OUS Tour - Transition Year Information

Beginning in spring 2014, the OUS Fall Tour, historically held in October, will transition to a Spring Tour, to be held in April and/or May.

There are two main reasons for switching from a fall tour to a spring tour format:

The first reason is to reach high school juniors in the spring with the general introduction to the OUS schools that the Tour provides, so they can focus on the application process during their senior year.  By moving the Tour to the spring, OUS campus admissions counselors can schedule high school visits earlier in the fall to assist students with their college applications.  The second reason is there are a large number of college focused events across the state taking place in the fall, competing for time and resources with the OUS Fall Tour.

Fall Transition Plan

To ensure that next year’s seniors receive the college information they need, a transition plan for fall 2013 has been created.  Below is a list of existing college fairs held each fall (The 2013 schedule has not been finalized.) and all OUS campuses have agreed to participate in each event.

• Portland NACAC:  Friday, November 1^st and Saturday, November 2^nd
• Eugene PNACAC
• Roseburg PNACAC
• Medford PNACAC
• Central Oregon PNACAC
• Hermiston College Night
• Pendleton College Night
• Oregon/Idaho Border Fair
• Salem College Fair
• Oregon City College Night
• Corvallis High School College Night
• Yamhill County College Night
• Black United College Fund Fair – Portland Area
• AVID College Fair – Portland Area
• McMinnville High School College Night
• Reynolds College Night
• Wilson College Night
• Beaverton Latino Parent Night

Additionally, the OUS schools will organize and participate in four college fairs in key areas of the state where events do not currently exist.  These events will take place in:

• Eastern Oregon (Eastern Oregon University
• Klamath Falls (Oregon Institute of Technology)
• Coos Bay/North Bend
• Astoria Area (Astoria high School)

Bus Grant Funding:  A one-time fund will be established by a contribution from each OUS school to help offset bus costs to transport students to the four events.  Funding will be based on a model of shared responsibility.  Schools will be reimbursed up to 50% of the cost up to $100.  Forty-eight high schools (12 high schools in each of the four areas) are eligible to receive this grant funding.  Eligible schools will be sent a Request for Bus Funding form in September 2013 to request funding.

OUS College Search Publication will be created for the fall to be sure that 2013-14 high school seniors receive key information during the above events.  This short piece will include information about 1) Preview Day dates, 2) key websites, 3) important deadlines, 4) application information, 5) scholarships and financial aid.  The full OUS Viewbook will continue to be produced and will be distributed at the Spring Tour events.

If you have any questions, please contact either Joe Holliday at joe_holliday@ous.edu or Melissa Trifiletti at mtrifi@pdx.edu.

New OUS Spring Tour

The inaugural Spring Tour will be organized by Zach Person from Western Oregon University.  He plans to send out a communication to all the high schools in Mid-May.  Over the summer he will compile all the school district calendars for the 2013-14 academic year and begin working on the tentative Spring Tour 2014 schedule.  He will start contacting high schools on November 1, 2013 regarding scheduling visitations.

If you would like to contact Zach with questions or information, please email him at oustour@wou.edu.