A new system has been added for University of Indianapolis’s events called Greyhound Rewards. This system, created by the Student Activities Team and the Office of Student Affairs, was added this semester, according to Assistant Director of Student Activities Bridget Webster.
How the system works is that students receive points from attending weekend programs, according to MyUIndy. Students scan a QR code, located at the check-in table of the events, using the UIndy App, according to Assistant Director of Student Activities Nicole Schuch. The points students receive are tracked by Student Affairs, according to MyUIndy.
“We [Student Affairs] review it that following Monday,” Schuch said. “So if we have programs on Friday and Saturday, which we do, on Monday we’ll review it, enter it into our spreadsheet, and then we’ll contact the students that reached a certain tier. If it’s Tier 10 or Tier 15, we’ll contact them to let them know what they have unlocked in their level, and then they can come pick up their incentive prize here in Student Affairs.”
There are different levels of prizes, according to Schuch. These prizes range from T-shirts, tumblers, hands-free touch tools and lanyards. Students earn their first prize, a hands-free touch tool, when they attend two events, according to Student Leadership and Activities Board (SLAB) Operations Chair Craig-Anesu Chigadza. If students attend all 38 events throughout the semester, they earn dinner with a campus celebrity, such as Vice President for Student and Campus Affairs Kory Vitangeli or University President Robert Manuel, according to Schuch. Prizes can be claimed in Schwitzer Student Center Room 210, she said.
According to Chigadza, Greyhound Rewards also apply to virtual events, and the QR code will be made available at the beginning of the event. However, these events must already be Greyhound Rewards eligible, according to Schuch. The points are also cumulative, Chigadza said.
“If you come to two events, you collect your hands-free touch tool,” Chigadza said. “If you arrive next weekend for different events, that counts as three events and you get your UIndy lanyard. So you don’t have to start fresh. It’s cumulative. So, we’re just ready to reward people for being there to support us and just to make sure we increase student participation on campus.”
Because of the pandemic, Chigadza said normal ways of engagement have been affected negatively. The Greyhound Rewards system was created to increase student participation, according to Chigadza.
“It’s just so that we can continue to foster student interest and programming around campus,” Chigadza said. “Of course, most of our weekend programs have giveaways of prizes, but we just wanted to add that extra notch to make sure that there’s even increased participation and increased excitement when it comes to programming that’s put on our campus.”
Plans for Greyhound Rewards are going to continue post COVID-19, according to Chigadza. He says he hopes to offer more prizes to students, as well as bigger prizes.
According to Schuch, she has already seen students take advantage of the Greyhound Rewards system. Schuch said she has seen students already reaching the third tier.
“We’ve only had a little bit of the time to assess it just because we’re still at the beginning of the semester,” Schuch said. “However, the students really enjoy it. They get so excited when they come pick up their incentive prize here in the office. So it’s been [a] neat way for us to interact with students in a positive manner at the program, and then following up the program when they get that email that following Monday.”
According to Schuch, the best way to find out if an event is Greyhound Rewards compatible is to check emails sent out by Vitangeli. All weekend programs will be Greyhound Rewards eligible, as well as any event that is sponsored by SLAB, Schuch said. She said Residence Life programs that are on Fridays and Saturdays are also eligible for Greyhound Rewards.
Chigadza said he hopes UIndy students will take advantage of Greyhound Rewards. He believes it is an idea that is going to grow on Greyhounds.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Chigadza said. “I definitely encourage my fellow Greyhounds and students to take advantage of it because it gives us a moment to distract from some of the hardships that have been brought about by the pandemic. I absolutely love the idea. I think it’s an idea that’s going to continue to grow, an idea that is going to build excitement once more and more people know about it.”
