The University of Richmond's Q-camp spent $40,000 for students who cancelled last-minute on the annual Robins School of Business boot camp.
The two-day event was held on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 for business school sophomores and fall transfer juniors.
Q-Camp offers opportunities for mock interviewing and networking with alumni and recruiters.
The program started with 30 students when it was piloted in 2008 and has grown to reach 160 students in recent years. While this year’s attendance goal was at 130, only 100 students attended because of last-minute cancellations, Shelley Burns, Director of Career Programs in Business, said.
“The challenge sometimes is to get the students to commit to it,” Burns said.
Students sign up for multiple events as a precaution and then later on decide if they want to go or not.
“Upon reflection, we realized we are competing with ourselves," Burns said. "There’s so many programs and there’s so many cool things happening that students aren’t able to do them all."
The organizing team was unable to fill empty spots with people on the waitlist because of the timing of most cancellations, Burns said. In past years, students were required to pay a deposit to prevent cancellations but the deposit has been removed to make the program more accessible
The Queally Foundation funds Q-camp, including student registration and conference fees. Burns explained how Q-Camp costs just under $800 for each student. With around 50 student cancellations, according to Burns, the program lost $40,000.
Burns noted that in a survey conducted after the event, 100% of the students who answered said they would recommend the event.
“I don’t feel like I know how to connect with people in the business world so it’s very helpful to get to meet some people that can teach me how to connect with different people and have the experience to network or talk about interviewing,” sophomore Dylan Germain said. “In the long run, it’s really going to be worth it.”
Sophomore Lily Zuzulock also enjoyed the opportunities Q-camp offered.
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“I enjoyed all the presentations and getting to meet people that work in the university as well that I’ve never interacted with before,” Zuzulock said.
Burns mentioned how there might be a change in the timing of Q-camp in future years.
“One of the challenges we are facing is that recruitment timelines are getting earlier and earlier, particularly for accounting and finance. Part of what we’re juggling with right now is maybe we need to get away from January and the one big conference,” Burns said.
To avoid monetary loss, Burns added that Q-camp may transition to a four-hour workshop in the fall, removing the hotel stay for students to keep up with recruitment timelines more efficiently.
“This event is not only helping our students to brand but also helps companies and alums to get re-engaged,” Burns said.
Contact news writer Erlinda Sali at erlinda.sali@richmond.edu
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