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8/14/2019 An Investigation into the Challenges, Application and Benefits of Social Media in Higher Education
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An Investigation into the Challenges,Application and Benefits of Social Media in
Higher Education Institutions
January 2010
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Contents
1. Summary Of Findings 42. Introduction 73. Research Approach 74. Research Findings 84.1 Respondent profile 8
4.2 Respondent Website profile 8
4.2.1 Use of main institution websites versus microsites 8
4.2.2 Extent of social media technology integration with content 10
management systems
4.3 Key Challenges 11
4.3.1 Key challenges for HEI to date in adopting social media 11
4.3.2 Key Challenges for HEIs in future adoption of social 12Media
4.4 Social Media Usage 14
4.4.1 Access restrictions 14
4.4.2 Current usage of social media by department and students 15
4.4.3 Social media usage by student population 16
4.4.4 Current usage profile of social media by technology type 18
4.4.5 Future Usage of social media planned for 2010-2012 19
4.5 Impact and Benefits of social media 21
4.5.1 Current impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities 21
4.5.2 Future impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities 22
4.6 The Role of the Web team in supporting and developing the 23
social media strategy
5. Implications For Higher Education Institutions 25
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Figures
Figure 1 Number of web sites and microsites within institutions 9
Figure 2 Current challenges for HEIs in adopting social 11
Figure 3 Challenges for future adoption of social media 13
Figure 4 Is access to the following social media restricted at your institution? 14
Figure 5 Department and student usage of social media 15
Figure 6 Social media usage by student population 17
Figure 7 Types of social media used 18
Figure 8 Planned adoption of social media 2010 -2012 20
Figure 9 Impact and benefits of social media to date 21
Figure 10 Comparison of areas identified as undergoing 22
significant improvement over the last three years and by 2012
Reference Sources 26
About Jadu
Jadu is a market leading supplier of web content management systems (CMS) to highereducation institutions, public sector and commercial organisations. Jadu was formed in2001 to provide Content Management Systems (CMS) for government organisations.Since its first major implementation for BERR in 2002, Jadu has evolved and is nowimplemented within hundreds of public and private sector organisations and highereducation institutions across the UK.Jadu provides a refreshing approach to web content management and offers
groundbreaking functionality including integrated social computing, accessibility,compliance, integrated online forms, mash up page design, integrated Google search,personalisation, full statistical reporting, standards compliance, product and cataloguemanagement. Jadu also provides a host of web productivity tools and unparalleledsupport service. Jadu is the first commercial Web Content Management provider to offeran integrated Twitter module within its CMS software to enhance brand management,customer service and knowledge management.
Further information on Jadu can be found at: www.jadu.co.uk
This research is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/uk
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1. Summary of Findings
This research was conducted to gain a current picture of the rapidly changing area of
social media and looks at the challenges, usage and benefits of social media within
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The research consists of quantitative and
qualitative research and was conducted between 28th July 2009 and the 6th September
2009.
RESPONDENT PROFILE
60 unique responses were received from 44 HEIs across the UK, with 36 English
Universities; 3 out of the 9 Welsh universities; 4 out of the 19 Scottish
universities and an Irish university contributing.
Responses were received from respondents representing a wide range of
departments and roles including - Web management, marketing, media and
communications, learning and development, business, libraries and IT
management and services.
KEY FINDINGS
The top three challenges - The top three challenges to date inimplementing social media are developing the business case for its usage;
overcoming cultural issues and dealing with current software compatibility issues.
In the next three years, developing the business case for social media usage will
remain the number one challenge, followed by the ability to respond to growing
user demand and finally the ability to do this within budgetary constraints.
Limited restrictions on usage are in place - For the majority of institutions(over 90%), social media usage (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, MySpace, YouTube,
Flickr) is not restricted.
Usage by user type- The major users of social media are students followed byAlumni. A relatively large number of Admissions departments make little usage
of social media in their activities.
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Current usage by social media type - The two social media tools mostfrequently used by HEIs via internal solutions are Blogging (59%) and Online
Forums (55%). The two most frequently used external social networking tools
are Twitter (68.3%), YouTube (60.7%) followed by social networking tools such
as Facebook and MySpace (57.49%).
Future usage by social media type - 47.3% of respondents intend to adopt
Twitter over the next two years; 41.8% intend to use YouTube and 41.1% social
networking tools such as Facebook and MySpace. A much smaller percentage of
respondents intend to adopt customised social networking tools such as
Ning.com and Yammer.
Current benefits of social media- The main areas benefiting from a significantimprovement to date, as a result of social media usage, are the Institutions
Profile and Access to Information for all users.
Future benefits of social media- The main area identified as benefiting fromsocial media in the future is Access to Information with 61.8% of respondents
identifying this area as undergoing significant improvement by 2012. The
Institutions profile, reputation and student retention were also identified as
benefiting from social media usage in the future.
Future role of the web team 67.9% of respondents believed that the mainfactor influencing the development ofHEIs social media strategy is the user
base, with the web teams role being to respond to userdemand. This compared
to 44.6% of respondents who believed that the web team wasdriving strategy
development.
Limited integration of social media with content management systems -There is currently little if any integration of content management systems with
social media technologies within those HEIs responding.
IMPLICATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
The research has highlighted the considerable benefits being gained from social media
usage in a wide range of areas. However, the emerging nature of these technologies,
and their impact on established ways of working, raise a number of questions that haveyet to be addressed.
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HEI Management needs a stronger business case for investment- Building
a business case for social media adoption is the number one challenge for HEIs
both now and in the future. Whilst users are convinced of the benefits, HEI
management need a stronger business case.
The strategic approach to managing social media is evolving The
strategic response to social media developments is unclear in many institutions.
No firm conclusion appears to have been reached on the ownership and
management of this new development. It is also not clear whether social media
technologies should be treated as a separate strategy, or embedded in core
operations? As social media technologies and usage mature over the coming
years, it is likely that a more integrated approach to managing information and
content will be required to protect the brand and reputation of institutions.
Can unrestricted use continue? -The low level of restriction currently applied
to social media usage has implications for a wide range of areas including -
privacy, intellectual property to data protection. As usage grows it is likely that
these issues will increase in profile and impact.
Increased awareness is needed to address cultural issues - Lack of
awareness of the potential benefits of social media and its usage were identified
as generational issues by a number of respondents. The development of short
programmes around the benefits of social media technologies for HEIs, could
address this situation and the cultural issues identified.
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2. Introduction
Social Media is growing in its adoption across all areas of society, including Higher
Education. To gain a current picture of this rapidly developing area within UK Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs), this research has been conducted to investigate the:
Challenges faced in managing this relatively new means of communication
Impact and benefit that social media is having and could have, on established
ways of working within HEIs.
The output of this survey will provide HEIs with:
A current appreciation of the challenges and issues faced in implementing social
media
Shared knowledge of how HEIs are capitalising on social media technologies to
support strategic and operational activities.
Insight into the range of benefits that are currently being delivered and those
that could be delivered.
The online survey was run between 28th July 2009 and the 6th September 2009. During
that time 60 unique responses were received from 44 HEIs across the UK.
3. Research Approach
The research conducted in this study includes both qualitative and quantitative
investigations. A review of existing research has also been conducted into the adoption
and usage of social media within Higher Education Institutions (Appendix 1). This
knowledge was used to shape the structure and content of an online survey that was
subsequently used to collect primary data. The survey was tested with a number of
individuals who had a particular interest in the area of social media from within UK
Universities and associated organisations (UKOLN).
The platform used to deliver the survey questions and to collect data was Survey
Monkey. No direct and unsolicited approaches were made to potential respondents.
Instead respondents were made aware of the survey and its objectives through the
application of social media techniques (Twitter, Blogs) at the IWMW (Institutional Web
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Management Workshop) in July 2009 and an Announce email issued by UCISA. This
provided a web link to the survey for those interested in participation.
The survey sought feedback from anyone who had an involvement in the development
and/or usage of social media in a UK HEI. In particular, feedback from those involved
in the management of web content was encouraged, as was feedback from individuals
already using social media within an HEI environment, or who had a particular interest in
the potential of social media.
The quantitative data collected was analysed to develop the key trends emerging. In
addition, quotations provided by respondents (anonymous) in response to the subject
matter, have been used to develop and illustrate the key trends identified.
4. Research Findings
4.1 Respondent profile
The majority of replies to the online survey were received from English Universities (36),
with 3 out of the 9 Welsh universities, 4 out of the 19 Scottish universities and an Irish
university also participating.
Responses were obtained from five main areas within HEIs:
Web management
Marketing, Media and communications
Learning and development
Business and IT management and services
Libraries
4.2 Respondent Website profile
4.2.1 Use of main institution websites versus microsites
The majority of HEIs (40.6%) operate a main web site but are unaware of the number
and content of the microsites situated around the institution (Figure 1).
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Relatively few institutions operate a single main website only (18.8%), without utilising
microsites for individual faculty or department use.
Figure 1 Number of web sites and microsites within institutions
At least 60 other sites at separate URL's with no clear management structure, different CMS's (or
flatfile html sites) and no common search function; all sites operate in total isolation from each
other.
We have over 100 microsites, over 200 sections on our main site, of which probably 20-30 are
actively updated
A key message from previously published research is the importance perceived by HEIs
of developing a consistent brand to help build the institutions internal and external
profile. The fact that a large proportion of institutions are unaware of the number of
microsites that exist within their organisation and are therefore unable to influence
branding, would indicate a major potential to improve both the internal and external
user experience.
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The absence of an integrated approach to the provision of web services in many
institutions and the lack of a common search function, also indicates a major opportunity
to improve development and search effectiveness and efficiency.
4.2.2 Extent of social media technology integration with content management
systems
Although many institutions are establishing links and add-ons to provide a more
integrated environment, there is currently little if any integration of content
management systems with social media technologies within those HEIs responding
(19.6% of those responding).
Are any social media technologies currently provided as an integrated component of
your content management system - if so please identify the technology provided?
Social bookmarking. News is pushed out to Twitter and Facebook. Some active blogs partly
integrated with websites.
Moodle, Mahara, Wimba integrated into the teaching. Use Facebook and Twitter as appropriate.
Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, RSS can be embedded in pages with pre-defined styles in the CMS. RSS
is also auto generated on news pages.
None as part of the CMS, although we have integrated Flickr, Twitter, Facebook. We have also
piloted an internal social network for the department of Information Services.
No; not seen as worthwhile (...YET): we have some pages that offer a single page at a glance
mashup view of current social media activity - but that is a pull activity from the various platforms
and not a publishing activity from within the CMS.
Limited within the CMS, but we do provide WordPress, SharePoint, JOOMLA (to a limited extent).
Facebook is being developed into the CMS of our Students' Union website.
The platform uses PebblePad for blogs between students and tutors.
Forums - but the functionality is poor so we use an open source PHP system instead
share this functionality (third party code embedded via scripts at our request)
RSS feeds for news and events.
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4.3 Key Challenges
4.3.1 Key challenges for HEI to date in adopting social media
Respondents identified the top three challenges to date in adopting social media
technologies (Figure 2) as:
Developing the business case for its usage
Overcoming cultural issues
Dealing with current software compatibility issues.
Figure 2 Current challenges for HEIs in adopting social
Rating Average
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The following quotes illustrate the scale of the challenges identified:
What are key challenges that your institution has faced to date in adopting social media
technologies?
Lack of technical skills of staff wanting to implement technologies.
Lack of resources (staff and time) to develop adequate social media teaching tools such as wikis
and blogs.
For the Library - technical challenges and know how.
Allocating staff resources.
Highly devolved nature of user base, i.e., herding cats
Content moderation and management - significant resourcing issue
Data protection and privacy issues with using third party solutions. Very few new and innovative
systems are signed up to the Safe Harbor agreement which covers the storage of data outside the
European Economic Area (i.e. USA) required by the UK Data Protection Act. So it makes it
impossible for us to pick up third party software or solutions.
4.3.2 Key Challenges for HEIs in the future adoption of social media
Respondents identified the top three challenges in adopting social media technologies in
the future (Figure 3) as:
Developing the business case for its usage
Responding to growing user demand
Budgetary constraints
The development of a business case for social media remains the most significant
challenge, followed by the ability to respond to growing user demand and being able to
do this within budgetary constraints.
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Figure 3 Challenges for the future adoption of social media
Rating Average
What are the key challenges in encouraging future adoption of social media technologies
within your institution?
As user demand ramps up, the infrastructure may not cope. Getting EFFECTIVE content is
perhaps the biggest Challenge.
SEVERE cultural issues: no one in charge selected their Uni from a website - and so they fail to
see why they are important for todays target audiences.
Figuring out feasible support model that doesn't constrain users, yet respects University
obligations (e.g., dpa, foi, hr, etc)
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4.4 Social Media Usage
4.4.1 Access restrictions
For the majority of institutions (over 90%) social media usage (Facebook, Twitter,
Blogging, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr), is not generally restricted (Figure 4). Within
university domains and within the directorate, some restrictions exist and there are
concerns over disclosure of intellectual property. There is also evidence however that in
some institutions, restrictions would be removed, if a work related case could be
generated for the use of social media.
Figure 4 Is access to the following social media restricted at your
institution?
Yes No Dont Know
Facebook 4.9% 91.8% 3.3%
Twitter 4.9% 91.8% 3.3%
Blogging 4.6% 90.3% 4.6%
MySpace 4.9% 90.2% 4.9%
YouTube 5.0% 90.0% 5.0%
Flickr 1.6% 95.1% 3.3%
The restrictions are there by default but are removed for members of staff who can show a
genuine work related reason for needing access to the sites. There is talk of removing the
restriction for everyone (students and staff) however this has so far been a very long battle!!
Blogs not allowed via university domains. Those via external blogging sites unrestricted
We require people to be sensible and if there are people waiting to use open access computers
then only course work and research should be done on them.
I don't know about student systems but within our directorate these sites are blocked. I had to
have IT unblock them for me!
"There are very few restrictions on the usage of social media by students within the institutions
responding. Where restrictions do exist they tend to be related to reducing server load."
Purely to keep the server load down and not for censorship.
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4.4.2 Current usage of social media by department and students
The major users of social media are students followed by Alumni (Figure 5). A relatively
large number of Admissions departments have little or no usage of social media in their
activities.
Figure 5 Department and student usage of social media
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In which areas do you currently see the greatest use of social media within your
institution?
Take up depends on the drive of individuals and where departments see that there is value rather
than being dictated by specific institutional policy.
The demand for Facebook interaction is clearly the heaviest on Admissions. Though our
Institution's admissions office does not actively respond to prospective student questions on
Facebook, Twitter, etc, students from the University have stepped into the void.
Development office actively using social media, other departments do not have anyone with
enthusiasm for/expertise in social media.
Academic staff are very mixed in their use! We have Uni run Twitter / Facebook pages & othersare using it with students for teaching; however, the central eLearning staff would far rather
everyone used WEbCT Vista - as they feel that it's confusing for students to have too many things
to think about (which I'm not sure I agree with) and/ or that off campus resources can never be
guaranteed to be here tomorrow (which is a fair point).
I note an age/ignorance factor with Alumni and faculty that limits these technologies usage in
these sections.
Some staff have set up blogs on their University hosted websites.
It's being used most in the marketing of our institution to prospective students.
4.4.3 Social media usage by student population
Undergraduates are perceived to be the heaviest users of social media. However, a high
lack of awareness exists within HEIs on how social media usage differs between different
student populations (undergraduates, postgraduates, prospective, International) (Figure
6).
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Figure 6 Social media usage by student population
All students use it! - even if you are not an undergrad you use it: internationals use it as they
cannot travel here in person in advance!
Have only just started using Social Media.
PhD students appear to make much heavier use of social media than current researchers who
began their careers years ago.
Not really my area of expertise, but I think it differs less between these audiences and more
along the generational issues (digital natives / digital immigrants). The majority of our students
are mature and part time students not 18-year old undergraduates.
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4.4.4 Current usage profile of social media by technology type
The two social media tools most frequently used by HEIs via internal solutions are
Blogging (59%) and Online Forums (55%).
The two most frequently identified external social networking tools currently used are
Twitter (68.3%), YouTube (60.7%) and social networking tools such as Facebook and
MySpace (57.49%).
There was a low level usage of customised social networking tools Ning.com and
Yammer (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Types of social media used
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What forms of social media do you currently use within your department/institution?
No local use in departments, all efforts done centrally and from the Students' Union.
We are currently investigating the use of collaborative tools. As a smaller institution, it can be
hard to find the resources (time or money) to put into internal solutions for projects like this.
Our customised social network has been built in-house so we own our data.
Applicant community blends social networking with more traditional forums and blogs in a
managed environment.
No co-ordinated policy.
Primarily Plone CMS. Growing use of Diigo. Rare/limited mashing with Ning. Rare, disorganised,
un-coordinated use of Flickr. Very rare use of YouTube (sadly ignoring the CMS). Forums are a
tricky question.
4.4.5 Future Usage of social media planned for 2010-2012
The two social media tools most frequently identified for planned adoption over the next
two years by HEIs via internal solutions are Blogging (52.7%) and Online Forums
(50.9%).
The two most frequently identified external social networking tools planned for the next
two years are Twitter (47.3%), YouTube (41.8%) and social networking tools such as
Facebook and MySpace (41.1%).
The low level usage of customised social networking tools, such as Ning.com and
Yammer, looks set to continue with a high level of respondents either stating a definite
intention not to use these solutions or being undecided about their usage (Figure 8).
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Figure 8 Planned adoption of social media 2010 - 2012
Because of the data protection issues we will bring social networking inside so we can control the
storage and use of data. YouTube like video will come internally because of a requirement to not
make the majority of our videos public - there's a reticence for this from the academic community.Blogging undecided by senior management as yet but there is strong demand for it.
There will almost certainly be both internal and external solutions in place for some activities (e.g.
online forums.
There is limited ability to co-ordinate adoption or use between institutions and (more or less
autonomous) departments.
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4.5 Impact and Benefits of social media
4.5.1 Current impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities
The main areas benefiting from a significant improvement to date, as a result of social
media, are the Institutions profile and access to information (Figure 9).
Figure 9 Impact and benefits of social media to date
Website in particular has had a significant effect on student conversion.
Access to information is on demand. Students or Sabbatical officers respond within hours of a
question being asked. The "personal" feeling of interacting with a student far surpasses any
interaction the University could deliver. There is only so far institutions can go to shout about their
own glory, students from those institutions are the biggest, most effective and most honest tool to
deliver a true reflection of life at a HEI.
Social media has only started being used over the past month within our institution.
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4.5.2 Future impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities
Respondents believed that the most significant impact of social media in the future will
be from its ability to improve Access to information' for all users with 61.8% of
respondents identifying this as undergoing significant improvement by 2012. The
Institutions profile, reputation and student retention will also benefit from social media
usage (Figure 10).
Figure 10 Comparison of areas identified as undergoing significant
improvement over the last three years and by 2012
NB: Figures represent % of respondents identifying a significant improvement being anticipated
through the use of social media.
X is quickly becoming the most receptive HEI to one to one Facebook/Twitter contact with
prospective students and troubled current students alike. Each and every question is answered by
a friendly student response and this reputation is beginning to build profile will follow.
Too much high level dragging of feet, and at lower levels: visions to narrow to take best
advantage of social media.
Reputation issues depend on how much we decide to use it for promotion, and to a large extentwe don't have control over how much people are talking about us or why, e.g. a recent event
(anonymised).......... will have increased our profile, but not necessarily in ways that enhance our
academic reputation.
Put bluntly - if we don't use them we will start losing applicants.
Difficult to say as no policy on adoption yet....
Too hard to tell; the way they're used is, in my opinion much more important than whether or
not they're used.
Area of impact In the lastyear
By 2012
Institution Profile 21.4% 55.4%
Access to information (staff, prospective
students, existing students, administration)
18.5% 61.8%
Institution reputation 12.5% 44.6%
Student retention 5.4% 34.5%
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4.6 The Role of the Web team in supporting and developing the social
media strategy?
Respondents were asked to identify which of the following statements applied to their
Institutions or whether both applied.
Web 2.0/Social Media Strategy instigated by the web team who are
driving social media user engagement across the institution
Social media users are driving adoption - the web team supports user
request for any new development
67.9% of respondents believed that the main driver influencing the development of
HEIs social media strategy was the user base, with the web team responding to this
demand. This compared to 44.6% of respondents who believed that the web
team is driving the strategy for social media development.
Some HEIs are taking a collaborative approach to social media strategy development
involving many departments, others do not treat social media as a separate strategic
area but an integrated component of the overall IT strategy.
What role does the web team play in developing and supporting the Institution's social
media strategy?The development of strategy in this sphere is very much a collaborative approach mixing local
initiatives with institutional programmes depending on the nature of the content, the audience and
the channel.
We in the web team try our best - but we are over-ruled by people who do not even understand
what Twitter is, or what social media even means.
Social media development is driven by individual departments not the IT team.
Our e-learning team drives implementation rather than the web team.
The institution's social media strategy is currently being determined with involvement from
several departments including the web team whose primary role will be helping users to integrate
appropriate social media with the institution's official web sites.
It's not just the web team but the whole Centre for Educational Development and Media who is
driving this through the University IT strategy. It's not a separate strategy specifically because it
needs to be embedded in the core business and if its in a separate strategy it tends to get treatedas separate.
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As the tendency for social media usage increases, the ability to efficiently manage
content will become a more significant challenge. The fact that only 19.6 % of
respondents believed that their current content management system supported social
media transactions raises a strategic issue for the immediate and longer term future.
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5. Implications for Higher Education Institutions
This research has identified a number of strategic implications for HEIs in developing
their future approach to social media.
Building a business case for social media adoption is the number one challenge
now and in the future for HEIs
The research has identified that social media developments have to date been mainly
user driven. The primary challenge has been in establishing a business case to support
this user driven development. The pressure from the user base for social media tools and
facilities, continues into the future. This reinforces the need for HEI management to be
able to see a valid business case for investment in this area.
What is the future HEI strategy for social media Top down, bottom up
collaborative?
Whilst there is a high level of social media usage in some institutions, in others it is a
new experience with a steep learning curve. A key question that has emerged is how a
strategy for social media should be developed and who should own and manage this. Is
it a top down development, collaborative or bottom up approach? How will social media
usage be managed in the future if it can be managed?
It's not just the web team but the whole Centre for Educational Development and Media who are
driving this through the University IT strategy. It's not a separate strategy specifically because it
needs to be embedded in the core business and if its in a separate strategy it tends to get treated
as separate.
It is all very new and more thought is needed as to how we precede with the SM phenomena.
After all, the people that use it should be the people that create it as opposed to the people that
manage it.
The institution's social media strategy is currently being determined with involvement from
several departments including the web team, whose primary role will be helping users to integrate
appropriate social media with the institution's official web sites.
Social media (even more than the web) allows potential students to see what their possible
lecturers are like before they even start. We MUST realise that we can NOT control the
conversation like we did in the days of the megaphone monologue media. People WILL talk and
rate us, regardless of what we try and do.
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Can unrestricted use continue? - There is currently limited restriction on the use of
social media outside of the directorate. As usage continues to grow, issues raised by
this research which include - data protection and privacy issues, intellectual property
concerns, content management and ownership issues and impact on server load, are
likely to increase in profile.
We don't officially restrict anything but the senior management have serious issues with
intellectual property issues of using social media. So it tends to be done under the radar
Is there a case for programmes to raise awareness of social media benefits?
The research produced considerable verbal evidence that variation in usage between
student populations and departments was a generational issue rather than anything
else. The development of short programmes around the benefits of social mediatechnologies for HEIs could address this situation and the cultural issues identified.
Not really my area of expertise, but I think it differs less between these audiences and more
along the generational issues (digital natives / digital immigrants). The majority of our students
are mature and part time students not 18-year old undergraduates.
Should social media technologies be treated as a separate strategy or
embedded in the core operations? What is the future role of the web team?
In the majority of institutions the web team is in response mode to users and
management. As social media technologies and usage mature over the coming years, it
is likely that a more integrated approach will be required to monitor and record
conversations over social media networks about the institution and to maintain the
consistency and integrity of the institutions brand.
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