The Power of Social Media in Higher Education
- Building and Defining a Social Media Presence at Middle College -
University of North Dakota
Kody Rother, Liz Blazek, Adam Lundquist
Presentation Objectives
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Defining Social Media
Why it is important for Middle College
How is social media used
What would we expect from our campus members
How do we educate students
Sources
Social Media Defined
Why Is Social Media Important
For Middle College?
Who are we missing if we ignore social media?
• 92% of students would remove a school from their list if they
could not find relevant info on an institutions website
• 1/5 students use social media to gather info about the colleges
they are considering
• 96% 18-35 year olds are on a social network
• 600 million people use Facebook, 53% of them are 30 and under
Why Is Social Media Important
For Middle College?
• 4/5 college instructors are using social media
• Connect with students and as a classroom learning tool
• 95% of Higher Ed admissions offices use social media in their
recruitment efforts
• More than 80% of colleges are using Facebook to connect with and
recruit potential students
• 450 Universities have a channel on YouTube Edu
• YouTube has 3 billion views/day
“To be absent on these channels sends a strong signal about a
University's commitment to innovation”
Christine Heenan - Vice President of Public Affairs and Communication, Harvard University
How Can Social Media Be
Innovatively Used In Higher Ed
• Recruitment & Admissions
• Tweet your application for admission (Iowa Tippie)1
• Campus Tours
• Take virtual tours of campuses online or from your mobile device
(YourCampus360)2
• Retention & Yield
• Engage students and deepen their connection to our University
(Capital University )3
• Student Life
• Use mobile apps to register for courses, follow athletics, submit
their homework, and more from anywhere (Ohio State)4
• Classes
• Take classes from anywhere in the world from our University
(ITunes U, YouTube Edu)5
What We Would Expect From
Our Campus Members
• DePaul University has a set of well-defined guidelines
which we would draw inspiration from, this includes:
• Be Transparent
• Be Accurate
• Be Respectful
• Consider Your Audiences
• Think Before You Post
• Maintain Confidentiality
• Be Aware of Liability
How Do We Educate Students
and Middle College Members
• Developing a website clearly articulating the benefits and
potential hazards of social media usage (borrowing from
DePaul)1
• Develop questionnaire that allows students to self rate their
“online footprint” (pictures posted, blogs written, videos
uploaded, etc.). After submitting, a raw score would appear,
correlating to what potential employers may base decisions
off of
• Bring in engaging speakers on how social media can affect
students beyond the internet2
• Create a professional development course on the impact
social media has had in the business world and on our
personal lives3
References
• Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010A. Kaplan, M. HaenleinUsers of the world, unite!
The challenges and opportunities of social media Business Horizons, 53 (1)
(2010), pp. 59–68
• Stamats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs3CVry2EQ8
• http://tippie.uiowa.edu/news/story.cfm?id=2642
• http://www.yourcampus360.com/collegesList.php
• http://mascotmayhem.capital.edu/
• http://osu.edu/osumobile/
• http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/forget_itunes_u_students_now_g
etting_college_credit_via_youtube.php
• http://brandresources.depaul.edu/vendor_guidelines/g_recommendation.a
spx
• http://bestpublicspeaker.com/
• http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/09/06/youtube