area, the woman there was so helpful that I was able to register.”
Balles is interested in entering the marketing management program in September and received advice on the steps he had to take to prepare for enrolment. He is excited to begin taking courses at BCIT in April.
“I have done the theory part [in university] and I want to do the application of those theories. I want to come to BCIT because everybody is saying that it is all about the application here,” said Balles.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old Rachel Razon attended the Big Info session because she wanted to learn more about BCIT’s health sciences programs.
“I have heard a lot about [BCIT] and one of my friends goes here and says it is really great. So she told me to come to the Big Info session to get more information about the courses I want to take,” said Razon, with a BCIT course book clutched in her hands.
To promote Big Info, Boronowski said he and his team did a lot of promotional work online and through social media. They also created an “Ask and Win” competition online. Participants were eligible to win $1,000 towards their tuition.
“I think the team has done a really good job promoting it and getting the right message out to the right people at the right time,” stated Boronowski.
The next Big Info session will take place next fall. And while it may be even bigger the next time around, the purpose of the event is unlikely to change.
“The number one thing our prospective students and our families enjoy,” said Boronowski, “is having a chance to ask questions … and get into a dialogue with our faculty and staff.”
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