Though not the only means of recruitment, Grant said, social media usage has been embraced in higher education and has increased tremendously in admission offices in the last few years.
University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth professor and researcher Nora Ganim Barnes saw a significant increase in the number of colleges and universities that have a presence on social networking sites.
In spring 2007, 29 percent of 453 schools surveyed had a social networking presence, and 21 percent used those sites to research their applicants. By fall 2008, 61 percent of the 536 schools surveyed had a social networking presence, with 17 percent using the sites to research their students.
“Note the slight drop in research being done by admission offices—it is not statistically relevant. One article online had commentary that while research is being done, it is not being done on every candidate, and mostly for those being considered for scholarship or for admission into high-demand or limited-entry programs,” Grant said.
A 2009 survey by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions found that only 13 percent of the 401 colleges and universities surveyed about the effects of Facebook on admissions said they had official guidelines when it came to visiting applicants’ social networking sites. Of the schools that had a policy, 63 percent were not permitted to visit applicants’ sites under any circumstances.
Additionally, data collected by BlueFuego found that admissions offices are the slowest to adopt social networking tools, said Brad J. Ward, chief executive officer of BlueFeugo.
“I believe this is due to … raising red flags. It seems that admissions offices are sometimes hesitant to utilize the social web because of what they might see,” he said.
Links:
Key Attitudes & Practices of Senior-Level Enrollment Officials
Social Media and College Admissions
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