Social Networking sites and retention
We've integrated Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace heavily into our "community" and I feel it has helped retention and school pride.
As students can get updates on events in real time (in their Facebook "News Feeds") they can discuss who's going to which event, as well as what's going on at the school. We don't edit the page (as long as negative comments are on topic) as most students will disagree with a negative comment. Also, by not restricting what is and isn't said about or programs students have said they feel that they're heard and understood.
I know this approach won't work for most institutions, but I was hoping to get some opinions on other methods for strengthening our institution's sense of community.
If there aren't any suggestions, then what are some opinions on how effective social networking sites are to today's enrollments?
I agree that the Facebook aspect of school communication seems to be a success. Some instructors have even developed their own page just for communication with students. Seems to be the minority lately who aren't computer literate to some extent. For most of them we encourage using the computer to do coursework, make sure they have access to computers with printers at school. This quarter we even set up the school with Wi-fi capability. Seemed to impress a lot of them when that happened!
I think this is a great idea, and we actually used to do this at my school. An added benefit of having a central social networking hub for our students was that it gave us an additional method of getting in touch with them. It's amazing how the same students who never answer their phones, don't set up their voicemail, and don't check their email can be the ones who are tied to Facebook and check it multiple times a day. This was a huge boon in getting in touch with students regarding non-attendance and other issues.
As far as networking sites go, I think it would be fantastic if the school would have a good "old fashion" year book or student registry.
You are so right. There is nothing more important than a person's name. I love how you recognize the importance of name and trust.
Dr. B
The social media sites you mentioned are a great source of communication / retnetion. I do feel that we have to get back to basics and learn the names, faces and living situation of our student in order to increase retention. We also have to participate in or "after class", or "after class" activities in order to build trust and relationships.
