Valparaiso University (Valpo), located in Valparaiso, Indiana, is a comprehensive, independent Lutheran institution in Northwest Indiana with a long-standing commitment to academic excellence and student-centered learning.

In 2024, Valpo switched to Circuit and launched a virtual tour that would strengthen top-of-funnel lead generation, prospective student engagement and yield. In just one year, the tour reached prospective students in 66 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and more than 1,000 U.S. cities. Here's how they did it.

Nearly a quarter of all sessions used audio narration, while almost one-third explored Valpo's campus using the interactive map. With multiple tour options, integrated lead capture, and engaging storytelling features, Valpo’s virtual experience has become a key part of their recruitment strategy.

The challenges limiting Valpo’s recruitment reach

Towards the end of 2023, Valpo sought to expand reach and engage prospective students, especially those beyond their local and regional networks. Coupled with this, they were doing major overhauls of key digital assets including their website and virtual tour.

Their Admissions and Marketing team came to Circuit with a few key challenges in mind:

• They wanted to boost out-of-state recruitment efforts but lacked a compelling way to reach students outside their immediate region.‍
• Their virtual visit no longer connected with students in a meaningful way to provide self-paced exploration of the campus.

• They had no access to transparent, actionable analytics to measure effectiveness or refine their outreach strategies.
• Their tour platform no longer delivered the level of customization, flexibility and  user experience that aligned with their brand and future digital presence.‍

These challenges prompted the university to reimagine its approach to virtual engagement.

The solution: Valpo adopts Circuit for a more strategic, high-impact virtual experience

Valpo focused on building a Circuit experience that reflected the breadth of academic and student life opportunities available on campus. They launched with four distinct tours: Campus Highlights, Residences, Student Life, and Academics.

These options ensured prospective students could easily explore areas most relevant to their interests.

Beyond showcasing campus, Valpo integrated features that significantly enhanced usability and engagement for students, including:

• Interactive maps to help visitors orient themselves and navigate intuitively
• Audio narration for a more inclusive and accessible experience
• Slate CRM form integration to provide their admissions team with a way to capture high-intent leads exploring the tour

“Working with the Circuit team has been a great experience. They’re incredibly knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely invested in helping you get the most out of the tool. Every step of the process felt collaborative and efficient — they made complex mapping easy to understand and even easier to use.”
Heather Bricker, Director of Web Services

“Our virtual tour turned out exactly like we’d imagined.”
Mike Targonski, Director of Enrollment Events and Operations

The results: a more powerful, data-driven recruitment funnel

Within the first year of launch, Valpo’s tour achieved:

• Traffic from 66 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and over 1,000 cities across the nation
• Engagement levels that exceed Circuit’s benchmarks for scenes viewed per session
• An inquiry rate of 4%, accounting for 41% of successful CTA session events.

Additional insights:

• Nearly one-quarter of visitors chose to listen to audio-narrated tours
• Almost one-third of visitors interacted with the map feature

By offering both a guided tour and the freedom to explore, Valpo successfully balanced storytelling with flexibility.

“[A] huge plus [of Circuit] is the built-in analytics, which let us see how many people are interacting with our tours and where they’re coming from around the world. It’s incredibly useful to understand what’s drawing attention and how our content is being used.”
Heather Bricker, Director of Web Services

Conclusion: a scalable virtual experience that elevates recruitment

With Circuit, Valparaiso University has transformed the way they deliver visit experiences to students down the street or around the world. The success of their virtual tour has given the admissions team richer insights, stronger domestic and out-of-state reach, and a reliable way to convert interest into inquiries. With a foundation of four distinct tours and integrated engagement tools, Valpo has established a scalable solution that can grow and evolve alongside their recruitment strategy.

“The finished product is light-years ahead of a static PDF map — it’s interactive, searchable, and intuitive. We especially love that we can embed individual scenes directly on our website, making it easy for visitors to explore just the areas they need without leaving the page. Updates are simple, and users actually engage with the content instead of just glancing once and moving on.”
Heather Bricker, Director of Web Services

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