Cardinal Stritch University x GooseChase: Energizing Student Orientation

Cardinal Stritch University uses GooseChase to activate the campus community for orientation and ongoing student programming.

CHALLENGES     RESULTS     SOLUTIONS     TIPS

WHO: Cardinal Stritch University is a Catholic liberal arts college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campus prides itself on its educators, diversity & Franciscan values.
WHAT: Campus Orientation
WHEN: Year-round
PARTICIPANT #: Up to 150 participants
IN-PERSON/VIRTUAL/HYBRID? In-person

GOALS: Cardinal Stritch University’s Student Affairs team focuses on engaging students in campus affairs year-round, including orientation week. They were looking to revamp the long-standing campus tour, with the goal to both optimize logistics for all the departments involved, and - most importantly - up the fun and functionality for students.


Cardinal Stritch’s campus tour "ticked the box", but they needed it to provide new students with an energetic activity that would pave the way for the rest of their campus experience.

• Time-worn format: The traditional tour didn’t leave room for creativity or personalization
• Difficult to coordinate: It was a struggle to give each department the time they required during an already busy week
• Manual effort: The pen and paper format meant it was time-consuming to set up and hard to track student engagement

Cardinal Stritch students now get more than just a lay of the land - new memories, friendships, and even roommates came out of the new orientation week events!

• Increased engagement in campus tours, with higher reported rates of enjoyment
• Deepened students’ personal connections to campus, faculty and staff, and university history
• Collected and created marketing assets, both the photo and video submission and more “candid” professional images
• Countless photos of the students with legendary campus staff and personalities, printed and shared following the event

“I went from seeing our tour be one of the more boring things our orientation program does, to being something that animates the campus and that people are really excited about.”

Matthew Weiss, Sr. Coordinator of Student Activities & Leadership

Cardinal Stritch University began using the GooseChase platform in 2020 to flip the campus tour concept on its head.

“Even though this is taking place through an app, this is a very human experience. It is created in a virtual space, but it is a very real, individual experience for participants.”

Matthew Weiss, Sr. Coordinator of Student Activities & Leadership

• More engaging tour experience: The format of the scavenger hunt allows students to explore campus in a way that is fun and flexible, and yet strategic from the point of view of the administration. Mixed into the more functional Missions (“Locate the campus clinic”) are playful ones that encourage exploration (“Take a photo of your favorite piece of art on campus”.)

• Organized internal planning: To plan a GooseChase, the orientation committee simply circulates a shared document that each department can populate with Mission ideas. No need for meetings or coordinating with multiple schedules. - it makes setting up a breeze!

• Activated students: Beyond orientation, Cardinal Stritch uses GooseChase to bring fun to other offerings like academic advising. Using GooseChase, students are encouraged to drop by more advising sessions and provide feedback on programming.

From one GooseChase creator to the next, here are tips for how you can create the most brilliant experiences for your communities.

“Bring people in and build community on the creator side, not just the participant side. Collaborate on creating Missions with others on your team to get as many points of view as possible, and have your Missions address as many objectives as possible.”

Matthew Weiss, Sr. Coordinator of Student Activities & Leadership

• Keep it social
  Get participants mingling with “human bingo” Missions, or Missions that require them to ask people questions in real life. An “Ask the school photographer for his Starbucks order” Mission means students have to hunt down the school photographer and engage him in conversation, and they all get professional photos snapped in the process!

• Play it on repeat!
  Make the most of the GooseChase Mission Bank for crowd-pleasers, and don’t be afraid to reuse Missions from game to game, tweaking as you need. When creating your GooseChase, you’ll be able to pull Missions from your earlier games, saving you time down the line. The more you use the app, the more you’ll get out of it - with much less effort.

• The more, the merrier
  Have more Missions than you think you’ll need - people get really excited and can go through the list really quickly! Not sure how many Missions to prepare? Here’s a helpful guide.

Thank you so much to Cardinal Stritch University for sharing their GooseChase experience. College campuses are a home away from home for so many students and staff alike - we’re happy to play a part!

Think GooseChase could be a fit for your campus? If you haven’t already, start by creating your first game. You can upgrade it at any time.