How Nevada’s College Town Pass Boosted Yield by 4.4%

When students visit a college campus, they’re not just imagining life in classrooms and residence halls — they’re picturing their future lives. The local coffee shop, the weekend hiking trail, the downtown restaurant where they’ll celebrate midterm wins — these moments shape how students feel about a place just as much as a tour guide or admissions session ever could.

That’s the insight behind the College Town Pass, an award-worthy initiative from the University of Nevada, Reno that transformed how prospective students experience campus visits — and drove a measurable bump in enrollment yield.

In this episode of Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO, host Jaime Hunt sits down with Justin Bouldt, Assistant Director of Admissions at University of Nevada, Reno, to unpack how his team turned a simple idea into a high-impact engagement tool that helps students explore Reno, connect with the community, and see themselves as future Wolf Pack members.

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From Campus Tour to City Tour

Nevada’s campus visit program, Nevada Bound, already delivered a strong on-campus experience — classrooms, residence halls, lunch with students, and more. But something was missing.

“We do a great job showing students our facilities,” Bouldt says. “What we weren’t showing them was Reno — the broader community that shapes their day-to-day experience.”

Enter the College Town Pass, built in partnership with Bandwango. The mobile-friendly pass curates a list of 50+ “college town favorites” — from local coffee shops and bookstores to Lake Tahoe hiking trails. Visitors can check in at each spot using their phones’ GPS, collect points, and redeem them at the Welcome Center for Nevada swag (think shirts, sunglasses, or the coveted mystery box).

The gamified twist keeps visitors exploring longer — and connecting more deeply with the city they might one day call home.

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Results That Speak Volumes

The goals were simple: drive engagement, improve yield, and expand awareness of Reno as a college town. The results? Even better than expected.

• 30% of Nevada Bound attendees engaged with the pass — surpassing their original 20% goal.
• 74% of applicants who used the pass ultimately enrolled — a significant lift above average yield.
• Even within the Nevada Bound group, pass users showed a 4.4% higher yield rate than non-users.

In a cycle where yield rates across higher ed continue to slip, those few percentage points translated to dozens (thousands of Nevada Bound attendees, >30% usage rate, >4% increase in yield) of additional students choosing Nevada.

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Shaping Perception — One Coffee Shop at a Time

Bouldt says the idea came from a simple but powerful realization: families will explore your city whether you guide them or not.

“We realized that prospective students were already going out into Reno — but not always seeing its best side,” he explains. “By curating the experience, we could highlight what makes Reno special: the arts scene, the food, the trails, and of course, Lake Tahoe.”

For a city that’s often misunderstood — thanks in part to pop-culture portrayals like Reno 911! — the pass helped rewrite the narrative. Families who once associated Reno only with casinos now left talking about Basque cuisine, art walks, and mountain views.

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Building It the Smart Way

Despite its sophistication, the project wasn’t a heavy lift. Working with Bandwango, Bouldt’s team built the first version in just a few days — starting with two dozen locations and expanding to 50 as student feedback rolled in.

The key? Student collaboration.

“I had my own list of places I thought were cool,” Bouldt admits, “but the students quickly set me straight.” Their input made the pass more authentic and more reflective of real student life — not just what staff thought families wanted to see.

Even better, the investment was minimal. “For the yield lift we saw, it was an incredible return,” Bouldt says.

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The Why Behind the Wow

So why did the College Town Pass work so well?

Because it helped students see themselves there.

Campus tours show facilities. The pass showed belonging.

By inviting families to explore the same trails, coffee shops, and hangouts that current students love, Nevada gave visitors a tangible glimpse of life as part of the Wolf Pack community. And when students can picture their future in a place — not just as a student, but as a resident — commitment follows.

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What’s Next: Unbound and Expanded

After its pilot success, Nevada is expanding the pass beyond Nevada Bound. Every visitor — from sophomores touring over summer break to admitted students — will now receive access.

And that’s not all. Bouldt’s team is planning new themed passes — including one that turns a 90-minute tour into a deeper, self-guided campus experience. Future versions may include embedded videos, history snippets, and scavenger-style QR check-ins inspired by geocaching.

“It’s about bringing the campus and city to life,” says Bouldt. “If technology can make that easier, why wouldn’t we use it?”

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Lessons for Other Campuses

If you’re thinking about launching a similar project, Bouldt offers three key takeaways:

1. Center the prospective student’s experience.
   Consider how visitors actually spend their limited time — meals, coffee, exploring — and build around that.
2. Co-create with current students.
   Their insights will ensure authenticity and relevance.
3. Start small — but make it seamless.
   A well-curated list of 20-25 meaningful stops can have an outsized impact if the experience feels easy and rewarding.

The bottom line: the College Town Pass didn’t just promote local businesses — it created emotional connection. And in an era of declining yield, that connection makes all the difference.

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🎧 Listen to the Full Conversation

Tune in to Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO as Jaime Hunt and Justin Bouldt dive deeper into how one campus visit idea turned into a citywide recruitment strategy.