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May 2006 Beyond the Classroom
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From mid-May to the end of July, groups of ten to 4,000 will eat, sleep, and live at the university for timeframes ranging from a weekend to a month. By summer's end, it is estimated that as many as 16,000 participants will have attended specialized training workshops, academic seminars, athletic camps, or annual conferences on campus.
Providing these diverse guests a good experience is a key focus for university staff involved with the activities, and that starts even before they reach campus. Directional signage begins at the outskirts of Muncie and leads the way to specific registration points at Ball State.
"We pay a lot of attention to guests' arrival time, making sure it goes smoothly," says Rita Stewart, director of Conferences and Special Events. "We want participants to land here happy. If we can get them through that travel and registration without confusion and aggravation, then they will likely have a good experience while they are here."
The conference office makes planning a one-stop shop, coordinating everything from lodging, recreation, and meeting space to food and equipment needs.
"One of the most important things is service," Stewart says, adding that her office not only manages arrangements, but also off ers professional support services for every aspect of the event.
"[We can arrange] on-campus housing accommodations, meeting space, recreation services, and all food service from coffee breaks to catered banquets," she explains.
Once the conference begins, Stewart says the office "assigns student guides to assist participants in finding their rooms and getting from place to place."
There also is a 24-hour paging system to help solve any issues that may arise during a group's visit.
Hosting 100-125 conference-type activities a year, Stewart maintains it is critical for the university to look at compatibility of the campus with the event when scheduling a group. Sports-related camps, music-study programs, and academic conferences are examples of those at the top of the list.
Sigma Chi International, returning to campus in August for the third time in four ears, yhas found Ball State an ideal spot to host its annual workshop. Designed to improve the quality of leadership in the fraternity, the four-day workshop immerses undergraduate fraternity members in presentations, discussions, and problem-solving sessions about chapter operations.
With about 1,500 registrants, the Sigma Chi event uses nearly every campus amenity for educational classes, recreational activities, and entertainment.
"They will use every classroom we have available on campus, study lounges, and lounges in residence halls," Stewart says. "They dine in the center of campus, make use of the tennis courts, and use the sports fields for a sports fest one night."
While everything is within walking distance, the group uses a bus service to move quickly from venue to venue.
ARIA has convened at Ball State since 2002 when Mihai Tetel, associate professor of cello, brought the program he created 15 years ago in Canada with him when he came to teach at the university.
The program is acclaimed, Tetel notes, not only because of the exceptional facilities Ball State offers for the serious music student, but also for the faculty coming from such first-tier institutions as the Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Peabody Institute, and Northwestern University. Students, who come from Asia, Europe, and North America, are selected through an application process. The curriculum, Tetel says, allows students to "receive private lessons, chamber music coachings, master classes and workshops, and perform in public concerts."
ARIA also is a good advertisement for Ball State. "This program provides a great deal of visibility and recruiting opportunities," Tetel says. "All of the faculty and participants have been impressed not only with the program, but also the first-rate facilities on campus."
Camps and conferences like those sponsored by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, athletic camps, and high school journalism workshops provide unique opportunities to showcase the campus to prospective students.
"If we get them here in middle school or early high school, and they like what they see or have a good experience here, they're very likely to enroll as students," Stewart says. "It's a tremendous recruiting tool."
Girl's volleyball camps, sponsored by the Ball State women's volleyball program, is an example. Head Volleyball Coach Randy Litchfield says that, with more than 800 campers attending the training camps in a summer, "Our camps are great advertising for the university, our department, and our program."
The four camps are centered around skill development and team training. "We focus on teaching the game, not simply running recreational camps," Litchfield explains. "We have a long history of great volleyball and we take a lot of pride in the quality of our camps."
As participants benefit from the wide range of experiences offered through the summer programs, the campus and Muncie community are also rewarded. Stewart says the summer conference program is a "great revenue-generator for the university, and the economic impact on the community also is significant."
Litchfield agrees. "From a business perspective, summer camps and conferences provide dining and residence hall staff opportunities to work during a time that is usually quite slow," he says.
Stewart contends that anything that comes to the university directly affects the community, too, because "people leave campus and spend money in restaurants and on shopping and entertainment."
Ball State is not unique in hosting campus conferences and special events. Most of the nation's universities have active conference operations. But Stewart challenges any institution to surpass what the Muncie campus offers.
More than 150 classrooms, many multi-purpose meeting rooms, a 3,600-seat auditorium and 600-seat tunable performance hall, and an 11,500-seat NCAA Division I-A arena are at one's fingertips.
A wide variety of recreational facilities are available, along with comfortable lodging, and custom catering services. And the university off ers flexibility to work with groups as small as ten and as large as 4,000.
If Ball State's high-caliber facilities and well-trained conference staff aren't enough, Stewart summarizes, "You just can't beat the Hoosier hospitality."
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