Social media website Facebook is an ever-expanding network that now includes college admission counselors in addition to college students, pets and parents.

According to a 2010 Kaplan survey of college admissions officers, four out of every five admission officers use Facebook to recruit students. St. Edward’s University is one of them.

Drew Nichols, assistant director of Undergraduate Admission, said the Office of Undergraduate Admission has had a Facebook page since 2009. Interns update the Facebook page about twice a week with information about upcoming events and application deadlines.

Admission counselors also have their own professional Facebook pages to communicate with prospective students.

“The idea was to meet students where they already were, and they were on Facebook,” Nichols said.

There are 485 people who “like” the Undergraduate Admission Facebook page, but Nichols said students seldom contact him on his professional Facebook.

“Students were a little hesitant to contact admissions on Facebook…I’ve really only corresponded with a few students,” Nichols said.

Nichols added that he thought students might be hesitant to communicate with admission counselors on Facebook because of content on Facebook profiles. Nichols encourages students to be aware of public content posted on Facebook, but Undergraduate Admission does not factor information from Facebook into the overall application review.

“We would never seek out an applicant’s profile for additional information during the application review process, so we haven’t had any scenarios where Facebook content has had an impact on an admission decision,” Nichols said. “I would urge students to be conscious of the types of things they post on Facebook, because that information is available to a wide audience, and could…tell admission officers or potential employers more about the type of student or employee they would be.”

While Undergraduate Admission does not factor information about an applicant from Facebook into an admission decision, the university does not have official policies or guidelines restricting admission counselors from visiting applicants’ social networking pages, Nichols said. In addition, the Kaplan survey found that 86 percent of college admission officers worked for institutions that did not have official policies or guidelines for admission officers visiting applicants’ social networking pages.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions can be found on Facebook under the name St. Edward’s University Undergraduate Admission.

Undergraduate Admission advertises its Facebook page to prospective students at college fairs by handing out pieces of paper with information about it. Counselors also mention the Facebook page in presentations.

In addition, Associate Director of Admission Dinah Kinard includes a “Follow us on Facebook! Become a fan of St. Edward’s University Undergraduate Admission and keep up with campus events and recruiting travel” message under her signature block in e-mails she sends.

“All of the admission counselors have that (“Follow us on Facebook!”) in their

signature as our way of promoting the page and encouraging students to “fan”

the page, so that they can receive updates…Essentially, it is our way

of advertising our presence on Facebook,” Kinard said

According to Kinard, the Internet is the main tool students use to search for colleges. The Internet changed the way Undergraduate Admission advertises, recruits and communicates with prospective students and applicants.

The job is still the same, as admission counselors are assigned to one region out of state and one in Texas. Kinard said counselors work with the students and families from the respective regions, and each counselor conducts a tour of college fairs and school visits in their assigned regions.

“It allows us to reach a broader audience,” Nichols said regarding visits to schools and college fairs.

“Five years ago, lots of students filled out cards at tables,” Kinard said.

Since students are filling out fewer cards, Kinard thinks that students are now “secret shopping” for information about schools online.

“Secret” shoppers can also watch video clips posted on the Undergraduate Admission YouTube channel that includes video interviews with current students and tours of the campus. Links to the videos are posted on Undergraduate Admission Facebook page.

While Undergraduate Admission still receives a few paper applications in the mail, postal service mail is almost no longer used for applications and general communication. College applications are now primarily web-based, and e-mail is the main form of communication between admission counselors and students.

“The Web is a way to find out and get information very quickly,” Kinard said. “The Internet is a whole new tool set adding to the toolbox.”