Campus Facilities

Campus 360 Launches Live Guided Campus Tours Service

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 03/11/21

A virtual tour provider has launched a new service that enables colleges, universities, boarding schools and high schools to host DIY, live, guided tours from within virtual campus tours. Campus 360 introduced the new functionality to enable its higher education customers to take students and their families on visits around campus in real time, but without the necessity of being there in person.

According to the company, the new service distinguishes itself by allowing institutions to use their own media and video crews, rather than having to hire third-party operators. Customers also maintain ownership of the photos and videos that comprise a tour. The tours are accessible via mobile browsers.

The company also enables schools to use an augmented reality component for visitors taking self-guided campus tours on campus, in person.

For the live virtual tours, guides can narrate and share presentations inside of the tour itself, rather than having to switch to the use of a separate video conference platform.

"Guided virtual visits allow universities to most closely mirror the experience of a guided campus tour, despite travel and health restrictions caused by the pandemic," said CEO Gavin Newton-Tanzer in a press release. "But more than that, we see tools like this as a way to democratize the campus tour experience for out-of-state and international students long into the future."

The company provides a basic, free version of its service that allows schools to share their media through the Campus 360 platform. Campus 360 is a division of Sunrise 360, a creative agency that works with schools and industries to create virtual reality experiences.