7 must-read higher education blogs

Social media’s popularity means higher education faculty and administrators have a number of avenues to develop their professional learning networks and learn from one another.

Blogging gives educators a platform to share best practices, pose questions to their peers, and explore new ideas about teaching and learning.

Here, we’ve gathered 7 blogs that focus on technology integration, instructional technology, school leadership, and pedagogy. If you have a favorite blog that isn’t on this list, use the comment section below to let us know.…Read More

#6: Social media’s top 50 colleges and universities

[Editor’s note: This story, originally published on May 10th of this year, was our #6 most popular story of the year. The countdown continues Monday with #5, so be sure to check back!]

Technology and data company Engagement Labs released its 2016 ranking of the top 50 U.S. colleges and universities on social media networks Facebook and Twitter.

As the higher education landscape becomes more competitive than ever, social media has become an increasingly important way for colleges and universities to gain an edge over one another. Social media is especially helpful for schools not only with regards to recruitment and retention, but also to communicate with current and prospective students in a timely and effective manner that matches their tastes.…Read More

#9: Students say digital presence is key to enrollment decisions

[Editor’s note: This story, originally published on April 29th of this year, was our #9 most popular story of the year. The countdown continues tomorrow with #8, so be sure to check back!]

According to a new report, student survey data reinforces that higher education institutions must place greater emphasis on their digital presence, engaging students with digital communications that are most in line with their preferences in order to boost enrollment.

The report, titled “The Digital Search for Education,” was commissioned by G/O Digital and is based on the results of a 2016 survey of over 1,520 U.S. adults enrolled in either full or part-time classes. The research study was conducted to understand how learners interact with colleges and career schools prior to enrolling, and how those interactions influence their decision to communicate with, and enroll in, a particular institution.…Read More

Where does your institution rank in social media engagement?

College and universities can see how they stack up in terms of social media engagement using a new study that ranks the effectiveness of social media across higher-ed institutions.

Rival IQ, a provider of social marketing analytics, and Up&Up, a marketing agency for higher education, released what they say is the first-ever study of the effectiveness of social media across leading universities in the United States.

The study of 338 colleges and universities revealed key insights in who is driving the most engagement with social media–including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram–and showed which universities are winning at engaging their audiences via social.…Read More

5 ways higher ed’s social media use has changed from 2015 to 2016

If 2015 was the year colleges and universities began using social media like any other media-savvy millennial, 2016 is the year of refinement and targeted purpose. From a surge in ‘Pay to Play’ and post curation to new measures of determining success, higher education is becoming a social media leader.

The findings are part of a yearly report (currently in its seventh year) conducted by CASEHuron Education, and mStoner, Inc.—written by Jennifer Mack, senior researcher at Huron Education and Michael Stoner, co-founder and president of mStoner—on higher education’s social media habits.

According to the 2016 report (slideshow is currently available), which received responses from over 1,100 CASE members in the U.S. and abroad (45 percent of respondents work in college and university Communications, 35 percent in Alumni Relations and the rest in other areas like Marketing and Admissions), social media advancement become incredibly refined in higher education.…Read More

New millennial-driven field of study focuses on the science of social media

Innovation is increasingly important in helping colleges and universities attract and retain students, and when it comes to fields of study, many students look for majors that will guide them to career paths with healthy prospects for growth and success. (Read: “3 blossoming fields of study with massive potential.”)

While a career as a social media expert might have raised eyebrows two decades ago, today’s reality is that social media has a major impact on nearly every market–and institutions are rapidly working to integrate social media management into their academic offerings.

At the University of Texas, AdGrad is the social media brand and the curriculum for the School of Advertising & Public Relations, taught by Dr. Gary Wilcox.…Read More

Social media’s top 50 colleges and universities

Engagement, impact and responsiveness were all key to landing a spot on the list of the best institutions on social media.

Technology and data company Engagement Labs released its 2016 ranking of the top 50 U.S. colleges and universities on social media networks Facebook and Twitter.

As the higher education landscape becomes more competitive than ever, social media has become an increasingly important way for colleges and universities to gain an edge over one another. Social media is especially helpful for schools not only with regards to recruitment and retention, but also to communicate with current and prospective students in a timely and effective manner that matches their tastes.

“Some people might look at social media as, ‘what’s the cost of doing it?’,” said Bryan Segal, CEO of Engagement Labs. “These days, though, it’s ‘what’s the cost of not doing it?’ Social media helps colleges and universities on multiple fronts, including the acquisition of new students, staying in touch with alumni, and building communities. Colleges are all about community. Being able to use a channel like social media is important for where they were, are, and need to be with the demographics they’re trying to reach.”…Read More

Students say digital presence is key to enrollment decisions

Digital presence via campus websites and social media can all majorly impact college decisions this year, say students.

According to a new report, student survey data reinforces that higher education institutions must place greater emphasis on their digital presence, engaging students with digital communications that are most in line with their preferences in order to boost enrollment.

The report, titled “The Digital Search for Education,” was commissioned by G/O Digital and is based on the results of a 2016 survey of over 1,520 U.S. adults enrolled in either full or part-time classes. The research study was conducted to understand how learners interact with colleges and career schools prior to enrolling, and how those interactions influence their decision to communicate with, and enroll in, a particular institution.

The report comes at an appropriate time, with many universities and community colleges suffering from recent enrollment declines and more and more students using mobile devices to seek out and engage with education institutions. Since digitally savvy prospective students usually have access to a massive amount of information on institutions thanks to the internet, it is more important than ever for colleges and universities to gain insight into what the choices and preferences of learners are.…Read More

17 crowdfunding sites for millions in higher ed donations

Taking a cue from savvy students, colleges and universities are turning to online crowdfunding sites to rake in millions in alumni donations and program and research funding.

Figures like $2 million, $300,000, $10 million, and $900,000, abounded in a recent Washington Post story that revealed how small liberal arts schools are turning to the relatively new-ish startup concept of crowdfunding sites for alumni and student program donations—all through Washington D.C.-based crowdfunding website GiveCampus.com.

The success in receiving alumni donations, relates the article, is due to understanding how younger, more tech-savvy alumni like to do things: quickly, online and part of a social group.

“We all live on social media, so getting friendly reminders from your alma mater to give is not only effective, but appreciated,” said Tatum McIsaac in the Post’s article, who graduated from the liberal arts school Holy Cross in 2001 and donated via the GiveCampus campaign. “It’s a lot easier for me to make a quick contribution online than to wait for an envelope to arrive in the mail and write a check. I don’t even know where my checkbook is.”…Read More

Faculty: 7 ways to avoid social media blunders

Faculty give advice for navigating the informal waters of social network connections with students and alumni.

If a tree falls in a forest…you can count on the entire social media world knowing about it.

According to faculty at various universities, there are two main ways that social networking sites are causing new concerns and considerations for faculty and institutions: frictionless sharing and context collapse.

In a report by Cassidy Sugimoto, assistant professor at the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University; Carolyn Hank, assistant professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee; Timothy Bowman, graduate student at Indiana University; and Jeffrey Pomerantz, information scientist at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; these terms are defined as:…Read More

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