ENGAGING WITH THE SMARTPHONE GENERATION: HOW TO INCORPORATE SOCIAL MEDIA INTO YOUR COLLEGE'S OPEN HOUSE Dr. Noah Pittman Assistant Dean of Recruitment & Retention Terrance L. Boyd Associate Director of Recruitment & Retention
OUR PRESENTATION TODAY Who is the University of Arkansas Honors College Social Media and Smart Phone Trends Identifying and Implementing Strategies Honors College Recruitment Events Honors College Convocation (Annual Open House) Fellowship Weekend (Scholarship Interviews) Social Media Competitions at Each Event Lessons Learned
THE UNIVERSIT Y OF ARKANSAS HONORS COLLEGE Smaller, enriching academic community within a Carnegie Classified RU/VH Spring 2015 Enrollment: 2,656 (out of 20,223 undergrads) Average ACT: 31.0 Our two core goals: 1) Make for a more fulfilling experience both inside and outside the classroom 2) Prepare students for the next step
A MORE FULFILLING COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Innovative honors coursework Around 50% of our honors graduates study abroad 100% of honors graduates have engaged in undergraduate research with faculty mentors To help support research and study abroad activities, we have awarded around $1 million in grants over the past calendar year
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR NEXT STEP Class of 2014: 49.5% planned to go graduate school immediately, including: Johns Hopkins Medical School Georgia Tech for Aerospace Engineering Cal Tech for Physics Vanderbilt Law School Additional 27% had plans for jobs/volunteer work by April of senior year, including: Logistics Engineer at JB Hunt Corporate Headquarters Financial Advisor at Edward Jones Replenishment Analyst at Walmart Corporate Headquarters Staff Assistant at a U.S. Senator's Office Great track record with Nationally Competitive Awards First in the SEC for Goldwater and Truman Scholarships Top 20 for National Public Research Universities in Goldwater, Truman, and Marshall Scholarships
HONORS COLLEGE SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY: 2011 EDITION Heavy, heavy focus on Facebook (before the socalled Death of Facebook ) Most of the focus was on promotion of Honors College events, both to current and prospective students Also heavy focus on getting students to the Honors College blog
IMPORTANT CHANGES SINCE 2011 1. Increase in popularity of social media websites other than Facebook 2. Dramatic increase in smartphone usage across the United States, particularly among teenagers and young adults
TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION www.polleverywhere.com Text word to number Respond which social media platform is the most used by internet users ages 13-24
CHANGES SINCE 2011: POPULARITY OF NEW SOCIAL MEDIA According to February 2015 survey conducted by Statista, the most popular social media sites for internet users ages 13-24 in the United States were: Popular Social Media Sites 100 74 50 0 58 57 32 30 26 Ages 13-24 *daily usage has declined since 2012 Source: Statista, 2015b
CHANGES SINCE 2011: GROWTH IN SMARTPHONES 250 Smartphone Users in the United States (2010-2018) 200 150 100 50 Smartphone Users (in millions) 0 Source: Statista, 2015a
SMARTPHONE GROWTH AMONG TEENS According to Nielsen, 36% of American teenagers had a smartphone in 2011 100 80 60 No Smartphone In just two years, that figure increased to 70% in 2013 40 20 0 2011 2013 Smartphone Source: Kerr, 2013
THREE BIG GOALS FOR 2014-2015 1. Emphasize the social aspect of social media Promote events Engage with both prospective and current honors students Start a conversation 2. Increase presence on Instagram and Twitter, while still maintaining a presence on Facebook (particularly for parents and campus stakeholders) 3. Integrate social media into Honors College recruitment events Content Conversations Community
HONORS COLLEGE SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES
HONORS COLLEGE CONVOCATION Annual open house 205-220 students attend Postcard invitation sent to honors eligible junior and seniors Out of 211 students in attendance this year: Average Weighted GPA 4.03 Average ACT Composite 29.94
HONORS COLLEGE CONVOCATION Schedule highlights: Information Fair Morning Session (Dean s Intro, Student Panel) Scholarship Application Discussion Lunch/Tours of Campus and Honors Facilities Academic College Breakout Session Hotz Honors Hall Open House
FELLOWSHIP WEEKEND Annual scholarship weekend Students compete for $17,500 fellowships 170 out of 700 applicants are invited (>32 ACT composite, >3.8 weighted GPA) Profile of 2015 finalists: Average Weighted GPA 4.19 Average ACT Composite 33.54 36 National Merit Finalists and 3 National Achievement Finalists
FELLOWSHIP WEEKEND Schedule highlights: Day 1: Timed writing exercise Dinner Ozark Open House, where finalists meet their fellowship mentor Day 2: Interview with faculty panel Round table discussion Optional classroom visits and tours of honors facilities
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES Convocation #uarkhonors14 Discover. Create. Serve Used Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Required to follow honors profiles and use hashtag Fellowship Weekend #fellowswknd15 Social Media Scavenger Hunt Used both Twitter and Instagram Required to follow honors profiles and use hashtag
HOW WE PROMOTED THE ACTIVITIES For both Honors College Convocation and Fellowship Weekend, we did the following promotions: One of the reminder emails before each event outlined the competition Detailed instructions were placed in each participant folder During welcome in each event, the competition was outlined to the students Reminders at different stages of each event Prize pack for winners: Arkansas Swag
LESSONS LEARNED Convocation Increase in followers on various social media sites Instagram and Twitter were the true successes Only 1 Facebook participant Free flowing and relaxed environment Convocation Successes Fellowship Weekend Only 2 students participated Stressful and high tension atmosphere Focus more on inperson interaction
REFERENCES Kerr, D. (2013, October 29). Smartphones commandeer 70 percent of teen market. CNet. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com/news/smartphones-commandeer-70- percent-of-teen-market/# Statista. (2015a). Most popular social media and networking sites used by teenagers and young adults in the United States as of February 2015. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/199242/social-media-andnetworking-sites-used-by-us-teenagers/ Statista. (2015b). Number of smartphone users in the U.S. from 2010-2018 (in millions). Statista. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/201182/forecast-ofsmartphone-users-in-the-us/
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