Postsecondary Information Events (PIE)
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Questions? Read our PIE FAQs for answers.
Overview
Postsecondary Information Events (PIEs) provide an opportunity for students and parents to learn about university programs and campus life from university representatives. The OUAC, in consultation with the Standing Committee on Student Recruitment, coordinates these events.
If you are an Ontario guidance counsellor, you may use the PIE Booking Form and PIE Calendar to coordinate PIEs in your region and plan joint events with other counsellors.
After you submit the PIE Booking Form, the OUAC will add your PIE to the calendar and notify the universities of your event. While all Ontario universities will be invited, and your school must be willing and able to accommodate them, not all universities may be able to attend.
Note: Some Ontario universities are bilingual, so attendees may have an opportunity to speak one-on-one with university representatives in French.
Plan Your Event
- PIEs are for students in grades 11 and 12 only. The universities would like to speak with younger students at another event tailored to their needs.
- Plan early and be as transparent as possible with the schedule. University representatives should know everything about your event (e.g., arrival and set-up time, duration, format, parking and unloading of materials and refreshments, if provided).
- For virtual events, representatives need to know how to access your event (e.g., webinar link(s) and any necessary passwords or meeting codes, if applicable) and the format/schedule for your event.
Select a Date for Your Event
Review the PIE Calendar to see which dates have fewer PIEs booked to ensure your PIE will be attended by as many university representatives as possible.
Select a Format for Your Event
Virtual Event
There are no standard formats for virtual events. Since you are hosting this event, you must determine the format/schedule and provide this information so the universities can plan for your event.
Note: The PIE Booking Form is used to invite all Ontario universities to your event. The expectation is that your school will host the event and provide the appropriate virtual meeting link(s) to each university that is attending.
Things to consider:
- If you have participated in virtual events, we suggest you consider which formats were the most successful when determining the format for your PIE.
In-person Event
Most PIEs fall into 3 event formats: Fairs, panels and presentations.
Fairs
Fairs provide each participating university with a table to set up materials and answer questions. A gymnasium, atrium and/or library is optimal for a fair.
Things to consider:
- If multiple schools are attending, stagger student attendance to ensure all students have an opportunity to speak with representatives.
- Fairs allow students to discover universities they are not familiar with and ask questions. However, students may not discover as much about a university as they would in a presentation format.
- The ideal length of a fair is 2-3 hours, depending on how many students are invited to attend.
Panels
Panels feature short 3- to 5-minute overviews of each university. They provide an “at-a-glance” summary of unique and exciting features. They also provide students with the opportunity to hear from all universities in attendance, even those they may not have originally considered.
Things to consider:
- The volume of information shared in this format can be overwhelming for the audience.
- An ideal panel format would be 3 minutes per university representative, followed by a 1-hour fair.
Presentations
Presentations provide each participating university their own separate room and sessions are scheduled in a back-to-back format. Students choose which university presentations they want to attend.
Things to consider:
- The ideal length of a session is 30 minutes.
- In a presentation, students receive an in-depth overview of the university.
- This format tends to favour the larger and more local universities.
Book Your Event
- When booking opens in spring 2023, complete the PIE Booking Form.
Important: Review the Plan Your Event instructions before completing the form. - We will process your event and post it to the PIE Calendar.
- We will send you a confirmation email within 2-3 business days and notify the universities.
Resources to Share With Your Students
These resources are available on Ontario Universities’ Info (OUInfo):
- Ontario universities continue to offer their own virtual events and tours, webinars, chats and more. Visit Tours and Events on OUInfo to see upcoming Ontario university virtual offerings.
- Students can request to receive information directly from Ontario universities.
Contact Information
- Find Ontario universities’ contact information.
- Email the OUAC if you have questions.