WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Under-represented
student groups are more likely than their counterparts to rely on
social media channels, such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram,
to learn about colleges, according to a survey of college-bound
students released today by Royall & Company, a division of EAB.
These student groups are also more likely to interact with colleges
and universities on social media throughout their college
search.
"Social media continues to play an important role in
college-bound students' lives and the college search process is no
exception, especially with first-generation, low-income, and
minority students," said Pamela Kiecker
Royall, Ph.D., head of research at Royall &
Company.
The survey of 5,580 college-bound students found that
under-represented students were more likely to initially learn
about a school on social media than their counterparts.
Specifically:
- 27 percent of first-generation students compared to 17 percent
of non-first-generation students said they discovered a college or
university on social media;
- 25 percent of Hispanic/Latino students and 24 percent of
African American students compared to 16 percent of Caucasian
students said they discovered a college or university on social
media; and
- 24 percent of students from households with incomes of
$60K or less compared to 13 percent
of students from households with incomes of $120K or more said they discovered a college or
university on social media.
The survey also asked students whether they have liked, shared,
or watched content posted by colleges and universities on social
media. This type of engagement suggests a student is paying
greater attention to what colleges post and finding the content
more interesting, compared to students who do not engage.
First-generation students are seven percentage points more
likely to like a post and five percentage points more likely to
share content from a college or university on Facebook.
Similarly, first-generation students are more likely to like a post
from a college or share content posted by a college or university
on Snapchat.
When asked about other sources of information used during their
college search, under-represented students responded that they were
less likely to rely on opportunities that were more personal in
nature, compared to their peers.
- 61 percent of Hispanic/Latino respondents and 67 percent of
African American respondents rely on parents and other family
members versus 81 percent of Caucasian respondents;
- 50 percent of first-generation students rely on friends already
in college versus 60 percent of non-first-generation students;
and
- 63 percent of students from low-income households go on campus
visits compared to 83 percent of high-income students.
"These findings suggest that under-represented, college-bound
students are less likely to consider their friends and family as a
resource and do not have the opportunity to visit schools during
their college search as often as their peers," Dr. Kiecker Royall
continued. "They seem to be turning to social media to fill this
information gap, which means there is an opportunity for colleges
and universities to modify their social media efforts to provide
students the information they need, where they are looking for
it."
While there is promise in using social media to engage
prospective minority students, email and mail still outpace social
media as students' go-to channels: 78 percent of prospective
students say they research college options by reading mail or email
from colleges, while 33 percent of students research college
options by following a school on social media.
"Schools should not underestimate students' continued reliance
on mail and email. Instead, colleges and universities should
consider including social media outreach or bolstering existing
social media efforts as part of a multi-channel approach to
successfully recruit a diverse class," Dr. Kiecker Royall
continued.
For further insights into prospective students' communications
preferences, the full report, "Student Communications in the
Evolving Digital Era," can be found here.
About EAB
EAB is a best practices firm that uses
a combination of research, technology, and data-enabled services to
improve the performance of more than 1,200 educational
institutions. A division of The Advisory Board Company
(NASDAQ: ABCO), EAB forges and finds the best new ideas and proven
practices from its network of thousands of leaders, then customizes
and hardwires them into every level of member organizations,
creating enduring value. For more information,
visit www.eab.com.
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SOURCE The Advisory Board Company