Virtualization of our university for the recruitment and orientation of new students

This paper introduces an ongoing project for creating a virtual version of a real university, and discusses the benefits of such a project for recruitment, education, and software development involvement. A development team consisting of undergraduate students is designing, developing, and implementing virtual environment software to create a virtual tour that surpasses by leaps and bounds attempts previously made by other universities to represent some aspects of their institutions in cyberspace. In this project, students and other participants are able to walk through the university on a virtual tour, enter campus buildings, and visit professors. Prospective students can tour the campus, visit campus facilities, meet faculty and administrators, and interact with current students.