Entries for August 2010

Over the summer, Penn State’s admissions office became just one of many schools to push social networking tools to communicate with campus visitors.

Last month, the Pennsylvania school used websites like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr during its Spend A Summer Day marks the start of the new social media push by Penn State's Admissions Office.

The two-week event served as a social networking test for the admissions office, said Undergraduate Admissions Officer Jenna Spinelle. If the push is a success, admissions might use sites like Twitter for more events, Spinelle said.

"We're looking to engage more with prospective students and their families," said Spinelle, who added that the websites could be good for connecting with students and their families, as well as with other Penn State groups and departments.

Admissions has been using Facebook for about a year but has only recently started using Twitter on its own, said Undergraduate Admissions Officer Alison Herget.

A screen displaying the Twitter feed was located in the HUB-Robeson Center, Herget said. The HUB also houses admissions' "social media hub" where employees can upload content on sites like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, Herget said. She said she also hopes people will use their phones throughout Spend A Summer Day and share content.

According to a recent survey, applying for federal Pell Grants is more than a pain, it’s prohibitive.

Demographics and recruitment methodologies are concerned with connecting students with the right educational opportunities.  But colleges must still be able to deliver a “valuable product” in the form of a quality education at a reasonable price.  The third installment in our white paper series will take a broader look at the economics of higher education.

According to a recent study of admissions at elite colleges by two Princeton sociologists, members of high school ROTC, 4-H Clubs or Future Farmers of America are less likely to be admitted to elite colleges.