March 16, 2005
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
UCSB received 37,492 freshman applications this year, indicating students' tremendous enthusiasm for our campus. We are in the midst of completing our annual statewide regional receptions, where prospective students and their families are encouraged to come experience the beauty of our campus and the warmth and friendliness of our students, faculty, and staff.
We are expecting large numbers of campus visitors during the last two weeks of March and the entire month of April. Most visitors will be students who have been admitted for the fall quarter and their families; they will be using this opportunity to take one more look at UCSB before making important decisions about college and their future. Others will be high school juniors visiting colleges during their spring breaks. As you may know, the Statement of Intent to Register is due by May 1 for freshmen, and by June 1 for transfer students.
The UCSB Visitor Center offers daily information sessions and tours, and will host our Spring Insight Open House activities on Saturday, April 9. More information about Spring Insight can be found at http://www.admit.ucsb.edu/openhouse.asp. Some departments have received a special invitation to participate in Spring Insight by setting up an information table. I hope you will consider accepting this invitation to showcase your department.
In addition to attending organized events through the Visitor Center, campus visitors often drop in unannounced on many campus departments such as Housing, Financial Aid, and Student Academic Services to ask last-minute questions prior to making their decision. Many will seek out faculty and undergraduate advisors in their planned major.
I thank you in advance for the assistance and hospitality you extend these visitors. The time you spend to greet prospective students and their families, to give directions, to point out an interesting feature of our campus, to provide essential information, or just to have a little chat may be an important factor in their decision to come to UCSB.
This is indeed a busy season on campus, but I know you share my excitement about the prospect of enrolling another outstanding and diverse entering class. As always, I thank you for your commitment and dedication to our campus community.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor