Google has made once-deemed necessary things — like dictionaries and phone books — practically obsolete. Soon campus visits might be as well.
Prospective students considering Hillsdale College no longer need to visit campus to see what the Grewcock Student Union, classroom buildings, or the gym look like. On the street-view option in Google Maps, not only can they tour the streets around campus virtually, but they can get a 360-degree interactive view inside 13 buildings as well.
“The idea is of course just to allow people a better view into some of our buildings,” Director of Digital Marketing and Social Media Brad Lowrey said. “We have a really great campus, and you can only see so much from photos. The idea is just to really allow people to get a good sense and feel of various buildings around campus and some of the really cool features that we have.”
The first photos were uploaded in August of 2014, and Lowry said the marketing department has been adding “a little bit every semester.”
“The cadence for it is just as we complete different projects on and around campus, or as time allows,” Lowrey said.
The marketing department contracts with a Google-certified partner based in Ann Arbor, Jeff Lepley. Lepley takes the photos with a spherical camera, which has a gyroscope and GPS inside it to get an accurate 360degree picture. After taking the photos, Lepley uploads them to Google. Google reviews each photo before they are put online to make sure they follow privacy policies.
“Bring your business to life with Street View technology: create a 360-degree, interactive tour. Showcase all the details that your customers love,” Lepley says on his photography website. “With Business photos, your customers can walk around, explore, and interact with your business like never before. Customers will be able to truly experience your business — just like being there.”
Five classroom buildings, two dormitories, the Dow Leadership Center, Roche Sports Complex, Biermann Athletic Center, Grewcock Student Union, Mossey Library, and the Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center all currently feature “See Inside” tours on Google.
“We can do any building but obviously we wouldn’t do a 360 tour of a maintenance shed or something like that,” Lowrey said.
Simpson and McIntyre Residences are the two dorms featured after each building’s renovations were completed. Only the dormitories’ lobbies and outdoor areas are featured.
“We don’t show things like dorm rooms, we don’t show offices, and we don’t show private areas around campus,” Lowrey said. “It’s the more public spaces and just so that people can really get a feel for what it’s like to be here.”
Lowrey said the marketing department is planning to add to the number of featured buildings.
“We still have a couple more buildings to cover and then as new projects develop we have to update some of the old ones,” Lowrey said. “There’s only so much that you can get from an admissions brochure.”
