The incoming freshman class at University of Kentucky got something new to sign up for during orientation week - an internal, Facebook-esque social network meant exclusively for students, faculty and staff of the university.
One of the primary goals of the network is the retention of students, by engaging them in the community, creating closer ties with the people around them, and informing them about campus events, clubs and other activities.
So far, the effort by UK is seen as an overall success. Initial interaction is quite high, with students sharing information and having conversations with their peers, professors, and administrative bodies.
It also looks like the students are learning from each other not only on topics about school, but also about their futures. There have been a few cases of peer-monitoring, with students advising others on how to best present themselves and share information online. This is certainly a shift from University students' Facebook identities!
Along these lines, we'd be interested to see if they open up the application to alumni as well. A recent Mashable article highlighted 10 ways that universities could use social media to connect with alumni, and their second point - "collaboration and connecting with students" - is particularly relevant to the case. "Universities are using social media to smooth the transition from being a student to becoming an alumni by helping the two groups connect and collaborate with each other," said Vadim Lavrusik in the article.
Not only is the alumni network important to all higher ed institutions in terms of fund raising, but this process is ultimately very valuable in terms of getting current students excited about life after college, prepping outgoing students for job searches, and/or graduate school.
Has your university or college made any moves towards creating an internal social community?
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Andy Shaindlin wrote on 08/26/09 4:29 PM
Is this really a "new trend"? InCircle, Elon's Town Square and other sites/services (such as those using Ning) have been offering this "small walled garden" option for years, with varying success. The "large walled gardens" (Facebook, LinkedIn) are less private-label, and are still walled, but are giant.This question of scale becomes important as the community members' needs become less related to the school. For example, if I need info on what it's like to live off campus as a senior, that info is best sought within a small group that has that specific knowledge.
However, if I need info on entering the finance industry in Hong Kong after majoring in physics, it might be that alma mater doesn't provide many resources of first-hand info. That's where the 3rd party systems come in. They're bigger and let you reach THROUGH your close ties to reach your distant, weak ties for info.
Perhaps the balance should be between some small group privacy early on, with a transition to a large scale pool for info-seeking as one's needs become focused on activities outside the student experience.
Good topic, thanks.