You don’t have to be on the tour bus when it pauses at the corner of St. Philip Street and Green Way or on the horse carriage as it clops past Porter’s Lodge: As a CofC employee, you get to tour the College of Charleston any time you want. And – if self-guided tours aren’t your thing – you don’t have to do it alone!

Thanks to an initiative created by the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Admissions Visitor Services Team, guided campus tours just for employees are offered on a regular basis. Led by the Charleston 40 student guides, the tours provide both new and veteran employees a chance to brush up on their knowledge of student-centered campus resources and give a better understanding of the student experience both in academics and student life.

“We thought this would be a good way for employees to interact with students and see our campus from their perspective, and at the same time learn about the campus and where things are,” says Vice President of Human Resources Ed Pope, adding the initiative was created in support of the third pillar of the College’s 10-year strategic plan, Employee Experience and Success.

The guides will stop at the typical stops included in a prospective-student tour, including the Stern Student Center, the Rita Liddy Hollings Science Center and the Addlestone Library.

“Our guides are really happy to get to connect with faculty and staff in this capacity,” says Will Chase, director of admissions, visitor experience. “The hope is that the employees and the guides will both learn something from these interactions.”

While employees are also welcome to reach out to the visitor experience team to join one of the daily prospective student tours, the special one-hour employee tours will be held at 2:15 p.m. on the following Tuesdays over the 2022–23 academic year:

  • Oct. 11, 2022
  • Nov. 15, 2022
  • Feb. 7, 2023
  • March 14, 2023

Participant capacity will fluctuate from month to month, depending on tour guide availability, but space will be limited so faculty and staff are encouraged to register early using the Employee Tour Registration form. Once the form is complete, a registration confirmation email will be sent with the details of the tour.

For more information, email specialtour@cofc.edu.