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LinkedIn bolsters higher education with new tool for universities


New button available for institutions allows alumni and students to showcase their educational accomplishments and bolster the institution’s reputation.

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Students are the beating heart of any educational institution – and long after they graduate from a college or university, they remain an important and vital representation of that institution and all it has to offer.

Today, colleges and universities may now invite their graduates to showcase their degrees and certificates on their LinkedIn profiles – all with the click of a button. Through LinkedIn’s “Add to Profile” program, educational institutions can embed a link on their websites and in emails sent directly to graduates.

When graduates click the “Add to Profile” button, they’ll have the option to add that achievement directly to the “Education” section of his/her LinkedIn profile by previewing it and hitting “Save”.

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(Next page: How it helps universities gain, or continue, standing)

A positive for students

For students, adding a degree or certificate to their LinkedIn profiles can be both smart and straightforward. People whose profiles include an education get an average of 10 times the profile views of those who don’t [according to LinkedIn data] – and more visibility frequently translates to more opportunities, from connection requests to job possibilities.

With the Add to Profile option, they can update their profiles, without being on LinkedIn itself.

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Helping colleges and universities

For colleges, universities and certificate providers, the Add to Profile button can be a helpful service to offer students, as well as a low-effort way to stay connected with them over the long term.

Any educational institution may now incorporate the button on its website for free and begin sending emails to students and graduates by following the  instructions on the site.

“GW has a vibrant community of students and alumni using LinkedIn every day to build their professional networks, said Michael Steelman, director of Alumni Career Services at The George Washington University. “The Find Alumni tool and the GW LinkedIn University page have been valuable resources to further connect our community and engage our alumni to help fellow alumni and students.  The Add to Profile tool is a terrific new feature to help us enhance the quality of the LinkedIn profiles of our students and alumni by making sure the education section reflects their respective GW degree information.”

Currently, LinkedIn is working with 13 participating colleges and universities: Arizona State University; Kaplan University; University of California, San Diego; Villanova University; George Washington University; Full Sail University; University of Manchester; University of Cambridge; Universitas Indonesia; Open University; Algonquin College; Keio University; and the University of Melbourne.

“We are excited to be part of the launch of the Add to Profile program,” said Kevin Grubb, associate director, Digital Media and Assessment at Villanova’s Career Center. “As we continue to educate our community on the benefits of LinkedIn, we are glad to offer the ability to easily add Villanova University the education section of student and alumni profiles. Growing Villanova’s presence on LinkedIn in this way will also help us demonstrate the power of the Villanova network, or as we often call it, the ‘Nova Nation.'”

The higher education sector marks the first – but not the last – expansion of the Add to Profile program, which originally launched last year after a successful pilot to help members add certifications to their LinkedIn profiles.

As a result of participating in the program, Microsoft’s certifications on Linkedin have nearly doubled and Coursera certificates increased 133 times. LinkedIn is now working with multiple certification providers, including Pearson Acclaim, Lynda.com and Aspiring Minds.

For more information, check out the Add to Profile site.

Gagan Shah is senior product manager for LinkedIn.

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