CASE Awards Gold to Bay Path University

A high-energy video shot on a GoPro has won Bay Path University a much-coveted Excellence Gold Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The video received gold in the 2016 CASE Awards for District 1, which honors the work of educational institutions in the northeast United States and eastern Canada.

“Seize the Day” captures the excitement inherent in a student’s acceptance to the University, and follows her through a “high-five” text, some fast-paced packing (no, not the cat!) and a wild fast-forward to new friends, awesome experiences and the prospect of a fabulous future.

Bay Path’s enrollment marketing department collaborated with video producers Six-Point Creative Works of Springfield, Massachusetts (with IndieWhip of Providence serving as the production crew and director of photography) to produce a video that was targeted to high school students who had been accepted to Bay Path University, but had not yet enrolled. It was meant to encourage their decision to enroll by recreating the excitement of being accepted and going off to college. 

“You never see the student in full,” said Six-Point’s Scott Whitney, who was the writer and creative director for the production. “By using point-of-view GoPro footage, we encouraged the viewer to feel as if she is the main character.” 

“This was especially important because our student body is diverse in many ways,” noted Rebecca Capuano, Director of Enrollment Marketing & Analytics at Bay Path University. “We also wanted to convey the experience of arriving here in an authentic way,” she said, “so the students, faculty and staff who appear in the video are actual members of the Bay Path community.”

Helping students envision themselves at Bay Path also supported the University’s mission of serving a large number of first-generation college students, Whitney noted. “Since these students are often the first in their families to go to college, it can be difficult for them to imagine themselves on a college campus, or for their families to understand what life on a campus will be like. This video gives a first-hand look at what it feels like to drive on campus for the first time, to live in a dorm, to participate in college activities and to be in a college classroom with caring professors.”

Bay Path was one of only 12 schools to receive gold in a wide range of categories. "Seize the Day" took top honors in the Admissions Videos category.

University Provost Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson added: “I am honored that CASE has recognized our work, and I am extremely proud of our team and their collaborative creativity that produced such a remarkable video.”