SITE hOSTS OF THE MONTANA COLLEGE FAIRS

Celebrating Over 30 Years Of Montana College Fairs  |  Together Helping Students

PREPARE FOR THE college fairs

Please let us know if you need help or have questions!

EXPANDED CAREER / INDUSTRY / BUSINESS EXHIBITOR INVITES
​FREE TO ATTEND YOUR LOCAL FAIR
​

  • SPECIAL INVITES - Local and Area Business & Career Exploration Exhibitors  |  FREE TO ATTEND YOUR LOCAL FAIR
    • Career Exploration  |  If your site decided to try some new Career Exploration programming, please look at the number of tables for your site and make sure you have enough space, tables, chairs, etc.  If you need help, please contact us and we will team with you to finalize attendees and a plan.  Thank you for trying this new step to help student even more!
    • Career & Business Invites  |  Do you want to invite some local businesses in your area?  If so, here is a link to share out, and the first fair and their local fair is free for these business / industry attendees!  Please help spread the word.  |  Invite Link.  Feel free to copy and paste this information into an email invite.
    • How to sign up your area businesses?  |  Each Site Host does this differently.  Here are a few ideas. 
      • It is FREE for any local businesses to attend your local fair!  Please help spread the word, so we can expand our career pathway exploration resources for your area students.
      • You are welcome to work with your local chamber of commerce, your campus career services team, and/or make personal calls to your local business yourself and specially invite them. 
      • You can share this invite link and have them sign up through MPSEOC, or you are welcome to manage this entirely yourself and will just want to keep a total of the number of extra "career exhibitors" you have signed up to attend for free and add that overall number to the table numbers MPSEOC sends you. You will want to let these career exhibitors know all the details fo the fair yourself...i.e. when to show up to setup, times of the fairs, etc.
      • For setup at the fair, we recommend keeping a separate row or section for these career / business exhibitors in the fair, so you can easily help them.  Please let us know if we can help!

important reminder
​safety & security @ the fair
​

site host Agreement

On behalf of the Montana Post Secondary Educational Opportunities Council, Montana Colleges & Universities, and Montana High Schools, we would like to thank you for your team efforts to host your area’s annual college fair.  As our area College/Career Fair Site Host, you agree to have full control of our site safety & security plan for your area fair.  Your team has full ability to  adjust as needed to fit with your campus protocols for this event. Your team has full control over the flow of traffic, event setup, event security, high school scheduling, safety requirements/recommendations, & overall onsite event management.  We agree to host the fair to the best of our ability with equity and fairness for all students in the area.  Many thanks for all your team efforts to make this statewide service to students happen each year!  

mpseoc recommendation  |  No Bags in the fair

With increased challenges and threats facing large events, we want to take all the safety precautions we can.   MPSEOC would encourage your teams to discuss adding extra safety and security steps into your event to keep everyone safe while attending your area fair event.  
 
Each year we team to help make sure that this event is a success for students.  We realize that each of you take different steps to make sure your fair is safe and secure for all attendees in accordance with your internal campus policies.  

​However, some ideas that other sites tend to do is: 
  1. Notification of Event  |  Notify your campus security or local security team of the date/time/location of the event in case of an emergency. 
  2. On-Site Security Personnel  | Many sites have official security personnel at the entry of the fair the entire time of the event to help ensure safety.  Having a strong presence of security does seem to be a major help in deterring threats. 
  3. Screening of Bags & Extra Helpers  |  We have asked the high schools to ask their students to leave their bags on the bus or in their car.  However, this does not always happen.  We trust your judgement on how you would like to handle this with your process.  Some sites choose to offer a bag check-in point to keep bags from entering the building (which requires the personnel and supplies to run this check-in area).  In addition, some sites have extra helpers to catch the busses as they arrive to remind students to leave their bags on the bus.  Again, we trust your judgement on what you decide is best for your fair.

Overall, this is a reminder, as we know each of your campuses have different protocols for events on your campus.  These are just ideas and please take any additional steps you and your campus would deem safe.  We have also reminded attending counselors that they are responsible for their students while they are at the fair.  We appreciate your team efforts to make this another year of successful events.  
​
We are excited to see you at the fair!

schedule of events

Montana Fall College Fair Dates
​
EASTERN MONTANA REGION
  • Dates:   September  14-17, 2026
  • Estimated Attendance:   1,700
  • Fair Sites: Havre, Glasgow, Sidney, Glendive, Miles City, Colstrip
CENTRAL MONTANA REGION
  • Dates:   September 21 - 24, 2026
  • Estimated Attendance:   3,500
  • Fair Sites: Bozeman, Livingston, Billings, Lewistown, Great Falls, Conrad
​WESTERN MONTANA REGION
  • Dates:   September 28 - October 1, 2026
  • Estimated Attendance:   4,000
  • Fair Sites:   Butte, Helena, Missoula, Hamilton, Polson, Kalispell​

Table / EXHIBITOR REPRESENTATIVES 
|  Information we have sent to them
  | details about your fair

​Exhibitor Confirmation Packet  |  SITE DETAILS - these are examples of what is shared with exhibitors.  If you have any changes, you are able to update most of this information in your live site host form or please let us know.  Many thanks!
​Confirmation Packet
​Live Online Fair Form
Directions @ Maps
​​Welcome Team Packet

high school counselors 
|example - Information we sent to HS Counselors
  | details about your fair 

counselor packet & Event Information

REGISTRATION cards
for students

  • These postcards are mailed out end of August to all the high schools to give each of their students.
  • It directs students to register online before the fair and print their bar-code to bring to the fair.
  • They will scan their bar-code at the entry of the fair for the $1,000 scholarship.  We will have paper forms for any students who does not have a bar code however.  

fair student registration
​dashboard

"live" site host form

  • VERY IMPORTANT:   We have emailed you a direct link to your fair details.  You may make changes with the link we sent you at any time.  Please keep this updated with any changes.  These are live updates, so whatever changes you make will be live for all exhibitors, high schools, counselors, students, etc. to see.  
  • Please notify MPSEOC / Amy Leary right away if you have any major changes (site location, attendance restrictions, cancellation, etc.)  Thank you!

NUMBER OF TABLES
for 2026
as of 9.1.26

example Setup
​Video & Map

*Example Setup Preview
This is our usual layout for the fair, but this year, we encourage each site to do what you think is safest and best.  Please feel free to adjust the flow of traffic, setup, scheduling of high schools, as you think is best and safest.  Thank you! ​
PLEASE do what you feel is the
​best with your space.  

site Host & coordinator documents

additional information