Org Fair for Student Organizations
The Virtual Spring Org Fair will be hosted online utilizing Engage’s virtual involvement fair platform. Similar to an in-person tabling fair where attendees can browse through aisles of tables, the virtual program allows organizations to host a virtual table (online meeting room) during a designated time block where attendees drop in at their convenience and then move on to another virtual table.
Your organization’s “virtual table” will be the online meeting platform of your choosing. Examples of platforms include Webex, Zoom, and Google Meet. Engage will allow organizations to easily register by providing a brief promotional blurb and a link to the meeting link that will be used during the fair.
Schedule
The Virtual Spring Org Fair will be held on Friday, January 28 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Eastern.
How to Register for the Virtual Org Fair
Organizations can register anytime prior to the start of the fair. To guarantee listing on the website directory as a participating organization, however, organizations must register by Tuesday, January 25 at 12:00 pm Eastern. Follow the directions below to register your organization for the org fair.
Step 1
Log onto Engage and select your organization. Click the “Manage Organization” button at the top right of the screen. Remember, the person registering the organization must have All Access or Events access to the organization’s Engage profile.
Step 2
The virtual fair will be listed in the organization’s Action Center under “Upcoming Virtual Fair Events.” Click the “Sign Up” button to register.
Step 3
Briefly describe your organization under “Summary.” Provide the link for your online meeting room under the “Meet Online Link” section.
Important: Include the entire web link, including the https:// before your link, otherwise the form will not let you submit. If you do not have the online meeting link, please wait to register when you have the information available.
Step 4
Click “Submit” to complete your registration. After submitting the form you will be registered for the Virtual Org Fair! Continue to update your organization’s Engage profile and prepare for the fair. If you have any questions during this process, please contact Org Help.
How to prepare for the virtual program in advance:
- Appoint a person (or two) to manage the registration and coordination of your virtual table. The designee must have All Access or Events access to the organization’s Engage profile. Your organization’s President automatically receives All Access. Additional access can be granted by creating and assigning new officer positions within the roster.
- Update your organization’s Engage profile and membership roster. We actively encourage students to visit Engage before, during, and after the event, so it’s important that the most up to date information is available
- Decide on one online meeting platform for your “table” and test your technology in advance with your organization members. Organizations most frequently use Webex or Zoom. Google Meet, Discord, and Slack (for chat only) are also options.
- Appoint multiple members from your organization to represent your organization during the fair. Members will sit in the online meeting room you created and welcome potential new members as they pop in and out.
- Have fun! Think creatively about how you can best engage pontential new members.
- Tips: Have a short elevator pitch you can share in 60 seconds or less. If you have a video or PowerPoint, make sure it's short and to the point. We recommend having no more than 4 slides that you can quickly cycle through with each new student who enters your meeting room.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Office of Student Life will be staffing a Help Desk to support event participants and attendees. We will do our best to help troubleshoot any issues that may arise during the event.
- Technology errors happen, sometimes without warning, and taking the time to test your links and platforms will help your organization manage your virtual table successfully.
- If you run into any problems on the day of, please contact our Help Desk through the link provided in Engage.
If your organization cannot attend the Virtual Org Fair you may register your organization without a meeting link and your organization will appear with a "Contact" button that will allow potential new members to email your Primary Contact.
When creating your Discord link, set the link to "never expire" to ensure that it will not expire before the org fair event. After the event, you can delete the link.
Gate crashing, more commonly known as Zoombombing, is the act of attending an invitation-only event when not invited, it can also include individuals sharing inappropriate or discriminatory content.
- Avoid posting your meeting link or password on social media or on a public website. The Spring Org Fair event is only viewable to the GW community in Engage.
- In Zoom or Webex, create a waiting room or lock your meeting.
- Designate someone to monitor the chat and video features. This person should know how to remove someone from the meeting.
- Review your settings to minimize an attendee's access to meeting tools.