I am happy to finally make my entire final dissertation available for all to download and read. This document represents some of the first qualitative research into how traditionally aged college students use social media and its impact on their development and how they construct identities online. If you want a more detailed description, I've included the... Continue Reading →
I am pleased to be presenting on blogging in higher education and student affairs with some amazing colleagues at the ACPA Convention this week and at the NASPA convention later in the month. To go along with our session, we’ve created a resource page. I’ve included it here, but you can point your browsers to SAwrites.com at... Continue Reading →
Erica is enthusiastic and always willing to reach out and make new friends. She is heavily involved in the #SAchat community, so if you ever participate in one of the weekly chats, it's highly likely she might be the mysterious moderator behind the account. Check out her blog and give her a follow... Follow @EricaKThompson This is a post... Continue Reading →
Is the university just an act of theater obscuring what is... or isn't going on? Are we caught up in traditions that have shielded us from realizing our own faults? from public criticism? Are we ready for the impending changes to higher education as a whole? Thinking about higher education as a theatrical performance exposes some... Continue Reading →
Getting a PhD is not a decision to take lightly. Having been a full-time student for three and a half years now, I wanted to share some of the questions I think you need to ask yourself before you apply and begin in order to be set up for success. If you can successfully answer all of... Continue Reading →
The Student Affairs Collective hosted an excellent Twitter Chat (#SAChat) on resumes last summer. Many of the tweets echoed the advice and thoughts that I've encountered in my teaching of Higher Education Masters students. Below you'll find a curated list of what I consider to be some of the "best tips" and thoughts. You can also... Continue Reading →
You might think of LinkedIn as just a tool that you use to create a profile, network, and search for jobs. LinkedIn, however, is making a big push into higher education using its treasure trove of data to help institutions engage with prospective students and alumni. Want to know how many people working for Google... Continue Reading →
In 2010, Yale University produced this highly slick and fun admissions video to highlight the many features of its campus. They used the highly shareable strategy of creating a "musical" about their college. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGn3-RW8Ajk Of course, video memes almost always spawn parody and satire. This was the response from Harvard's comedy news show On Harvard... Continue Reading →
More and more institutions are beginning to create "social media directories" or landing pages that catalog all of the different social media presences of their departments and offices. Harvard takes this one step further with their creation of a multimedia landing page that incorporates video, audio, photos, iTunesU podcasts and audio all into one page.... Continue Reading →
Oregon State University encouraged students and alumni to post pictures of a cut out of their famous "Benny the Beaver" mascot in various locations and tag them on Flickr with the hashtag #BennyOnTheMove. It's a great way to spread pride, a little bit of joy, and increase brad recognition. Of course, although OSU used Flickr,... Continue Reading →
The University of Houston is a leading institution in engaging with their students on social media. The following text and images come directly from the page they label "Why Follow UH?" which gives a number of great examples of how they're engaging their students. Check out their social media pages to learn more about what they're... Continue Reading →
This isn't a social media example, per se, but it is a great example of deploying digital technologies to offer opportunities for guests and prospective students. Northeastern University utilizes a platform from YouVisit to power it's virtual video tours. They're engaging and feature a real tour guide. YouVisit also maintains a list of other colleges... Continue Reading →
Lately I find myself increasingly frustrated. In particular, I'm frustrated by one strain of rhetoric that has increasingly crept into the public discourse. It is the idea that the acceptance of any social/government assistance is inherently a "hand out." That somehow, our societal care for one another should only be expressed through private giving. That... Continue Reading →
The study abroad space is ripe for social media efforts. With students dispersed across the globe, communication is easier through social media. Additionally, with these once-in-a-liftime opportunities come some great photos and stories. Media that can aid in getting other students excited about a study abroad experience. Mississippi State University held photo and blogging contests... Continue Reading →
Loyola University of Maryland started this very simple effort to promote their institution and develop a sense of community and belonging amongst their students. By creating pre-formatted Facebook cover photos, they are making it easier than ever for students to show their pride. Check out their landing page. Images are updated yearly for incoming classes... Continue Reading →
Snapchat is an odd social network/chat app to be using for engagement with your students, but a couple of institutions are trying it out. Most recently, the University of Michigan joined the University of Houston beginning efforts in this uncharted territory. With Snapchat being one of the most popular apps for students in the 18-24 year... Continue Reading →
When you have exciting news to share with your students, do you stop to think "maybe we should tape this?" A number of college athletics teams are capturing moments such as when they are able to offer their students scholarships. Below are two examples of capturing these moments and sharing them with the internet. What... Continue Reading →
It's somewhat of a rarity to find faculty involved in university social media efforts, but extremely rare to find a content that is exclusively focused on faculty. Lehigh University put together a gem of a video with professors reading negative reviews of their teaching from the website RateMyProfessors.com. The video is a play off of Jimmy Kimmel's popular... Continue Reading →
Once a month, I’ve made it a point to highlight the posts from other bloggers that I believe deserve wider recognition. This month I wanted to share a resource that that Dr. Laura Pasquini put together for her dissertation work. It includes a database of higher education policy/guideline documents on social media use. For professionals and administrators looking to shape institutional policies and guidelines regarding social media implementation across campus, this can be an invaluable resource for benchmarking and guidance.
During the course of my dissertation research, a few events connected to the scope of my study, and directly to the social media documents I was gathering. I ended up building a database of 250 post-secondary education (PSE) institutional guidelines and policies to completely understand HOW the PSE sector is ACTUALLY “guiding” social media. More importantly my research uncovers the organizational identity and cultural values of social media among 10 different countries. {More to be shared post dissertation defense June 12, 2014.}
If you are interested in either research around policies and/or social media impact to organizations, specifically post-secondary education, then you most likely heard about the Kansas Board of Regents approval to amend their policy manual back in December 2013 to outline “improper use of social media by University of Kansas faculty.” If not, I have an article and infographic of the timeline of events for you:
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Native English speakers: Have you ever thought about the privilege that comes with your ability to speak English? On my recent trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, I was struck by the predominance of the English language. It was certainly a great benefit for me, considering my lack of knowledge of Arabic, but... Continue Reading →
YikYak is a new social app released earlier this year that is quickly becoming popular amongst high school and college students across the United States. Its goal is to serve as "a local bulletin board for your area." It uses geolocation on one's smartphone to allow one to post short statements that are broadcast and searchable... Continue Reading →
A really great and useful piece by Josie Ahlquist on how to clean up your digital presence for a job search and then how to leverage it. Josie does some amazing research on college students and social media use. Her entire site is definitely worth a look.
LMU Graduation. Photo Credit: Anthony Garrison-Engbrecht
I write this post to the class of 2014 college graduates. Putting in four years to earn your undergraduate (or five…or six) I’m sure ready to go put that degree to work! You have the grades, the extracurriculars, internships, and even great references. But in todays fiercely competitive economy there is no guarantee that you’ll even get an interview.
Nope, many of those times I listed above are given. The leadership roles, high GPA, service projects, etc. Still nothing.
I have watched recent alumni take jobs at coffee shops after graduation, as I wonder if they can afford their student loan payments. Yes watch out, those payments kick in six months after walking across that stage.
Okay deep breaths, hope is not lost. You got this! Social media isn’t just for Instagramming your bling’d out graduation cap or staying in touch with your fellow…
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I recently came back from the 2014 National Convention of ACPA-College Student Educators International... and it was AWESOME. The Convention Team really took to the challenge of "reinventing" the conference experience into something new. As a leader in the Association, I left the experience proud of what my colleagues had accomplished and excited that ACPA has become a... Continue Reading →
My research passion is about college students and how social media and technology impacts the developmental process. Unfortunately, I’ve found a lot of the discourse in student affairs around this subject to be lacking. When you attend a conference session or read a thought piece centered around this topic, they often focus on marketing, technological tools, and... Continue Reading →
I’m excited to be presenting on one of my research passions at the 2014 national conventions of both ACPA-College Student Educators International and NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. My session on the future of higher education (see below) is something I’ve presented on before, but I’ve been able to update this presentation with about... Continue Reading →
Being an instructor in the Higher Education Master’s programs at Boston College and Merrimack College, and as former Res Lifer, I’ve always been interested in how to advance student learning outcomes through the use of technology and social media in classroom and training environments. I’ll have the opportunity to present on both at the upcoming... Continue Reading →
One of the most popular readings I assign in my spring semester Higher Education practicum courses is from The Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenge of Life in Your Twenties. Although the cultural references within are somewhat dated, the concepts still resonate with their audience just as strongly. It seems to uniquely capture some of the... Continue Reading →
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