CHAPEL HILL — The University of North Carolina System has unveiled a new first-of-its-kind app that will allow users to take immersive virtual reality tours of each of the UNC System’s 16 universities.

Made possible through the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) NC program, it marks the first wide-scale use of virtual reality to promote and facilitate college access. Other schools have begun virtual tours, but this is the first time a university system has used the technology across all of its campuses.

GEAR UP NC VR is intended to help students in rural, low-wealth, and first-generation families engage with the decision-making and application processes.

UNC System President Margaret Spellings said in a statement, “Many of us don’t fully appreciate that the campus visit is an accessibility issue. Without it, college can become a guessing game or, too often, a distant pipe dream. This virtual reality technology gives every North Carolinian the opportunity to make more informed choices about where they want to go. Just as importantly, it helps them figure out how they’re going to get there.”

The GEAR UP NC VR app is free to download from the Apple and Google stores. Also, 21 GEAR UP high schools across the state will receive GEAR UP NC branded cardboard virtual reality headsets and earbuds—enough to ensure that each school can coordinate class-wide “tours.”

Students will own the cardboard goggles, so they can virtually visit campuses repeatedly as they consider their college decision.

App includes information portal

The app includes 16 short VR videos highlighting the unique features of each institution. The 360-degree videos will also be available to those without a VR headset to view on a phone or computer. Viewers can pan up or down and left or right on the videos.

The app also functions as an information portal, directing users to institution-specific links such as websites, admission pages, social media links and financial information and advising.

The app videos, which help users understand what the college experience entails, explain the concept of a degree major, cover the basics of the application process, and introduce them to the perks of campus life.

The project, which began in January 2017 with UNC-Chapel Hill’s First Look pilot program, evolved into the GEAR UP NC app. Funding came from a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

“GEAR UP NC faced a challenge of time, distance, and cost moving 21,000 GEAR UP students across the state for college visits. We looked for a technology innovation to address our challenge, and we are very pleased with the app and content,” said Principal Investigator Dr. Carol Cutler White in a statement.

Hundreds of hours of video filmed

“We are researching the project to determine the impact on student motivation and knowledge of college.  In our next stage of development, we intend to incorporate chatbots with our AdmitHub partner to allow students to begin a discussion with campuses that interest them. Eventually, we’d like the app to have content from all of North Carolina’s community colleges and its private colleges and universities. This expanded scope would provide a comprehensive view of college choice in NC.”

GEAR UP NC partnered with Associate Professor Steven King’s Emerging Technologies Lab at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Media and Journalism, a leader in virtual reality to create the app. “We started with a proven learning framework developed by the First Look program at UNC-Chapel Hill and we expanded it by leveraging these new technologies to enable more students across the state to have this opportunity,” said King.

GEAR UP NC partnered with the Los Angeles-based storytelling agency SeeBoundless and the Emerging Technologies Lab to shoot and edit hundreds of hours of 360-degree video. The project has involved more than 500 hours of planning and about 350 hours of filming. Editors sifted through 30 hours of raw footage to generate each institution’s final cut.

GEAR UP is a national college access initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education, aimed at increasing the number of low-income students enrolled at and succeeding in postsecondary education.

The GEAR UP VR app can be downloaded from the itunes store at  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gear-up-vr/id1390999670?mt=8 or from the Google Play store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.askmedia.gearup&hl=en_IN

It can also be found in the Apple App store or the Google Play store by searching for GEAR UP VR.