Why Choose UNC Charlotte Camps on Campus?

With so many summer camp choices in the Charlotte area, why should you choose UNC Charlotte Camps on Campus?

UNC Charlotte has been an important part of summer outreach programming for over 20 years. Camps on Campus strives to offer a safe, fun, hands-on, and educational summer enrichment experience for campers in rising grades 1-12. Our campers and their parents can expect the following from our camps and camp staff:

Safety

  • We adhere strictly to all campus policies regarding the safety and supervision of minors.
  • We maintain a database of emergency medical information and emergency contacts.
  • Parents can sign up for text alerts about campus news and events.
  • We have enhanced our drop-off and pick-up procedures to ensure the safety of our campers.
    • Dashboard Passes streamline pick-up and drop-off while enhancing security.
  • We regularly update our camper policies to address food allergies and promote good citizenship and character.
  • All staff and volunteers must undergo criminal background checks before they can work with our campers.
  • We provide CPR and ALICE training to all camp counselors.
  • Only certified drivers are allowed to operate our vans.
  • GPS Monitoring of all staff via 2-way radio.

Read more about our enhanced safety precautions.

UNC Charlotte College Connection

  • All camp counselors are college students who are leaders on campus, providing campers with role models and mentors.
  • Our campers experience the facilities and amenities of a college campus and introductions to some of the university’s academic disciplines such as robotics, computer science, theatre, and more!
  • We focus our Niner Academy camps for rising grades 9-12 on leadership development and preparation for college and career through hands-on experience and exposure to multiple academic disciplines and skills.

Edutainment: Learning That is Fun!

  • Most instructors are K-12 licensed teachers and administrators, including many Teacher of the Year finalists, who are experts at designing age-appropriate, creative, engaging learning activities for campers. Other instructors are graduate and doctoral students and professors teaching our Niner Academy and 49er Minor camps.
  • At Cool School (Grades 1-4) and 49er Minors (Grades 5-8), we prioritize interdisciplinary learning through themed camps that fuse together art, science, math, social studies, and language arts activities.
  • Our instructors utilize experiential learning through guest speakers, field trip/site visits, and hands-on activities.

Fostering Friendships & Inclusion

  • While character development remains a key focus, our camp counselors and instructors actively engage in fostering friendships and inclusion among the campers through continuous implementation of new methods and modeling appropriate behavior.
  • Instructors and counselors provide engaging large group activities and age-appropriate break-out sessions specifically designed for each camp.

Timely Communication with Families

  • We maintain easily accessible online documents and schedules via our camp app for enrolled campers and parents.
  • Parents and families receive information introducing each camp’s instructor and camp counselors.
  • We send timely reminders on upcoming payment deadlines to ensure secured enrollment.
  • Parents and families can sign up for emergency campus alerts via text message.
  • We store all emergency contact information for easy access from multiple points on campus.

Parent and Family Comments

Those are just some reasons why you should choose Camps on Campus, but don’t take our word for it. Here’s what our parents and families have to say:

  • “The variety of camps was great. The content and the exposure to so many different learning opportunities was amazing. Spy Academy was an absolute hit for our daughter this year.”
  • ”Having everything streamlined via an app this year was amazing!!!”
  • ”The camp counselors and instructor were wonderful! Everyone morning the counselors greeted both my kids with a smile and warm welcome. The counselors took the time to get to know the kids and spend time them. Both my children had a wonderful experience in their camps and enjoyed the topics. The instructors did a great job making the week filled with fun activities and learning!”
  • ”My son loved camp this year. This was his first year, and he said he was very excited to come back next year. From what we understand and saw, the camp counselors and instructors were kind, engaged, energetic and very fun. Part of the amazing experience was enabledy son to connect with other campers. Forming a positive experience with his peers he hasn’t met before camp. We couldn’t ask for more in a camp.”
  • ”The staff and leadership team were excellent. I appreciated that the instructor helped my daughter make a friend which she was nervous about. I also appreciated the app and the tutorial videos. The drop-off tutorial video was a life saver!”
  • “My daughter loved UNC Charlotte Camps on Campus. Wish I would have enrolled her in more.”
  • “You offer the most well-run, robust, and fun summer camp experience in Charlotte!”
  • “Very organized—my daughter loved the counselors!”
  • “The UNC Charlotte Camps on Campus staff made my daughter feel very safe, welcomed, and part of the group. She was very happy.”
  • “The Director was very helpful and the counselors were very nice. The topics are interesting and educational.”
  • “The program offered enough challenge and projects to keep campers engaged and wanting to come back each day.”
  • “I really appreciated the organization from drop off to pick up. I know the boys appreciated the experience because it was new learning and a new setting and they had some independence while still feeling safe.”
  • “My son enjoyed being busy throughout the day. He normally attends camps at the Y and there is a lot of “down time” and breaks. And while that may be necessary for an outdoor/active camp, he liked that the robotics camp kept him busy all day. He also loved visiting the vending machines and student center for lunch.”
  • “The professor was knowledgeable and organized and worked to keep the kids engaged.”
  • “It was organized and I loved the number of counselors and teachers to campers.  I did not have to worry about my children being unsupervised.”
  • “It gave kids the opportunity to see a college campus and socialize with other teens.”
  • “As a parent, I really appreciated the new car rider line location and ease of pick up and drop off.”
  • “I like the strong communication leading up to the camp.  I felt very prepared for the first day.”
  • “I loved the fact that my daughter learned several new things she wasn’t aware of. She wants to go in the medical field in the future, so the Health Sciences camp was a game changer.”
  • “Being able to have early access and adequate time through the months to make payments. I also enjoyed the location for pick up and drop off, taking time to plan those logistics makes a difference!”
  • “My camper was engaged each day, told us progress he was making, and genuinely wanted to go back each day.”
  • “The highly skilled teachers and leaders.”
  • “Our camper genuinely enjoyed each week’s camp. I was worried that he would get bored with the environment, activities, or people after several weeks of camp – but that did not happen. He was excited about going to camp each week – and the staff was amazing!”
  • “Having a different theme to choose from each week was great.”
  • “The educational part of it. It wasn’t just playtime she actually was exposed to new and different things.”
  • “The opportunity for my high-school-aged children to take a financial literacy class.”
  • “Communication and information shared prior to camp beginning, Parent Orientation, Drop off and pick up organization”