University Business - August 2006 - (Page 80)

INTERNET TECHNOLOGY As soon as the right tools are avail- Since a third of its applications had been at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. able, I fully intend to look at our blogs sent without any documented first con- Since its first student journal in February to track views, time spent on each post, tact, officials began offering another op- 2003, the institution has offered several comments posted, on-campus interviews tion to this type of prospective student. blogs. Administrators there even pushed with families, and effort to publish, to try Blogs are a good way to invite the at- the envelope further last fall by featuring to extrapolate some form of ROI, says tention of students without asking them the latest posts right on the university's Robertson-Boyd. I want to be able to to make a commitment. Our marketing home page without any preliminary sort say that Capital's blogs were responsible of content editing. for 12 undergraduate students and three Capital U featured its latest newspaper articles in 2007. Assuming the CAMPUS TOUR ADDON student blog posts right on best, of course. While student blogs can help prospective Ball State invested more in its blogging students find balanced accounts of college its home page without program, essentially in the form of pro- life at a particular institution, they also any preliminary editing. motional postcards mailed to high school complement or further the benefits of seniors. Just a few months after their Sep- student-guided campus visits. tember 2005 launch, their 12 student goal was to provide a way to observe Be- Any well-rounded campus tour led by blogs resulted in lots of press clips and loit in a comfortable, non-threatening an engaging and interesting freshman can received more than 11,000 visits per day. way, explains Nancy Monnich Benedict, work wonders on undecided admitted We have not tried to quantify our ROI vice president for enrollment services. students. Similarly, good student blogs but can say confidently that the value we inform, engage, and give a glimpse of have received has far outweighed our cost, MANY HAPPY RETURNS? student life. At Lewis & Clark College in says Prater. All this does make sense. But, what kind Portland, Ore., 82 percent of the student To determine the impact of the blogs, of return on investment can be expected body is from out of state, with 48 states staff have conducted intercept interviews from these student blogs? and 42 countries represented. So campus of prospects and parents during campus That's where things get tricky. Launch- visits aren't always possible and L&C stu- tours last spring. They're also surveying in- ing and maintaining student blogs doesn't dent blogs have been an excellent substi- coming freshmen and their parents during require a huge investment. From staff tute since 2003. summer orientation. Hint for prospective time to a few thousands dollars covering Our student blogs provide insight blog program launchers: If you plan to bloggers' compensation and/or technical into L&C and give the college an added start your own student blogs soon, don't gear, the necessary budget remains low dimension that can be difficult to convey forget to borrow these ideas. compared to other tactics. So most early over the internet, says Michael Sexton, adoptors didn't spend too much time set- dean of Admissions. THREEPART SUCCESS ting up processes to measure their ROI. Blogs can also help admitted students It would be a mistake to think student While e-mails, application forms, or zero in on their final choice school. Pro- blogs will work all the time. The success of conversations with admission advisors spective students, and certainly their par- these programs depends on institutional have expressed positive feedback, measure- ents, watch with a critical eye when we culture, the talent of the bloggers, and the ment data generally isn't available yet, even show them beautiful words and pictures efficiency of promotional efforts. in schools with three-year-old initiatives. depicting a perfect campus life. What At George Fox University Ore. , these decision-makers need instead is a Student Blog Examples MBA student blogs, tried for nine months way to understand what life is like on a and then discontinued, never developed a particular campus to help them decide if Capital University, real audience. Graduate Admissions Di- that is the right place for them, confirms www.capital.edu/student-blogs rector Brendon Connelly who personally Nancy Prater, web content coordinator Beloit College, www.beloit.edu/~admiss blogs with great success at SlackerManager at Ball State University Ind. , where 12 /contact/blogs.php .com says, We wanted the blogs to be so students started to blog last fall. Lewis & Clark College, compelling that they would be a recruiting Finally, good student blogs can help www.lclark.edu/reallife tool that we could highlight. Blogs can be high school graduates with their last- Ball State University, and do all that, but, we now know, there's minute questions or doubts at decision www.bsu.edu/reallife much more to a successful implementa- time or even earlier in the selection pro- George Fox University, tion than simply selecting smart and witty cess without disclosing their identity. http://blogs.georgefox.edu students with impressive titles to blog for That's exactly why Beloit College Wis. TheU, www.theu.com your school or program. launched its blogging program last year. 80 | August 2006 universitybusiness.com IntTech.indd 80 7/21/06 2:36:13 PM http://www.capital.edu/student-blogs http://www.beloit.edu/~admiss http://www.lclark.edu/reallife http://www.bsu.edu/reallife http://blogs.georgefox.edu http://www.theu.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - August 2006

Contents
College Index
Advisory Board
Company Index
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Stats Watch
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
On the Hill
Admissions
Future Shock
An Education in AV Technology
Retention Intentions
Endowment Management
Good Data In, Good Data Out
Sticking with the Tried & True
Home, Sweet Home
Faculty Issues in Online Education
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - August 2006