Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Number of college applications affected by social media triples

In 2008, only 10 percent of colleges checked applicants’ Facebook pages; now, one in four do.

College applicants shouldn’t shut down their various social media accounts, experts said, but they should heavily edit their online comments, photos, and videos, as thousands of applications were marred last year by scandalous Facebook and Twitter activity.

It’s no secret that college and university admissions officers run semi-frequent social media checks of prospective students, but the practice has turned increasingly dismal for students who failed, in one way or another, to exercise Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube caution.

Admissions officers who responded to a national survey this fall said the percentage of applications that had been negatively affected by social media searches had nearly tripled, from 12 percent in 2010 to 35 percent in 2011.…Read More

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Kentucky uses sports success to engage students in social media

UK social media pros have used Facebook to help prospective students “see blue.”

Dean Tsouvalas, editor-in-chief of StudentAdvisor.com, recently interviewed Whitney Hale, senior public relations specialist in public relations and marketing at the University of Kentucky, ranked  No. 7 on the just released Top 100 Social Media Colleges rankings from StudentAdvisor.com for spring 2012.

The University of Kentucky is a public, land-grant university dedicated to improving people’s lives through excellence in education, research, service, and health care. As Kentucky’s flagship institution, the university plays a critical leadership role by promoting diversity, inclusion, economic development, and human well-being. The university is ranked nationally in more than 70 academic programs.

DT: Fresh off your win in the NCAA Final Four, how did the University of Kentucky’s social media play a part before, during, and after March Madness?…Read More

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Syracuse reverses course after expelling student for Facebook post

Syracuse drew public criticism for expelling a graduate student.

College students and activists on Twitter and Facebook this week dubbed Syracuse University a campus “where free speech goes to die” after the school’s second social media controversy since 2010.

Syracuse readmitted a graduate student Jan. 19 after a free-speech organization publicized the university’s punishment for posting racially tinged comments on Facebook.

Read more about social media controversies in higher education……Read More

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Infographic: Facebook vs. Twitter 2010 user stats

Facebook and Twitter are the big boys in the social networking space. This breakdown was put together by Digital Surgeons and shows demographic statistics (and a few fun facts) for both sites. You may know that Facebook is much larger with 500 million users compared to Twitter’s 106 million, but did you know that 52 percent of Tweeters update their status every day while only 12 percent of Facebook users do the same?

Click here for the infographic

…Read More