Socially Awkward!

As social media usage has become more widespread and mature, many institutions of higher learning are recognizing not only the opportunities but also the risks associated with social media. Almost 10 years after Facebook was launched, more than 98 percent of universities and colleges in the United States have a presence on the social networking site, according to a recent study from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Other popular social media activities of choice include YouTube, Twitter, blogging, and podcasting. Institutions use these social media tools to both recruit and evaluate potential applicants as well as to communicate with current students. And education abroad and international student service offices are no exception to this trend.

“There is a potential risk to the university’s brand. When I first started, I believed that social media should be totally dynamic and free, but I’ve changed my mind,” says Jessica Winters, head of marketing and recruitment at University of Groningen in The Netherlands.

She shared an example where an international student assistant posted a link on the university Facebook page to his personal blog that ranted about a local realtor. “I told him, ‘You are posting this in the name of the university, so the university can be held liable for this’,” she says. 

That is not to say Winters doesn’t think the benefits of social media still outweigh the potential risks. However, she believes that institutions and their employees need to be conscious and strategic of how they use social media.

“Regardless of whether