The Social Campus: Student Services

The use of social media in Student Services provides a clear example of how an integrated social media governance structure can address departmental needs while benefitting the institution as a whole.

The broad mandate of Student Services is reflected by the sheer variety of inquiries and issues it faces on social media. Students have always had questions and concerns, but social media has brought them out into the open. Having a clearly defined organizational social media strategy will help Student Services maintain consistency in its messaging, efficiency in its delivery of services, and alignment with the strategic vision of the school—essential elements for a strong brand.

The benefits of social media to the department itself is also evident. By communicating with a human voice and in a timely manner on public channels, Student Services departments provide value to students, and also gain a deeper understanding of the issues that matter to them. A growing number of universities and colleges are seizing the opportunity to show that they care about students’ well-being.

Here are a few ways Student Services can benefit from a smart social media plan. Find more benefits in the Social Campus white paper, as well as strategies on implementation.

Respond Immediately

Student Services staff should monitor student feedback and comments on social media in real time, and address problems before they escalate. By engaging in the social communities, blogs, and forums that are popular among students, administrators can proactively resolve issues and provide greater visibility for their official channels and resources.

Delegate Services

Working together, the Student Services team can accelerate response times and make sure all students are accommodated. If they assign and resolve messages quickly, they can reduce the volume of support requests by ensuring the right information is made available to other students.

Contribute to Campus Culture

Student Services departments are increasingly using social media to enrich the student experience by promoting clubs, activities, and events. Staff can leverage the institution’s main social media accounts to retweet, pin, and share social content from across the community, which will raise the profile of niche groups and help students organize themselves around shared interests.

On a social campus, every department works within an overarching social media governance structure, yet is empowered to leverage social media in creative ways to meet its own objectives. Download the white paper, The Social Campus, to learn how Student Services can implement a coordinated social media strategy that will strengthen the institution as a whole while carrying out its role as an essential and diverse hub for student needs.

This is the third installment of a five-part series for post-secondary institutions that want to integrate their social media across departments and expand their reach. To learn more, download the HootSuite white paper, The Social Campus: How Social Media is Transforming Higher Education. Look for the next post in this series, which discusses why the Athletics department’s participation is essential to an institution’s integrated social media strategy.

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