Demystifying University: Using Facebook to develop a
pre-induction online community to aid transition and
retention
Joanna MacDonnell , University of Brighton
j.macdonnell@brighton.ac.uk
Faculty of Arts
University of Brighton
Hastings Campus
Havelock Road
Hastings, TN34 1BE
Keywords
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Transition;
Social Media;
Peer Support;
Induction;
Facebook;
Widening Participation;
Nature of Intervention
Pre-entry, subject specific, closed Facebook Group for the Broadcast Media students
at the University of Brighton.
Focus of Intervention
This intervention is both academic and social, aimed at improving the transition
experience by using a Closed Facebook Group to create a pre-induction online
social space for new students to meet one another and for student ambassadors to
offer peer support and advice. The group provides a forum for staff to offer support
and guidance in order to begin the academic transition.
Description of Intervention
A closed Facebook Group for the students joining the Level 4 Broadcast Media
courses at the University of Brighton’s Hastings Campus was established in the
weeks leading up to enrolment.
The nature of a closed group is that members have to request to join and receive
approval from a group administrator, Facebook then allows the members of a closed
group to post on the groups wall and to comment on posts made by others and the
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wall can only be viewed by those who are members of the closed group. A closed
group was selected to ensure that the membership was secure and controlled and
students and staff were able to post freely in the knowledge that posts could not be
viewed by a wider audience. The link and information about the group was provided
to the new students in their welcome letters which were sent out in August and
September and also via the new students’ area of the virtual learning environment
(VLE). Course Tutors established professional Facebook profiles which only contain
academic information, similar to the profiles found on the Faculty website; therefore
students have no access to personal details. Student Ambassadors from level 5 and
levels 6 were invited to participate in the group to establish pre-induction
connections with the new students and offer peer to peer support and advice.
Initially the lead tutor was answering questions and posting information but as the
group gained momentum the pre-induction support was shared with student
ambassadors, support staff, technicians, the widening participation coordinator,
marketing officer, student services staff and other members of the course team, all
(except the student ambassadors) with professional Facebook profiles. The
ambassadors were able to answer questions which were outside of the experience
of the tutors such as what to bring to Halls of Residence and the experience of
Fresher’s week from a student perspective. Queries which were posted on the wall
that required attention by a particular group member could be ‘tagged’ by name so
that the appropriate person’s attention was drawn to the post and an answer given
quickly. This was especially effective when the tutors felt that ambassadors were
better placed to answer the query.
It also gave the staff a forum to disseminate institutional pre-induction information,
enhance the course information available on the university’s website and to create a
‘buzz’ about Fresher’s week, the course and starting university. Academic staff also
started the formative steps towards academic engagement with the courses by
posting useful online material to read, watch and listen to prior to the course
starting. The group was also used by students to form flat share groups and to
arrange to meet at the house hunting event. Once induction week had started more
students joined the group and it became the central sign-posting point for the
induction week timetable as it was too soon for students to have access to the VLE
or University email accounts. The group was also used as a tool to run course
related induction week activities and for the Student Union societies to make
contact with the new students.
As the teaching term began, students continued to use the group, asking for
assistance from level 5 and level 6 students and tutors and staff used it as an informal
medium to disseminate information or point to information available on the VLE. It
was also used as a student to student message board. University and local events
were advertised within the group as were work experience and volunteering
opportunities. Course related links were also posted by staff and students to share.
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It was important initially to set the tone of the group and establish a language.
Although the language used was less formal than an email with the absence of ‘dear’
and ‘from’ it was more formal than the abbreviations and SMS language used by
some consumers on Facebook, which made the group posts accessible to students
whose first language wasn’t English. A level of respect and politeness was achieved
but the tone remained fun, friendly and open. Although ready to ‘police’ the group
tutors did not experience any concerning behaviour or language.
How the Intervention Engages Students
This early intervention is designed to provide a pre-induction communication
method which is not available to either the new students or the tutors by any other
means at this stage of a students’ transition to Higher Education. The group offers
access to student ambassadors which would be unlikely to occur until at least
induction week without the means of the Facebook group. Essentially the group
provides an informal environment for new students to ask questions, receive
reassurance and build anticipation of the university experience by using a familiar
communication medium prior to starting Higher Education. The FdA Broadcast
Media Programme at the Hastings Campus attracts many students from Widening
Participation backgrounds, many of whom enter the University with a level 3 FE
qualification. Existing research shows that there is a correlation between levels of
academic preparedness and prior engagement with university (Thomas and Yorke,
2003) with non-traditional students from vocational FE courses having more issues
surrounding preparedness than those following an ‘A’ level route (Hatt and Baxter,
2003). Widening Participation and pre-entry interventions raised confidence levels,
demystified university and contributed to improving retention and success (Thomas
and Yorke, 2003; Passy and Morris, 2010, Thomas, 2011). The Facebook group was
formed fundamentally to demystify university and prevent the feelings of
bewilderment experienced by some non-traditional students in their first semester
and to provide:
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A familiar environment to form virtual social networks;
The opportunity to make friends before the start of induction week;
The opportunity to meet other students moving into Halls of Residence
virtually;
The opportunity to form relationships with their tutors before enrolment;
An environment to receive pre-induction peer to peer advice from student
ambassadors;
The opportunity to ask tutors and ambassadors questions.
Link to the What Works Findings
The intervention in this case study clearly links to and supports the findings of the
What Works study as Pre-Entry is a key focus of the findings. The Facebook Group
creates an opportunity in the pre-entry period for “supportive peer relationships” to
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develop, “meaningful interactions between staff and students” to begin and the
“knowledge (and) confidence [….] of the learner” to increase in a familiar online
environment (Thomas, 2012: 14). Without the presence of the Facebook Group,
new students would find it difficult in the time prior to enrolment to communicate
with one another, the student ambassadors, the support staff and the academic
teaching team, or learn more about the course and the campus.
This intervention can be considered effective as it encourages and promotes:
“social interaction with peers and current students and engagement
with staff from academic departments and professional services,
providing information, informing expectations, building social capital
(links with peers, current students and staff) and nurturing a sense
of belonging.” (Thomas 2012:22)
Evidence of Effectiveness/Impact
The Facebook group intervention was evaluated using an online survey and by staff
observations of the groups activity.
Data reveals that 57% of group members added new friends in the pre-induction
period in order to develop pre-induction friendships virtually through private
messaging or interaction on their own ‘walls’. The group’s wall posts became very
long threads with 78% of the students posting questions and 71% commenting on
other students’ posts. Staff observed students chatting informally on the wall about
their expectations and excitement about starting the courses. When asked in the
survey about the benefits to joining the group one level 4 student stated:
It got me into the spirit and made me feel less nervous about coming to
university.
Several students expressed nervousness and shyness in their posts about meeting
new people, these concerns were responded to positively by other students’ and
particular by the ambassadors. Staff observed that the students arranged to meet
one another in person prior to coming to the campus on enrolment day so anxious
students weren’t alone and a caring community beyond the virtual emerged.
Through the tone and language used in the group, students were made to feel they
could ask anything on the wall
I worry about a lot of stupid little things, and having the group there just
meant that I could leave a short message that didn't take up too much
time to be answered [……] staff encouraged people to ask questions
that seem "stupid". Level 4 student
Students appreciated the response time to questions which were posted on the
group’s wall, as there were many tutors, support staff and ambassadors in the group,
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meaning new students didn’t have to wait for one individual to respond as you would
with email correspondence:
It has been good because the replies are always fast. I can't think of
anything bad about it and I would encourage Freshers next year to use it.
Level 4 student
Once the teaching term began several students who were repeatedly absent became
a cause for concern as they had not responded to emails from the Course Leader or
letters from student services. These students were contacted via the private
messaging facility on Facebook by the Course Leader, as the students were group
members this was possible, the students responded immediately and were then
referred to student services for transition support.
Although the group was set up as a pre-induction intervention it kept running all
year with students using it to ask questions and communicate with staff. One student
commented that
It is a comfort to know that you can ask for help, and usually get an
answer by the next day without having to worry about tracking lecturers
down or seeing them in their office times. Level 4 student
During assessment periods ambassadors wrote motivational posts and staff observed
attendance increase at less popular modules following these comments. Staff posted
information about how to access study skills and IT assistance. Students also
commented in the survey that they used the group as a repository for information as
they could look on the group wall and find the information they needed as in all
likelihood someone else had already asked the question.
Conclusion
The use of the Facebook group had many positive features however the overriding
benefit is the communication between new students and student ambassadors and
the opportunity to create a supportive network in the pre-entry phase of transition.
Additionally, the ability to communicate with students through the private messaging
facility has proved invaluable, without this communication method these students
would have been difficult to re-engage. The students who were contacted in this way
were grateful and felt that they were cared about as the message came through
Facebook.
Recommendation for Practice
The following are some helpful tips when considering setting up academic Facebook
groups:
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Establish professional Facebook profiles;
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Create a set of guidelines for Student Ambassadors so they know their
boundaries and they are able to sign post students to the right member of
staff to deal with a query;
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Ensure sufficient numbers of staff are group members to share the workload,
provide timely responses and regularly keep watch over the group;
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Provide the group with a set of guidelines to prevent inappropriate posts.
This will prevent students from making post which are not relevant to the
nature of the group.
Following this pilot Facebook Group, the University of Brighton has established
Social Media Student Ambassadors and closed groups for each campus on Facebook
in order to engage with a greater number of students in the pre-entry phase.
References
Hatt, S and Baxter, A (2003) From HE to FE: studies in transition. A comparison of
students entering higher education with academic and vocational qualifications.
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning. 5 (2), pp. 18-29
Passy, R. and Morris, M. (2010) Evaluation of Aimhigher: learner attainment and
progression available at
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2010/rd1510/rd15_10.pdf
[accessed September 3rd 2010]
Thomas, L., and Yorke, M. (2003) Improving the Retention of Students from Lower
Socio-economic Groups Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25 (1), pp
63-74
Thomas, L. (2011) Do pre-entry interventions such as ‘Aimhigher’ impact on student
retention and success? A review of the literature. Higher Education Quarterly. 65 (3),
pp. 230–250.
Thomas, L (2012) Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at
a time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success
programme, HEA available from
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/what-works-studentretention/What_works_final_report.pdf [accessed December 2012]
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