Social Media and Students: #Policy #JustSayin

Jamie ReynoldsGraduate Program Manager, College of Nursing

University of Cincinnati

Janaki VijayaraghavanAssociate Director of Graduate Recruitment, College of Business

University of Cincinnati

Reflection

Which social media platforms have you used in your role within academic advising?

Does a social media policy exist within your institution/department? • If so, please describe the process for

implementation.• If not, explain why a social media policy

has not been established.

Why Do We Use Social Media?

Embraced from the top down (@PrezOno)

Meeting students (of all ages) where they are Multiple avenues for communication

Finding fun and creative ways to engage current and prospective students

Broader audience for your message

Navigating Blurred Lines

FERPA, HIPAA, and other privacy regulations

Information, advising, or both? Regulating posts Engaging as an organization vs. an

individual “Friends” and “Followers” with students

Why Do We Need a Social Media Policy?

Enforcing standards of professionalism online as well as in person

HIPAA violations, comments about employers Establishing a culture involving social media use Online communication is a reflection of you and

your identity Prospective employers monitor social media

activity 73% of recruiters view the profiles of potential job candidates*

(*http://time.com/money/3019899/10-facebook-twitter-mistakes-lost-job-millennials-viral/)

Case Examples

Group work Michael Bolton Open Forum **** Placenta

Our Journey

Institutional guidelines on social media use

No formal policy at university level University Student Code of Conduct Professional organizations

First Draft: Policy?

The College of Nursing is committed to leveraging technology to educate our students to become nurse leaders. As such, we are committed to delivering course content and student services through various forms of technology including social media. The use of social media will not replace the official communication mechanism, the UConnect student email system, for official notifications and communications. All official messages will be communicated via the UConnect student email system either directly to the student or through Blackboard, our course management system. Faculty and staff may elect to use social media for elective unofficial communication and reminders. Students are encouraged to engage in these informal communications to enhance their experience and receive additional opportunities for engagement with the College of Nursing faculty and staff.

Literature

Social media policies will: Promote positive usage Address negative social media activities Protect victims of negative online

behavior (cyberbullying) Set expectations of acceptable behavior

(Junco, 2011)

Literature (continued)

Social media policies will: Establish consistency in addressing

situations related to social media (Poisso, 2013)

Outline the standards to which students will be held (Poisso, 2013)

Protect against personal and institutional liability (Frazier et al., 2014)

Policy Development Process

Create a social media policy committee and include stakeholders

Committee should provide regular updates and opportunities for feedback

Consider how the policy is beneficial for student development, helping students to develop responsibility while learning to explore the potential of social media

Social media policy should be “readable, accessible, and jargon-free”

(Junco, 2011)

Social Media Policy Framework

Justification Definition Provisions/Guidelines Consequences Resources

Policy Content

Spirit of policy should convey institution’s interest in the

well-being of students

Reference applicability of other policies (i.e. student code of conduct) to the world of social media

Acknowledge value of social media as platform for connection, collaboration, and communication

Recognize potential for discourse and debate

Explain limitations of privacy

(Junco, 2011)

Policy Content

“Tone" is difficult to perceive in online communications

State expectations for positive behaviors

Also state behaviors that are considered negative, inappropriate, and unacceptable

Outline steps and resources to address questions/concerns related to social media

Faculty, staff, and administration should model behavior

(Junco, 2011)

Obstacles to Enforcing Policy

Promoting social media usage, with a caveat

Backlash from students Calling people out

When is this appropriate? Growing pains…there is more work and

education to be done.

How do we overcome these obstacles?

Educate stakeholders on policy Describe relevance of policy to the lives

of the stakeholders Promoting and enforcing policy should be

a community initiative, not just the responsibility of one person.

Student Engagement in Social Media

Opportunities for connection

- Flo Says- Photo Contests- Scavenger Hunt- Welcome Wednesday- Rankings

Managing social media outlets

- Hootsuite, Twubs, Sprout Social

So, where do I start?

Determine if there is an established institutional level social media policy at your university?

Research social media policies at other institutions

Be the voice for social media policy!

And finally – connect with us!

Twitter @LindnerCollege @UCnursing @JamieReynoldsUC @UCJanaki

LinkedIn Jamie Reynolds Janaki Vijayaraghavan

References

Frazier, B., Culley, J. M., Hein, L. C., Williams, A. & Tavakoli, A. S. (2014, March). Social networking policies in nursing education. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 32(3), 110-117.

Junco, R. (2011). The need for student social media policies. Educause Review, 46 (1), 60-61.

Poisso, L. (2013, July 8). Building an effective university social media policy. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://doteduguru.com/id9383-building-an-effective- university-social-

media-policy.html Radian6 (2012, May). Social media strategy for higher education. Retrieved from

http://www.slideshare.net/marketingcloud/social-media-strategy-for-higher-education- 15938339 The Spelman & Johnson Group (n.d.). Useful social media resources for higher education professionals. Retrieved from http://spelmanandjohnson.com/blog/index.php/useful- social-media-resources-for-higher-education-professionals/

Tinti-Kane, Hester (2013, April). Overcoming hurdles to social media in education. Educause Review.

Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/overcoming-hurdles-social-media-education