TSTC hosts virtual open houses for online programs

(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College is hosting virtual open houses for its online programs once a month through August. 

The open houses will allow prospective students who are considering an online program to get to know more about their programs and the instructors who they would be interacting with.

“To be able to speak with your instructor on a level without having to be under the microscope, it gives you the opportunity to ask questions you might not necessarily ask in class and to get to know them, the program and the purpose,” Frances Kelly, TSTC’s regional director for North Texas student recruitment, said.

Christina Hollis, statewide department chair for the Digital Media Design program, said the open houses will present the sometimes overlooked programs.

“A lot of people think that TSTC is just industrial programs, and they don’t really know we have a whole line of computer programs set online that they can go to as well.” 

The virtual open houses were created with the goal of engaging prospective students who might otherwise be missed through traditional events.

“It came from the online instructors,” Kelly said. “They wanted to try the open houses to expand their reach as far as getting students in …  who normally wouldn’t come in to tour or through regular avenues.”

Hollis played a large role in beginning the virtual open houses and said having them will allow prospective students who are spread across the state to meet other attendees and instructors online.

“A lot of our students live near Houston, Dallas, way out in West Texas, Lubbock … so it kind of reassures them that they’re not alone, and that they’re not just in a classroom going through things and there’s never anybody that they can talk to,” Hollis said.

Each virtual open house will focus on two or three online programs but otherwise will flow much like an in-person open house. Prospective students will be welcomed with music and a moderator who will introduce TSTC and how the open house will work. They then will be able to enter breakout rooms where instructors will give presentations and answer questions.

There will also be a room that will have enrollment coaches who can answer any of the general college questions that attendees may have.

The next open house will be held May 18 and will cover the Digital Media Design and Business Management Technology programs.

The open houses generally will be held on the first Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m. 

To register for the May 18 virtual open house, visit tstc.edu/onlinepreview.

For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.