Project #1 Kathryn Miyahira

Kathryn Miyahira

Professor Williams

Digital Media

3.26.14

The Use of Media in Colleges and Universities

How a variety of new platforms has revolutionized the search and application experience

This shows the mix of college students and social media platforms. original photo

How did you hear about St. Mikes?

A typical question I get as a college tour guide, and understandably so.  Coming from across the country isn’t very common, especially moving from a big state like California to Vermont. What I always explain to visitors is that my mom and I did a lot of research online to find schools that fit my criteria. I looked through the website, browsing the different majors and blogs, and checked out the photo albums from different events on campus. I then applied to all of my schools using the Common App, and awaited my letters (of hopefully acceptance).  I was lucky, all of the schools I applied to sent actual letters of acceptance.  My friends who applied to larger universities had to wait for an email with a code and link to find out if they were accepted

More than anything, this experience speaks to how new digital media have grown and become more powerful, working its way into colleges and universities in almost every aspect. Because of media, I was able to find schools that were exactly what I wanted, and I know that if I was searching for schools pre-Internet, I would not be where I am today. 21st century media have allowed prospective students and universities to connect on a new level that is both beneficial and detrimental.

This triangle demonstrates how students, schools, and social media (represented by the creators of major sites) are all connected. Original photo

The Tailored Experience

“‘One of the basic ways we use social media is to share what’s going on on campus right now--sharing different photos, and event information can help showcase to incoming students what’s going on at The College of Saint Rose and what makes our campus different from others,’” shares Kayla Germain, E-Media Coordinator at The College of Saint Rose, “‘We want to engage and make sure the students voices are heard...It’s all about authenticity’” (Ridley). With the increasing use of social media platforms, having a presence online is almost essential for any college or university hoping to expand their area of connection.  Blogs give prospective students stories of events going on around campus and what day to day life is like. Recently, sites such as Instagram and Twitter have increased in popularity, limiting the amount of words or photos you can use, forcing users to be more selective in word choice. It also gives the user the ability to connect through hashtags, so if a prospective student of St. Mike’s was trying to find photos on Instagram, they would simply have to search #smcvt to be flooded with photos from students all over campus and with many different interests. “I would describe our social media presence as trying to recreate our great community in the online space...I would set the goal of social media, since it is social and all, to take that community, the good interactions, the intellectual conversations, the good friendships, all that stuff and represent it as best we can using various social media tools,” explains Christian Camerota, Assistant Director of Marketing for Social Media (Camerota) With the increasing ability to have a first hand account of life at a certain school, students from far away (like myself) now have access to schools they normally wouldn’t. With new options such as virtual tours or web chats, everyone has the ability to have their own experience with the school that is almost as personal as visiting. This allows colleges to reach a much broader audience and ultimately expand their pool of applicants.  

This photo illustrates the connection that prospective students make with the colleges online. Original

How Much Do Social Media Affect Student’s Searches and Decisions?

The college search process has changed significantly with digital media being thrown into the mix. When talking with universities and colleges, a survey from 2013 shows that “83% of respondents rated their overall success with social media as either somewhat successful or very successful” demonstrating the impact that these platforms have had on prospective students. Media have begun to play an important role in not only looking at schools, but also deciding what school to attend. When 12,000 high school students over the past two years were polled, “75% of the class of 2013 is using social media to make their enrollment decision” (Blog, Genius Recruiter). These new media sites have clearly become a vital part of the college search and decision process.

This shows the typical day of a student using their technology.  Original photo

The Flip Side: Admissions Looking at You

Digital media allows us new capabilities we haven't had in the past. However, in the application process it can, in some instances, be a hindrance. A popular example of this is when a girl attended an information session for prospective students at Bowdoin College in Maine. Throughout the event, the girl used Twitter to comment about the the other students in attendance, making rude comments with a “common expletive”. She was ultimately denied because of her sup-par academics, “‘but had her credentials been better, those indiscreet posts could have scuttled her chances,’” says Scott A. Meiklejohn, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Bowdoin. “'We would have wondered about the judgement of someone who spends their time on their mobile phone and makes such awful remarks’”.

Based off of a Kaplan telephone questionnaire of 381 college admissions officers, “31 percent said they had visited an applicant’s Facebook or other personal social media page to learn more about them”. This survey also found that “30 percent of the admissions officers said they had discovered information online that had negatively affected an applicant’s prospects”. 

This number may seem high, but contrary to popular belief, most college’s admissions staff do not go out of their way to look up students.  When they deal with 30 plus applications coming in every day, one bad photo or post does not weigh as heavily. It seems that if an issue is brought to the attention of the admissions staff then it will be further looked into.

That being said, high schooler’s are still being encouraged to edit their social media profiles by either changing their name, deactivating accounts, or only putting content up that you would share with your grandmother. This is a huge point made by high school admissions counselors, but even if college admissions counselors search your name, they cannot guarantee that the profile is yours, therefore they do not often rely on this information. Is it worth it to change yourself to look good for a university? “‘If you’ve got stuff online you don’t want colleges to see,’” says Megan Heck, a senior at East Lansing High School in Michigan, “‘deleting it is kind of like joining two more clubs senior year to list on your application to try to make you seem more like t person they want at their school’” (Singer).

This shows the many different platforms used by students and colleges. Original photo

Being Quiet Amidst the Noise

“The general complaint is that there is a lot of noise...but ultimately you decide what you look at.  I know not everyone loves Twitter so they might not check our Twitter, they might go through the blogs instead.  It’s totally up to the user how they interact with us, you can pick and choose,” shares Lisa Ritter, Online Media and Communications Coordinator for Founder Society at Saint Michael’s College (Ritter). For colleges and universities, having a social media presence is important, but if they are running every possible platform, it can be overwhelming. When looking at St. Michael’s approach, Christian Camerota explains,  “It is very difficult to break through the noise because everybody can post anything at anytime.  So I think my personal approach, and I think its been a departmental approach, is to say less and to say it more directly and more creatively and more engagingly” (Camerota). The main focus is to present the most important and relevant information for the viewers and hopefully break through all the noise.

This is the famous Mark Zuckerberg put on the St. Michael's College Campus to show our use of social media.  Original photo

St. Michael’s College: Our Perspective

“They all work together, it’s not just one on it’s own. It’s great that we’re present on [these] platforms” (Ritter). 

As a blogger and tour guide, I have found that having these social media connections has been helpful to prospective students.  When I was looking at St. Mikes, I read all the blogs to try and get a feel for what happened on campus. Now that I’m telling my story, I’ve been able to connect with students who are looking at St. Mikes. Digital Media has made it possible to have a constant connection with the college and the people there.

Grabbing students attention through social media isn’t an easy task either. “We’ve become more intelligent about how we use our resources because our office is very small, we have 6 people to do the work of [what] some colleges have as many as 30 people on their staff [doing]...we have to do all that ourselves; we have to generate the content, we have to disseminate the content, we have to strategies what we want to generate, what we want to cover all that kind of stuff,” Christian told me (Camerota).

When talking about some of the different social media options St. Mike’s has, Lisa Ritter said, “I would say the Facebook groups we open up for [prospective students] is really beneficial because it’s a place for them to interact with each other before they come here.  I know some people will meet their future roommates there just because they posted and introduction and found someone who they have similar interests with.  Its a really great place for them to get to know their classmates before they [come]” (Ritter).

This is the integration of all the different platforms and a cityscape. original photo

Leaders of the Pack

Though I think St. Mike’s is doing a superb job with its social media presence, there are some schools that stand out among the others. This list includes schools such as the College of Saint Rose, Harvard University, Pinnacle College, and a few more. The consistent theme throughout the explanation as to why these schools are superior is the importance of connection.  All of these schools focus on family, friends, and academics and how to make them all come together in the same place. The College of Saint Rose utilizes direct messaging between prospective students and administration to allow for quick and speedy results. “Harvard University sets the example with its online publication of Harvard Business Review,  prestigious management magazine covering the latest in business strategies and techniques” (Dunn). The importance of connection explains why these schools stand out in the crowd of colleges.

Graduating from college and cherishing the moment on social media has become a new normal. original photo

Making Your Footprint

21st century digital media have made massive strides forward in advancements that have both benefited and disadvantaged prospective college students. On one hand, this technology allows students to have a better, more authentic connection and vision of the school they are exploring.  On the other hand, colleges can use these platforms to access whatever potential students say and do. Once you put it on the web, it is permanent. Despite the trade offs of using social media, schools, like St. Michael’s College, are doing excellent jobs balancing information and stories to share, ultimately making the experience for the prospective student more enjoyable and engaging.

Works Cited

Ritter, Lisa. Personal interview. 25 Feb. 2014.

Camerota, Christian. Personal interview. 26 Feb. 2014.

"Blog." Genius Recruiter RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://geniusrecruiter.com/2013/05/05/perceptions-of-social-media-schools-and-students/>.

Dunn, Ross. "How 6 Savvy Colleges are Using Social Media | StepForth Web Marketing Inc.." StepForth Web Marketing Inc.. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.stepforth.com/blog/2013/university-social-media-marketing/#.UzH5KZWPLIU>.

Livingstone, Maggie. "Brown Daily Herald." Brown Daily Herald. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.browndailyherald.com/2013/12/02/2809891/>.

Ridley, Doug. " ." Vital Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.vtldesign.com/inbound-marketing/social-media/how-todays-colleges-and-universities-are-using-social-media/>.

Singer, Natasha. "They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets.." The New York Times. The New York Times, 9 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/business/they-loved-your-gpa-then-they-saw-your-tweets.html?_r=1>.