Recently, Vshuf, an international student, took to the Student Room discussion site to ask for advice on which university to choose for studying business. Vshuf wanted to know which university among Glasgow, Birmingham, Warwick, Nottingham, or the Institution of Education has the best academic reputation and student community. The post also mentioned concerns about the perceived snobbish and arrogant attitude of students at Warwick compared to those at Nottingham.
This incident highlights the challenges universities face in managing their reputation in the age of social media. As higher fees and increased global competition make academic reputation more critical, universities’ ability to maintain their image is slipping out of their hands.
At the Youth Strategy Marketing Conference 2011, experts discussed the issue of reaching an increasingly networked generation that relies more on anonymous peer reviews than official channels. Students now take to Facebook or the Student Room to seek information rather than contacting universities directly. This trend has effectively shifted the conversation away from universities to social media platforms, making it challenging for universities to engage with their target audience.
To counter this, the University of Leicester has created a system that allows students to synchronize communications from Leicester with their Facebook accounts. Also, the University has a plan to create a presence on platforms like Twitter, where students usually participate.
However, it’s not enough to merely be present on social media platforms. Universities need to respond effectively, which depends heavily on when and how they respond. Warwick’s communications team checks social media once or twice a day to address queries or concerns. Yet, the team prioritizes forums like Twitter or Facebook, where it’s easier to see and respond to queries.
Universities must carefully balance their tone when engaging with students on social media. Proactively intervening can be rude, and a more effective approach is to engage with students through a group of students primed to join the conversation and correct misinterpretations or misinformation.
Some universities encourage students to join the conversation and correct the record where appropriate. Imperial College recruits a team of official student bloggers to write about their experiences at the university, without restriction. They also receive regular questions from prospective students about accommodation or financing and answer them in blog posts.
Overall, universities must contend with an increasingly powerful and networked generation of students whose reputation and work suffer even a minor miscalculation. With the correct approach, universities can thrive in the age of social media and maintain their academic reputation.
According to Ian Richards, the press officer at Lincoln University, the institution was only made aware of the adverts after they had become popular online and Google alerts flagged mentions of them in blog posts. Initially unsure about their significance, the university staff felt that they were a blessing in disguise when they heard prospective students talking about it during open days. Following this unexpected turn of events, Ridgewell, the creator of these ads, was then approached to work with the institution’s marketing department.
Universities have been encountered with the dilemma of controlling what their staff and students say about them on social media. In some cases, academic bloggers have faced censorship for openly criticizing their institutions. An example from 2006 is when Erik Ringmar resigned from his position at the London School of Economics after delivering a speech which did not align with the university’s ethos. The situation escalated a year later when David Colquhoun was forced to remove his blog from the University College London site, after complaints were made by alternative therapists.
Although universities are increasingly monitoring what is being said about them online, there is a general understanding that full control is unrealistic. Ian Richards questions whether it is feasible to aim to regulate every word that is being said online, as it is simply beyond reach.
