Why Social Networking Matters to College Leaders

Increasing Academic Success through Engagement

The 2009 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), based on a survey of more than 400,000 students from 663 institutions, illuminates the potential of online connections to increase student engagement. Community college students are a diverse population and this diversity complicates a college's ability to support their academic needs through physical resources alone. According to the report 60% of community college students are enrolled part-time, 21% of full-time students work more than 30 hours a week, 29% take evening classes and 28% have taken at least one online class. 

Additionally, community college students arrive on campus with a dramatic range of academic preparation, academic goals -- ranging from transferring to a 4-year university, returning from the workforce to update skills, personal enrichment, and many are first-generation college students, stepping foot for the first time on a college campus.

The CCSSE survey notes a correlation between engagement and degree attainment -- the less engaged a student is, the greater the risk of dropping out -- and the least engaged students are those who attend part-time and students age 24 and younger, representing a significant population of community college students and the early adopters of social networking. 

Outside of college, 95% of students age 18-24 use social networking sites for personal use, signaling a tremendous opportunity for institutions to foster relevant relationships with students that keep them connected to coursework, college services, and events when they are away from campus (Smith, Salaway, Borreson Caruso. ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and IT, 2009). In fact, student engagement levels increase when social networking is used for "academically purposeful activities." (CCCSE survey)

Submitted to GETIDEAS.ORG by Michelle Pacansky-Brock

Educational Consultant, Teaching Without Walls on Tue, 2010-08-10 09:31

San Jose, CA

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