Facebook and Twitter were initially used at higher education institutions mainly to connect students to one another. The presence of social media soon grew to become a part of institutions’ business strategies. Through tailored marketing, recruitment and public relations strategies, social networks advertised a school’s presence. Now, each site’s ability to lure social interaction between prospective students and administration has begun the process of enabling a rather effortless transition for college students, particularly underrepresented students.
For underserved students, one of the most plaguing issues is affording and accessing college, as the lack of resources has been a perpetual struggle. Social networking, society’s most transformative and interactive tool, hosts applications that bring complex and inaccessible resources to all students. Founded on the campuses of higher education institutions, social media sites are incorporating a mixture of entertainment, interaction and guidance to the college admissions and completion processes.
“In using Facebook, there are no costs to students for using it, and, as a platform, Facebook is something that students are already using, so schools are beginning to — but [they] also strive to further leverage the technology to deliver key messages and information that they want students to have,” says Alexandra Bernadotte, founder and CEO of Beyond 12, an organization that uses technology to bridge communication between secondary and higher education administration in order to graduate more underserved college students.
The technologically-based organization has relied heavily on Facebook and other tools to offer informative resources, especially for low-income, first-generation and minority students. For such students, who oftentimes fall under the umbrella of underserved students, the challenge has been inadequate academic preparation, but, most important, it has been a lack of financial literacy in the financial aid process.
“Students are really having a difficult time trying to navigate through the rather complicated financial aid maze,” Bernadotte says.
As a result, Bernadotte created an interactive tool, used on the Facebook platform, to explain complex financial processes into simple, layman’s terms. The tool, referred to as the Student Engagement Site, utilizes Facebook’s discussion forum to communicate the financial aid process by allowing dialogue between students and professionals in regard to the college aid process. The site also provides sample copies of financial aid appeal letters. Not only are students exposed to easier financial literature, but also, the interactive tool analyzes a student’s two- to four-year budget so students can better manage “course-taking patterns.”
“Oftentimes, we find that underserved students are typically [bogged] down with managing their time at jobs, schools and applying for more financial aid, so this feature allows them to assess which set of courses they can afford and better manage the time and money that they spend on college,” Bernadotte says.
