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If you wish to bring 10 or more students/visitors to campus for a visit, please contact the Visitors Center directly at 706/542-8594 to arrange a group tour. Groups of this size should not schedule campus tours through the online reservation system. Group tours are scheduled on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only. Reservations should be made as far in advance as possible, but in no case closer than four weeks to the desired date. Group tours are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. We will do our best to accommodate your date request but due to office hours and campus events we may need to consider alternative dates. A confirmation letter will be sent once your agenda is finalized.
General Information
Because of the increasing number of groups we see annually, we are unable to accept tour reservations for those groups with students under the age of 12 and/or students in grades below the 6th grade. We certainly still welcome these groups to campus and have a number of options for our young visitors (e.g. Georgia Museum of Art, Georgia Museum of Natural History, State Botanical Garden, and Butts-Merhe Heritage Hall). Please contact us for more details.
Because of the substantial increase in visitors seeking regular campus tours during the months of March and April, the scheduling of group tours may be limited during those months. Also during March and April, we see a large number of high school groups visiting campus. Because of this, we are unable to accept middle school group requests during those months. We may also have to limit or suspend group tours while
our student staff is unavailable, such as when classes
are not in session (holidays, summer, etc.)
If you find it necessary to cancel your visit, it is essential that you give at least three (3) days notice due to planning expenses. Failure to do so may limit future schedule availability for your organization.
Our tour is a combination driving and walking tour. All participants should have proper footwear and be prepared for inclement weather.
On the Day of the Visit
Please arrive on time. Leave early, allowing time for possible delays. Should it appear that your group would not arrive on campus at the expected time, please notify the Visitors Center staff immediately by calling (706) 542-0842. Our tour guides are students and their class schedules need to be accommodated. If your group is late, your scheduled itinerary may be modified or canceled.
If the total number of visitors, including students, teachers and chaperones, changes in any way, please contact the Visitors Center immediately. It is imperative that the Visitors Center staff has an accurate count of visitors coming to campus for each group in order to plan and staff for the best possible visit. It should be noted that the Visitors Center is unable to accommodate groups larger than 50 and more than two buses on campus at one time.
Responsibilities Once on Campus
Teachers/chaperones should stay with their assigned group throughout the campus visit. It is the responsibility of the teachers/chaperones to maintain order while the group is on campus. Our required chaperone-to-student ratio by age group is as follows 1 adult : 10 students for middle school and 1 adult : 15 students for high school.
Be a great tour group!
Our tour guides are current students who love showing the campus to visitors and who especially get excited explaining the college experience to younger students. If you're bringing a group of students to campus, challenge them to get the most out of the experience by being prepared and by being an engaged, attentive audience. Encourage discussion about the college experience even before your group arrives on campus and have the students come up with questions they want answered on their visit. (Consider our Frequently Asked Questions if they need some suggestions.)
And challenge your group to engage and interact with the tour guides during the tour. Expect them to look alert and interested and actually smile at the tour guides. It's okay, even very cool, to laugh at our jokes. Audiences that genuinely show they are interested by making eye contact, smiling, and asking questions will get the most and the best from presenters. In our experience, tour groups that arrive on our campus prepared and excited, anticipating a fun adventure, are the groups that almost always leave with smiles on their faces and new insights to take home with them.
Transportation
The vehicle(s) that groups travel in will be used as the primary means of transportation once on campus. Prior to your arrival on campus, it is the coordinating teacher’s/chaperone’s responsibility to communicate to the driver that the vehicle will be used throughout the campus visit. Upon arrival to the Visitors Center, the driver will be instructed on where to park.
On-Campus Dining
If your group would like to eat in one of the on-campus dining facilities, please contact Carol Eidson in the UGA Food Services department at (706) 542-7122 to obtain pricing information. Please arrive with one check made payable to UGA Food Services for the cost of the entire group. Please note that the cashier will be unable to give cash back from the register for an issued check. The group will have to file a check request for the difference. If your group is qualified as tax exempt, please contact Carol Eidson at (706) 542-7122 to make prior arrangements.
Although bus drivers are certainly welcome to participate in an on-campus meal with the group, it is not the policy of the university to provide bus drivers a free meal in the campus dining commons. Bus drivers will not have time to eat off-campus. It is the coordinating teacher’s/chaperone’s responsibility to communicate this information to the bus driver(s).
Information on the UGA dining facilities may be found here.
The University of Georgia Visitors Center
Four Towers Building
Athens, GA 30602-6755
Phone: 706/542-0842
Fax: 706/542-5151
E-mail address: visituga@uga.edu
(Responses usually take three to four business days) |
