November 6 2015

Student Communications

Brian, UWiscMadison - Although we don't have a lock on successful student promotions, we can talk about student orientations. Happens over 2 months of successive orientations. IT gets to talk with the parents, but not the students (their time is too short). We send information prior to orientation, use a video introduction, web site links for all the resources students might need. We do a 20 minute presentation to parents and show the video we sent to their students; encourage them to talk to their students about security, protecting their credentials, and how to find resources. Student survey each spring. Plug that information into programs, projects and services that we provide. In terms of big things, we have a student advisory group, 25 students meet with us once a month; we pay them and feed them, 1.5 hour long session as both presentation and feedback session. Sometimes bring in external speakers. Our enrollment management group came in to talk about the student registration system and ask for what they think could be improved. We also have a tech store and have promotions through out the year. Recruit the students: when we do the survey each spring, we ask if they would like to be considered for extra surveys and focus groups. We contact all those students, express the requirements and ask if they want to be considered. A considerable vetting process to ensure complete diversity including international. How much time dedicated to the group? There is a person in the OIT Comms group who administers the group as well as a part-time person who helps with logistics (contacting students, arranging food and space, payment, etc.) For meeting once a month, 5 hours of prep time for the person managing the event. Another 1 hour of administrative support. Another person takes note (2 hours). Pay - 2 semesters per session minimum, $200 per year per student.

Diana, U at Buffalo - we do similar things with orientation and we offer a presentation (student to student) for orientation in July. The session is optional though, they are not required. But how we reach most of our students (according to our surveys) is through print. When we have new announcements, we distribute posters -each building and each hall in residential buildings. Our web site is shared in a lot of different departments. Very effective for large campuses with bus systems. Banners hung on the side of buses. 20,000 students ride our buses each day. Hang banners on inside of banner. While you are sitting in bus, get to read... We can change them out monthly (~$800 per month). Can retrieve and use later.

Stan, NCState - we've also had good luck with banners, but ours have to be laminated - on the other hand, they stay up all semester. We can't change them out.

How to evaluate effectiveness or awareness among students? Yes - via surveys. "Where did you learn about this?" Find it is difficult to reach all student population. Target ResNet (residential 12,000 on campus students) or add a few question to university-wide surveys for sophomores and seniors.

Melanie, UT-El Paso - We also have tables out first two weeks of school (10-2 each day), if weather bad, we go inside, but try to catch people as they come by. Not in orientation, used to be, but too much going on now and no IT presentation. Short tour stop, that's about it. Social Media, the students don't really want to deal with it unless it is fun.

UWisc, we also have no spot in the orientation at this point due to other priorities, and

David, UKansas - also squeezed out of orientation as other priorities trumped us. But last few years, we now have a table where they get student IDs and we're set up to help them configure their devices for email and wireless as soon as they walk out with ID. Helped almost 4000 devices last year during that orientation stop. Our presence has grown, and we've demonstrated our value to the group that organizes the orientation.

Created stand-alone web site for new2ku.ku.edu - specifically for new and transfer students, including videos. Created a specific brand just around new students and student orientation. Now that we've established the channel, starting to grow it. Willing to share space with the first year experience people, hoping they will adopt it as their main channel.

UWisc says very active in FB, Twitter but hard to tell what portion is students - or even external to the university. Rarely buy ad space.

NCState - Another group (cable TV group) broadcasts club sports, very popular student produced shows, pushed out YouTube, Vimeo, FB, Twitter, and those are effective but because sports and they want to know about that. Not necessarily what we want them to know.

UTEP started using Vimeo for very short video messages, successful. Most effective is poster stands (6x10ft) we put all over campus for big announcements. Put posters on wall over printers. Also put posters up in Help Desk.

NCState - esignage. We've started doing more with esignage than print recently. That is pretty successful. 199 posters if we go with print for all residential halls. Students anecdotally tell us that is how they find out about NCSAM or other events. The new electronic posters allows you to submit and each building determines if they will allow that one to join the rotation of submitted posters. Everyone has a different method of what they are putting up there. Like ours (IT) is only available for staff announcements.

UTEP put their esignage displays by elevators. (35 digital screens across campus). Each building manages their own screen but anyone on campus can send image or video to group requesting the buildings to post for specific dates. Each screen is divided into big blocks and small blocks (one of the small blocks is dedicated to university communications) and everyone is pretty good about putting other groups' posters on their signs.

UTEP Orientation has full set only for parents, like UWisc. Here is where parents can learn things separately and can guide their students later on.

Several schools agreed importance of getting copyright info out, especially if it involves paying fine or accepting a settlement. Students with disabilities office is bringing high school seniors in - mini orientation for prospies and IT does a session with them.

Carlyn, Rice - put flier in admitted student weekend packets, both parent packets and student packets. Because it is filled with photos of actual Rice students with their computers, people pour through it to find someone "like me." it.rice.edu/newstudents.

NCState - thinking of asking 3 questions as students are setting up their security passwords but haven't yet gone that direction yet.

UTEP - leave student accounts active for two semesters even if not enrolled because our students come and go, so all students - even if not currently enrolled - get the same emails we send to "all students." Admission sends out email about activating account.

Rice - We use a student ambassador program. 11 students rep OIT in their own residential colleges, meet with me once a month, get/give updates in their individual 15-minute meetings, send me copies of three announcements they've made for OIT that month. Paid minimally - $8 per hour, 4 hours per month, but most of work is done in their own time.

NCState - started an internship program with our College of Management students - given an IT project to manage - one of our business services IT staff handles recruiting, vetting, etc. So successful we expanded to the College of Engineering. IT Communications have been able to leverage those interns for some of our campaigns even though they are focusing on specific IT projects in their internships. Benefited greatly and the students enjoy it because it is not the same old same old work they do in their projects.

eNewsletters - yes, student body president sends out a weekly update and we often get a blurb in it, with a different enewsletter to fac/staff. KU also puts out monthly enewsletter to students and to fac/staff.

Susan, Yale - began using enewsletters after we saw a fair amount of traffic elsewhere. We don't use the newsletters for "new" news, just links to existing news stories. Generates undergrad clicks into our web site. We survey every two years to a random section of population. Found that email is the way to go (survey responses). Only send once per term - twice to fac, staff, students each year.

KU - difficult to track analytics because we use outlook. Don't distribute via Constant Contact or MailChimp due to costs. Suggestions? A: try sending less often.

UWisc peels the current news off every other week for enews. Own Lyrist list service and use that for distribution and analytics.

UTEP wrote own mail distribution program but doesn't track analytics.

Q: Approval process for sending messages to all community members?

A: Limited use, can lose privileges if abuse.

A: All-Staff, All-Student lists moderated by office of public affairs; usually don't say no or wait, but have used that card once or twice.

A: We use a homegrown system used by entire campus (restriction permissions), system allows us to track delivery. Hope upgrade will have more formalized approval process instead of getting individual permission from President's Office for all campus messages.

A: We can get a list of just English faculty if we need to, but approval by Provost's Office before we mass-contact faculty.

We need a discussion like this for Faculty and Staff Communications! Melanie will recruit presenters and look for a date in January 2016 for a full on coffee shop.

Fall 2015 Resources

Fall 2015 Attachments (see below)

Added after the coffee shop: Here are links to some of the print pieces we've produced [at NC State]. Most are not intended to be distributed in digital form and are just links to our proof copies, etc. E.g. they're likely not fully accessible PDFs. We push students to our web content rather than make PDFs.

2015 Computing @ NC State - Brief overview of services and information, provided to students and parents at New Student Orientation and during Move-in Week

Poster for 2015 NCSAM activities. (There were other print pieces like postcards and a business card with mobile device security tips, etc., but I don't have PDFs of those.)

Previous ITComm resources: