College Networks
By Kate Krug
Photo courtesy of Inigral
How one company uses social media to further college educations.
The original Facebook was a destination exclusive to college students. It has since turned into the social network community for middle school students and grandparents. Universities and companies across the country have been working together to get Facebook back to its roots with new technological twists.
Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, created a Facebook group for their incoming class of 2015 and has also used online video chats. “The point of the OWU Class of 2015 group is really to give students a virtual meeting place to get to know one another before they arrive on campus,” says Susan Langner, Ohio Wesleyan’s assistant director of admission/new media coordinator, “By making connections now, they are likely to build a community within their class early on.”
Ohio Wesleyan is going a step further and offering a unique chat experience to admitted and prospective students. Several online video chats are offered in the spring for students and their parents. Panelists are on a streaming Web cam, and admitted students and their families can ask questions by typing them in. “Our panelists will answer them live, much like a TV show,” Langner says. “Prospective students realize that other incoming students have the same questions they are pondering.”
Instead of going about it independently, schools like Columbia College in Chicago and Arizona State University are using a third-party Facebook application called The Schools App. Inigral, the creator of the app, is a company that creates “private, branded social network(s)” for colleges and universities in the hope of fostering communities for incoming students. All accepted students are invited to join the group. Once inside, they are able to select their interests to discuss with others what they have in common.
“Having exposure to that person’s thoughts and feelings gives you the sense that you keep ‘bumping into them’ in real life. After a while, you think to yourself, ‘Hey, I know you! You’re that person I keep seeing about on [Twitter, Facebook, Schools App, etc.],” says Inigral CEO and Co-Founder Michael Staton.
But does it work? According to Inigral it does. Clients have found that up to 94 percent of students who join their Facebook group enroll in the university. The schools have also reported up to a 5 percent higher retention rate among students using the app. In addition, more than 35,000 “ friendships” have been created between students before even arriving on campus.
But it’ s not stopping there. Starting this summer, Inigral will be focusing its efforts on getting the student body more involved. “We’re currently designing bringing in Facebook Places and Events, so that you can see emerging things to get involved in or activities you don’t want to miss out on,” Staton says.
