From the Nominator

For the first time, we used our home page banner to congratulate newly admitted students, and we carried the theme through to the necessary information on the admitted student page and on social media, offering a very public, celebratory, and fun welcome—all for the low price of $110.69.

The home page banner became a revolving carousel of video vignettes featuring our beloved Camel (a student in our mascot costume) in an array of amusing situations: wearing a Snuggie and eating popcorn with students in a common room; in sunglasses on a beach towel catching rays on the main green; and throwing a snowball on a wintry day and facing a barrage of snowballs in return. And there were many more.

From the home page, visitors were directed to the admitted student page, which also featured the Camel popping up randomly around the page and pointing out the aforementioned tasks (i.e., registering for Camel Days open house, beginning the online pre-orientation program, and making their enrollment deposit). That page also included links to our social media accounts and content featuring the Camel that encouraged them to celebrate, share and participate.

Our goal was to publicly celebrate and welcome the Class of 2024, and direct them to take steps that would quickly make them feel part of our Camel community.

From the Judges

We love the Dancing Camels! The university’s creativity was fun and welcoming to new students, especially in a time of great uncertainty. Most important, the fun, welcoming Camel produced impressive results. The 91% of EDI students making deposits and 31% of EDII students making deposits is a win-win for the students and the university, and should be underscored that this happened during the pandemic when many prospective students were contemplating their choice to attend university or take year off. Congratulations Connecticut College on a great idea that really performed!